Overview
The European Migrant Crisis (or European migrant crisis) is the current humanitarian and political crisis in Europe, which could be traced back into 2013, but escalated dramatically in the summer of 2015. In the crisis, hundreds of thousands of war refugees and other migrants started to migrate into Europe, primarily into Germany. Most of the refugees are from Syria, where the multi-factional Syrian Civil War waged since years, made the country too hospitable to stay. Along with them, other refugees came from Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea, also areas in war, and economic migrants came from other countries from Africa and Central/Eastern Asia, to seek a better life in Europe’s more prosperous and advanced countries.
Background
In the first half of 2015, the most used migration routes were the sea routes on the Mediterranean Sea, causing a number of fatalities when crowded, questionably seaworthy migrant boats sank. These routes generally involved Italy, Greece, and Spain towards France and the United Kingdom. Later in the year, however, the bulk of the migration has shiften towards the Balkans route, which is mainly land-based, and takes through Turkey, Greece, various Balkan countries, Hungary and Austria, towards Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
The European Union and Europe’s political leaders were slow to react in a coordinated way, and the crisis gave rise to a huge rift in politics in regard to Western and Eastern European political stances, whereas Western European governments tend to support migration and the relaxation of the relevant asylum and border laws, and Eastern European governments (most of them in post-socialist countries) tend to oppose migration, and support the enforcement or even tightening of the aforemented laws.
Key issues in the crisis are the European Union’s asylum policy and it’s travel policy. The so-called Dublin Agreement dictates that asylum seekers should be processed in the first EU country in which they arrive, but in reality, most of the refugees don’t want to apply for asylum or register in the Dublin system until they arrive in their destination country, most often Germany. The so-called Schengen Area makes it possible for EU citizens to travel between the countries in the area without visas and compulsory border checks. This policy collapsed as masses of refugees and migrants walked through countries and over borders, while not being EU citizens. Several EU countries imposed border controls, lockdowns or outright erected fences, either to allow the processing of the incoming people in a timely manner, or to channel them to official asylum processing points, so people would need to comply with Dublin Agreement rules. In some occasions, the border control or lockdowns caused violent protests, where riot police had to use tear gas, water cannons and other dispersing techniques.
The crisis saw countries constructing temporary refugee and humanitarian facilities, channeling refugees and migrants on government-owned buses and trains to processing facilities or temporary camps, or to a border of a neighboring country to avoid excessive crowding and rioting. The stances taken by individual governments and the statements made by politicians contributed to escalating diplomatic tensions, especially among Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.
Amidst the political debate, many of the world’s media outlets criticizes European politician’s apparent inability to act in coordination to mitigate the crisis and to help the refugees and migrants en route, while also criticizing the governments who oppose migration and erect border fences. Some outlets however claim that most of the mainstream media is biased, using dramatized footage, photographs and stories, and unfairly criticizing anti-migration governments as inhumane, even fascist powers, while distorting the nature of the refugees and migrants, withholding information about their negative aspects.
Online presence
The crisis has spawned parodic and sarcastic images both mocking Germany and German chancellor Angela Merkel’s apparent invitation of migrants, but also the apparent indifference or outright hostility of Europe, the European Union, or individual countries, most notably, the border fences erected and the lack of wide-ranging search and rescue operations on the Mediterranean Sea.