As civil war continues throughout Syria, millions of its citizens are seeking asylum as refugees in European countries, with only their feet as transportation. But with over 4 million registered Syrian refugees in only a handful of regional countries, finding a new place for them has been difficult. The international community must accelerate immigration for these refugees and form new laws to help innocent people in a time of crisis.
There are currently 348,540 Syrian applications for asylum at the United Nations. The U.N. has approved about 15,000 applicants to be sent to the United States. The U.S. has made the acceptance of 10,000 immigrants its goal for the next fiscal year. Of the 15,000 Syrian refugees waiting to be sent to the U.S., only 1,500 have been resettled.
The benefits of helping resettle refugees are countless: In addition to people being able to freely move around, immigration can offer economic boosts to the destination country.
In countries amid conflict now, like Syria, the economic activity of the conflicted area will decline even further than it has already, and removing civilians from an armed conflict prevents them from being either targeted by strikes or used as defensive cover for military movements.
Unfortunately, there are also numerous issues preventing effective international cooperation when it comes to immigration. The most evident problem is that of the international law surrounding the immigration of refugees.
The primary law regarding refugees came after World War II in the 1951 Refugee Convention. This convention stated that a country is only responsible for refugees who come to their border, giving little incentive for countries to open their doors and making the U.S. a hard destination for people seeking asylum overseas. This also regulates which countries refugees can seek for asylum, as geographic location becomes more important.
The fear of terrorism is also prevalent in the case of Syrian resettlement. Many countries are afraid that allowing large numbers of Muslims to live throughout Europe leaves them susceptible to terrorist attacks. But is fear enough of a reason to prevent a group of people from reaching safety just because of their ethnicity? In the largest displacement since 1950, the rhetoric of fear is mirroring that of the anti-Semitism of the 20th century.
There are only three practical options for refugees seeking asylum: returning home once the country is stabilized, staying in the country they are in or permanently moving to a third country that is ready to receive them.
With the current international legal system not motivating nations to help in the resettlement of refugees, it is clear that new laws must be put in place to help refugees in times of crises.