With the exception of Brazil, none of those countries have much history or success with immigrants of diverse backgrounds.
In spite of the current political climate, only the Western Hemisphere and perhaps Australia can claim much success at a being a “melting pot”. As one who was raised as a Christian in the U.S., I know that congregations have often assisted with mass immigration of refugees. We should be able to do it again.
The more for them to learn then to be sure. I sure, for instance large parts of Africa could learn immensly from a large European immigration wave.
Europe has an absolutely atrocious success rate at integrating and assimilating immigrants.
Let’s look at some numbers.
China- 300,000
India- 185,000
Japan- 2,600
Saudi Arabia- 600
Kuwait- 300
UAE- 600
Kenya- 650,000
Senegal- 20,000
Israel- 41,000
Taiwan-unknown
Brazil- 4,500
For comparison, Iceland generously agreed to take 50 Syrians.
Not everyone is a stellar performer (but to be fair, the gulf states host millions of guest workers). But your theory that only Europe hosts refugees is nuts.
I think that was tried a century or two ago… The Chinese seem to be trying again - I hope (but doubt) it will turn out better this time. At best, Africa might do better with African refugees but the waves of economic migrants makes me skeptical.
The cultural barriers to assimilation and citizenship for immigrants in the Mid and Far East are far more difficult to overcome with “learning” than the political obstacles in the U.S. and other nations.
Sad but true.
So that puts China and India in about the same category as Iceland, compared to population. Righty.
We can’t be bothered to take in any refugees from neighboring countries but to be fair, we do host millions of third world workers which we give no rights and work like slaves.
Did you even read what I wrote? I specifically replied to this: “… but I would expand the challenge to every religious congregation and school in the western world.” Take up the issue of Western Exceptionalism with jasg. He’s the one that subscribes to it.
Not like the way people died in that truck.
Who are these people who think that?
All true. It sucks to be a refugee. But being one doesn’t give you a free pass to the country of your choice. Germany and Sweden are being very generous. I suspect that generocity has a limit, though.
I was going to write something more coherent, but frankly it is disgusting for you to say that people who were forced from their homes and their lives by some of the most horrific violence we’ve seen in a generation, and then undertaken a journey that is known to be extraordinarily deadly, killing thousands each year, as having a “free pass” to anything. Disgusting. Absolutely a disgusting, inhuman, arrogant and callous way to phrase that. Shame on you.
Especially since you are the one who actually got a “free pass” to the thing people are dying to get.
Refugees are part and parcel of the modern world. When people cannot return safely to their homes, they need to have a place where they can live as free, legal, permanent residents with the freedom to work. That’s the practical reality- people will not waste the only life they have in a camp.
If we want refugees to immigrate in a way that is organized and distributed across countries in a way that makes sense, we need to work together as an international community to do that. But as long as epople are playing games (and Europe is setting a fine example of this,) refugees will go wherever it makes the most sense for them according to whatever means are available to them.
Oh, please. I didn’t realize that I had to genuflect before entering the church of discussion about holy refugees. Well, I’ve not been the church going type for decades, so I’m not about to start now.
I have every bit as much sympathy for these folks as you do. If I were in their place, I’d probably be doing the exact same thing. But facts are facts, and people in this thread are acting as if these refugees have A LEGAL RIGHT to pick the country they will be refugees in. They don’t. If that upsets you, don’t blame me for pointing out a fact.
I agree about Germany and Sweden – the rest of Europe (and Israel, the US, and others) should follow their examples, in my opinion.
Agree. And the US should shoulder much more of the burden, too. But it’s still unclear to me that these refugees, suffering as they are, should be granted residency without regard to returning to their native country should the civil war come to end at some point. Some have legit asylum claims, but I can’t believe that all or even most do.
Here are the “refugees” being offered help in Hungary. Guess that’s how “needy people” behave.
Here’s one “refugee”'s salute to his hosts.
Let’s all find videos of brown people behaving badly!
They look pretty white to me. Adjust your monitor.
I wonder what the widows and children of every U.S. Serviceman who died since this Country was born would have thought of your “free pass”?
That makes all the difference.
It does, because it proves that Terr’s accusation isn’t based on racism.
I see no reason why a healthy young man who threatens to kill his benefactors shouldn’t be on the next train to the middle east.
I do remember when the first Gulf war happened I heard a report about a soldier that saw in a tv in the middle east the protests that then took place in the USA against the war.
The soldier just commented that he believed and agreed that he was risking his life and was willing to die so they would had the right to be free to protest.
I never said it did; I was mocking his video links because one can easily find videos of individuals from pretty much every single ethnic, national, and religious group behaving badly, and such videos prove nothing.
I have found that nativism is not much better.
And as seen by most of all the pictures and testimonials is that only very few of all those refugees are dumb like that and that need to be sent back.