According to the statistics published in mainstream media (MSM) over one million refugees and economic migrants arrived in Germany in 2015. According to some estimates (made by a German minister himself) this may be only 10% of the total number of migrants arriving in Germany in the near future. These are staggering numbers even for a big and economically powerful country such as Germany. Migrants are coming mostly from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. Chances are a few million of Libyans will join them soon where latest "transplantation" of "freedom and democracy" by the NATO war machine miserably failed. Understandably most migrants have chosen well-off countries such as Germany, Sweden, Denmark as their final destination. However there is a limit when it comes to ability of any country to accommodate big number of refugees (not only refugees but especially refugees because those who use official immigration channels often have higher education, speak the language, have skills which they can offer in the job market). Based on Canadian experience with immigration and immigrants, Canadian immigration officials put a limit of approximately 250 000 new immigrants per year and practically 90% (or so) of them are carefully selected based on their ability to integrate into Canadian society. That is the most Canada can integrate into its society without major turmoil either for the immigrants or for the Canadian society. Letting over one million of immigrants enter the country without practically any screening is a recipe for a big headache. And that is what we see in Europe now, mostly in Germany and Sweden. So called "refugee issue" is, of course, used for local political agendas by the major political parties both in Germany and in other European countries (good example is David Cameron who is clearly using xenophobia to please his voters). Ordinary citizens in Germany also appear to be divided on the issue - one large group is supporting official line of the Chancellor Angela Merkel, another group often labeled as radical right or even neo-nazis strongly oppose the influx of mostly Muslim refugees. They see refugees as a threat to the society. That is the prevailing narrative in the media nowadays. There is one thing that practically no one is speaking about. In my (unscientific) estimate 100% of refugees coming from the above mentioned countries (especially from Syria and Iraq) are going through major adjustment crisis - their state of mind at the present time (while in Europe after several years of life in real hell on Earth) can be described only by using psychiatric vocabulary such as post-traumatic stress disorder "on steroids". Can you imagine someone living 3000 meters under the surface of the ocean for a year and then you pull them out to the surface, in no more than 15 minutes? Their heads would literally explode due to the sudden change in pressure. That is exactly what is happening to the refugees in Europe right now - their heads are "exploding". They lived in extreme stress and hardship for several years, having only one goal in mind - to survive, they witnessed the most horrible events that a human being can witness, they lost their homes, relatives, their limbs (and often their sanity), and then in a few days they were transferred to a society which is even at the best of times much different than what they were used to. They got transferred from Hell on Earth to the country where Conchita Wurst is celebrated like a national hero. That is too much to handle for most humans. European migrants need a million mental health workers and they need them now. Pretending that problem does not exist will backfire and many (especially single male migrants) will just "flip out" and most likely commit some atrocities, not because they are terrorists but because they can not properly handle their new reality. They need help and it is more than likely they won't get it on time simply because too many migrants have arrived, they won't be able to receive support they need for that simple reason. My conclusions are partially based on my own experience of being a refugee in the 90ies in former Yugoslavia although my personal experience of war can not be be compared to the traumas most Syrian and Iraqi refugees must be carrying with them. |
Immigration Blog Visit us on Facebook Mbmigration Twitter Channel Watch us on Youtube |
|