Sep 17 2015
How the US’s Role in Syria Contributes to the Refugee Crisis
BANNED BROADCAST
GUEST: James Paul, Author of Syria Unmasked, former executive director of Global Policy Forum, and former executive director of the Middle East Research and Information Project.
The refugee crisis continues to build up in Europe with Hungary this week taking controversial actions again. The Hungarian government ordered the closure of its border with Serbia, forcing thousands of Syrian and other refugees heading north to be stuck on roads. Those who pushed through have been arrested. Serbia’s government has appealed to the European Union for help.
But EU interior ministers are meeting in Brussels this week and their plan for the crisis sounds no more humane. Officials want to set up camps for refugees in Africa and then make those refugees ineligible for asylum in the EU. While Germany supports a sharing of responsibility across Europe and a quota system to distribute refugees, other nations don’t agree.
While all eyes have been on Europe, the US’s role in creating the crisis that has led to mass displacement from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan is not getting nearly enough attention. The US has taken in less than 2,000 Syrian refugees this year and although President Obama announced his government would take in at least 10,000 people, it is still a drop in the bucket in a crisis where millions are looking for resettlement.
Comments Off on How the US’s Role in Syria Contributes to the Refugee Crisis
