Migrants as a crisis of civilization - OPINION

  07 October 2015    Read: 7204
Migrants as a crisis of civilization - OPINION
by Urkhan Seyidov

Made by its own history Europe has faced with an unprecedented crisis of morality and humanism. For the first time since the idea of creating a unified European states, the economic - and now migration crisis portend a future split among European countries. According to Spengler, a crisis of any civilization comes when it reaches its peak, after which it would return to its original image.

Europe is unlikely to revert to the Inquisition or the Crusades, although the latter seems to end at all (if we recall the intervention in Iraq, Syria, and Libya). However, even modern Europe has originated not after the Reformation, but rather, after the end of World War II. Therefore, it is only there that they have to go back.

And it`s not just about the Nazis, but also modern ultra-rightists. They believe in the oneness of their nation and call not only to limit the number of migrants - de facto refugees in their country, but sometimes they stand for religious segregation, the erection of new walls, restoration of border crossings and the abolition of the Schengen, as well as for a return to the national currency, and perhaps withdrawal from the EU as a whole. Thus, the head of European diplomacy Federica Mogherini said: "Not all European leaders recognize the fact that to act as the common European front is in their common interests".

This unwillingness to accept migrants is surprising - it is well known that Europe is aging. According to the report of the European Commission on the age composition of the population for 2015, 28% of the EU population by 2050 will have reached retirement age, and by 2060th there will be two potentially people working(now - about four) per each European pensioner.
In order to keep the ratio of the elderly and other age groups, at least at the current level, the number of younger members of society should increase much faster than it does now. Otherwise, the situation could come to the point that pension programs will become unachievable.

According to the EU border agency Frontex, since the beginning of 2015, 340 thousand migrants have arrived to the territory of the European Union. This figure is 175% higher than for the relevant period in 2014. However, political leaders of the European countries are concerned that the local population will not accept such significant changes in the face of Europe, and therefore they do not give priority to the cost-effectiveness of decision-making. According to Ms. Mogherini "when rich Europe hardly decides to accept 100,000 refugees, while in Turkey there are 2 million refugees, it is clear that there is a problem with the vision of the future and self-identification". Perhaps, that is why European countries have stepped on a dangerous path, not just refusing to grant refugee status to migrants, but in addition, dividing them into "simple" and "economic". People are fleeing their countries to escape conflict and persecution, swimming across the sea, suffocating in containers, risking their lives and the lives of their children. But having reached the coveted goal, they are faced with tough "great bureaucratic wall of the West".

Azerbaijan faced the same problem more than 20 years ago. Due to the Armenian occupation of a fifth of the territory of our country, Azerbaijan has about 1 million internally displaced persons and refugees, according to the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs.

5.4 billion dollars have been spent on the needs of these people over the past two decades.

If we compare the figures, the current number of migrants and refugees is only 0.1% of Europe`s population, whereas in Azerbaijan this ratio is 10%. However, despite such a high rate and the wounds of war, Azerbaijan is not a mono-ethnic state: Russians, Georgians, Jews, Tatars, Ukrainians, Greeks and even Armenians live on the territory of Azerbaijan.

And while Europe is nervously looking for a way out of the situation, Azerbaijan has already found it: 4 UN resolutions, each of which condemns the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, and demands immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from these territories. Unfortunately, these resolutions have so far remained unfulfilled, thus complicating the overall situation in the region.

Europe as always refuses to take concrete actions, which would contribute to resolving the problems of non-European peoples. Even the shocking photo of a dead 3-year-old Syrian boy Alan Kurdy found in the Turkish beach was not able to shake and motivate to action the cozy little world of Europe. Similarly, Europe has not shuddered after the massacre in Khojaly, where dozens of children were not just tragically killed, but were killed savagely. Apparently, someone else’s pain does not hurt, and someone else`s tears – are not their sorrow...

This just clearly shows us that European civilization, one of the basic values of which is humanism, today, is undergoing a serious crisis, casting doubt on its past achievements and priorities.

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