In The News

Coalition of the Unwilling: Merkel's Plan B Could Mean End of Schengen

Peter Müller, Ralf Neukirch and Andreas Ulrich December 11, 2015
European leaders are meeting behind closed doors to tighten the continent’s external borders and stem the flow of refugees from areas of conflict in the Middle East. Spiegel Online reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel seeks to finalize a deal that includes Turkey: “Essentially, it calls for Europe to provide billions in aid to Turkey in exchange for Ankara doing all it can to prevent...

Shutting Out Refugees Puts the US on Wrong Side

November 17, 2015
Governors throughout the United States offer panicked proposals after the terrorist attacks in Paris that killed more than 125. Most of the attackers were French citizens; one carried a passport, suggesting he had entered Europe as a refugee. Some governors reject a US federal government plan to accept thousands of refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria. Fear is natural, explains an editorial in...

Climate Change Is Forcing People to Migrate and the World Doesn’t Have a Plan

Aura Bogado November 11, 2015
The UN climate talks scheduled for December will review how governments should treat refugees fleeing the effects of climate change. The UN 1951 Refugee Convention covers persecution, but not a changing climate, and in the meantime such refugees “remain in a bizarre legal and political limbo.” Aura Bogado, writing for Grist, argues that “Developed countries, which have emitted more carbon in the...

Hotspots: Europe Debates Initial Reception Centers for Refugees

Peter Müller November 4, 2015
EU leaders are divided over how to handle the thousands of refugees streaming from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and trying to reach Europe. The reception in Europe can be hostile and disorganized. Some EU leaders hope to establish reception centers along Europe’s external borders to register refugees and conduct reviews on applicants’ status for asylum. Applicants meeting the standard would be...

Among the Lucky Few: Syrian Family Rebuilds in America's Heartland

Ari Shapiro October 21, 2015
Toledo, Ohio, is among the communities doing its best to welcome refugees. “Fewer than 2,000 Syrians have come to the U.S., though the war has displaced more than 12 million since it began in 2011,” reports Ari Shapiro for NPR. He describes the experiences of one of eight families settling in Toledo with the help of diverse faith groups: A Christian group provides language lessons and day care,...

The German Lynchmob: Islamophobe Movement Returns With a Vengeance

Maik Baumgärtner, Maximilian Popp, Jörg Schindler and Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt October 15, 2015
Germany’s decision to open its borders to thousands of refugees from Syria has reinvigorated the political party of Pegida, also known as “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident.” Some supporters insist that they are not Nazis, but oppose a system that fails to embrace a strong and unchanging culture; others call the refugees “invaders” and are ready to blockade streets,...

Refugee Camps Empty as Syrians Head for Europe

Elisa Oddone and Alisa Reznick October 9, 2015
The United Nations, international charities and neighboring nations like Jordan have organized camps for refugees streaming from the civil war in Syria since 2012. At one point Zaatari Camp was Jordan’s fourth largest population center. But the conflict has lasted too long. Syrians are impatient for jobs, education and stability. Elisa Oddone and Alisa Reznick, writing for Time, describe a...