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Practical Fear Of Refugees

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Displacement and migration have defined Europe for centuries. Today, millions of Syrians have been displaced due to the threat of war. The critical issue for Europe is not the violence in Syria, but rather the hundreds of thousands of people pleading for asylum. Many Europeans view this migration as an invasion. This anti-immigrant mentality is further perpetuated by the fear of refugees disrupting the European economy as well as an over saturation of the Islamic faith in primarily Christian nations. If the mindset of Europeans fails to change, refugees will continue to face death and despair as they look for alternate ways of getting to the continent. In order to resolve this crisis and dissolve the impractical fear of refugees, the history …show more content…

Within one year, 50,000 of the half million Jews living in Germany tried to leave. Much like today, European nations strictly controlled the entry of immigrants. With no hope of moving to another European country, a small minority of Jews immigrated to various countries within Africa, China, and the Americas. In response to the unrelenting effort by Jewish communities to immigrate, aggressive measures were taken in order to deter refugees. Laws and regulations for passport approval and border control were heavily restricted. By 1938, the refugee crisis has become so severe that United States president, Franklin Roosevelt called for an international conference, known as the Evian Conference, to promote the emigration of Jewish refugees and establish an organization to mitigate the problem. Participating nations refused to make significant efforts. The denial to help was based on the fear that if they accepted Jewish refugees, the Nazi party would be encouraged to continue their anti-Semitic campaign. In an attempt to retain their dwindling ethics on the issue, Britain did agree to grant asylum to 10,000 Jewish children. Three years later, 160,000 Jews still remained in Germany. Almost all of those who were unable to leave were exterminated in the Holocaust. Combined with the 6 million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis, an estimated 64 million people were displaced due to the threat of war. The majority of those displaced made efforts to return home once it was safe. This estimate includes the 13 million Germans that were forced to move back to Germany after the

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