Barriers in Austria too?
 

I am sorry to read that Austria is also going to erect border barriers dealing with the migrant crisis. So in a time of more open borders we find European nations not reversing their policies. This has become such a major set back. As Boston Globe says 10/29 "All of these existing or planned fences are either on outer EU borders or between two EU countries ..." What a tragedy when so many Syrians or others must leave their homes. Can you imagine how it would be for you? Uncertainty, suffering, disease, maybe death faces you.

Instead of condemning those coping with the never ending stream of refugees and economic migrants how about asking why the United States, Canada and Australia, all sizeable countries better able to absorb the numbers involved, are not doing their bit?
Especially as the US is partially responsible for the mess in the first place.

Today, the Austrian government said that some fences in the vicinity of border checkpoints to Slovenia would be built so that refugees would not (by chance or purpose) by-pass the official registration.
The government strongly declined that the purpose of the short fences was to close the border - stating that the planned length and structure of the fences would be unsuitable to act as a solid barrier even if someone wanted that.
The Austrian chancellor, i.e. head of government, gave an official speech saying "There won't be a fence to Hungary, there won't be a fence to Slovenia. Fences don't solve this problem."

Hadn't the USA not invaded Iraq we hadn't Islamic State and war in Syria. Bush senior was much smarter than his son who wanted to play gunslinger.

So, what do you think that European states should do with millions of refugees? They do not speak our language, they do not have our values, they do not respect our laws, they have no vocational skills and - I am sad to say that - most of them refuse to work (the BMW plant in Dingolfing offered 20 jobs for Syrian refugees and none of them accepted to work 8 hours a day with eight weeks payed holiday per year).

For our countries, it is a huge burden to pay for all these refugees (we have to increase our taxes), to find accomodation for them and to handle over-angry, aggressive young men who do not respect female police officers, teachers and officials.

traveller1959 - you certainly seem to enjoy expressing your anti-American bias in this and other posts.

It is no way anti-American bias to point out the obvious. Without the ill-considered Iraq invasion it is highly unlikely we would have the current refugee crisis. I know of no reason why Europe should be expected to absorb these refugees, for all the reasons stated by traveller1959. And they are not, in almost all cases, refugees. They ceased to be refugees when they left the first safe country. They are illegal economic migrants.

My experience with Syrians is that they are some of the friendliest people I have ever met, their country is made up of some of the most diverse groups on the planet, with coptic Christians living right next to Sufi and even sharing the same local saints. The country has been a battle field for much of the last 2000 years and the present regime is especially unpleasant with a large secret police force and is supported by some of the more corrupt nations on the planet. I don't think it is possible to blame one outside country for this disaster, there are just too many.

Given that a lot of the people no longer want to live under the local management of religious nut cases and bigots I see the problem as one that the whole world needs to resolve.

This amazingly includes countries other than Lebanon, Turkey and Jordon who are actually carrying the lion's share of the load.

I have a lot of time for Merkel, but telling the destitute that "we have 800,000 spaces if you want them" was almost like giving $2000 a person to the people traffikers. (yes that is $1.6 billion and people say that crime does not pay). Those who have made it will have been mainly from the middle class (ie still have some savings) and who want to go home to a safe country.

I'm just grateful I havn't had to make the journey they have, or the journey that the Germans had to make in 1945 when Poland moved 200 miles west and threw them out, or the partition of India at about the same time and affected 20million+ people, of the the Jews having to send their children to US and UK because there was no room for adults etc etc.

If you want to understand more of this read some of the books about the period before ww2 and after ww2, this allows you to see first how the Germans treated their "problems" and how the Germans/Austrians were treated in their turn by the allies. As a horrible man I once met described it to me, "we stood at the border and whatever they passed to us we took and whoever they passed to us we threw back" let's at least behave better than that.

It ain't nice and it's happening under our watch.

Funny, I visited Syria and did not find them the friendliest people. I was sexually harassed by a boy hardly into his teens, had to see virtually all the woman (aside from a few Christians) shrouded in black, and listen to a man claim that it really wasn't hot under those shrouds except maybe a couple of months a year.

I could see that there was a shortage of good arable land, a shortage of water, and an excess of people. Every driver I had told me he had ten, twelve, thirteen children. I figured then (2009) that Syria was a time bomb, I just didn't expect it to go off so soon. I still fail to see why Europeans are expected to pick up the pieces.

I was there in 2007, saw no one in a Burqa and only one in a Hijab during 2 weeks, though in mosques women would cover their hair. Sorry about the assault, not a good thing.

We cycled all over the place and were greeted by everyone so that my "smile" muscles hurt after the first 2 hours every morning. Various people helped us along (whether by kindness or pressure from the secret police I know not) and at least two restaurant meals we were not allowed to pay. I have fond memories of breakfasting with a tank regiment who had formed up in the orchard below our hotel one night.

Child birth, what you expect from a country at that position in the economic cycle, the demographics are perfectly normal and would be similar to say the UK or US in the 1910s. If you had no affective banks and no social security you would store your wealth in your children.

Europeans arn't expected to pick up the pieces, humanity is, I seem to remember a phrase about, "if your neighbour's house is on fire you lend him a hose". Now who was that??

As an American expat living in Vienna, I have been assisting with the streams of incoming migrants into Vienna's main train station, doing everything from sorting clothing to slicing hundreds of peppers and tomatoes and Halal sausages each morning (between 0530 and 0700) for breakfast to squirting toothpaste on brushes for those aged 2+ to escorting families to shelters in the dark of the morning. The situation is desperate.

The migrants are not all arriving from Syria; many are coming from the Balkan states and the Stans, and even from Africa, as well. While many compare this to the migration of Europeans before and in the early days of WWII, this is very different. I have met many migrants with an English-language comprehension (and degrees) that would shame most of us native speakers. I have met some of the friendliest and most humble people ever in the Syrian families I have assisted.

But I am not naive. I know that this is a terrible situation for which a solution will only be muddied with politics. In the meantime, my DH and DD will manage breakfasts in our warm and dry home on their own while I help those seeking a better life, one squirt of toothpaste at a time.

SO far it has been Lebanon, Jordan Turkey and increasingly Europe picking up the pieces. And by Europe I mean mainland Europe and Scandinavia.
The vast majority arriving are men. They have left their families behind. Once they get "status" they will bring over their families, not just wives and children but brothers, cousins, uncles, nephews.

They are currently complaining about the conditions in which they are housed in Europe. How are European countries supposed to find and pay for housing for these numbers of people, at short notice, let alone feed them and provide health care and later find work for them ?

Yes humanity should pick up the pieces, but so far a good many wealthy countries are noticeably not doing so.

There is a disturbing rise in right wing politics in Europe, due to many people, mostly the less educated and most vulnerable in society, feeling overwhelmed and alienated in their own countries. This is only going to increase as more and more refugees, and economic migrants (since a large number of those coming are not true refugees but opportunistic Bosnians, Albanian, Pakistanis et al) arriving and getting priority over locals for housing.

I do not like it when some people say the refugees are all uneducated or untrained.. bull.

I am sure there is a full mix.. from goatherder to dentist and doctors..

I agree that there is almost certainly a mix of skills and education. However, I suspect that when it comes to religion the majority are Muslim. This is starting to look like the third Muslim invasion of Europe. I am all for resisting this one, just as Europe resisted the last two.

I understand perfectly that there is much poverty in the world and that there are civil wars in several countries on the planet. I also understand that people are suffering and are desparate to leave their homelands in order to find a better and safer place for living.

But simply look at the globe. Europe is way too small to receive millions of refugees from several continents.

Think a little further. Practically all of Africa wants to immigrate into Europe although Africa is mankind's cradle, has perfect climate and is full of natural resources. The Middle East and North Africa is full of extremist Islamists who drive the native people out of their countries.

How shall the future be? The Middle East empty of population? Africa empty of population? Everyone in Europe, living on welfare, paid by whom - the ageing European population?

And a last word regarding Anti-American bias. I found President George Bush Senior extremely smart to disarm Iraq but not to invade Iraq and destroy the state. Is this anti-American?

yes.. its anti American to find fault with anything( custom, culture, politician , food, ) American. Past or present. Facts be dammed. Its perfect there and if you don't think so its because you live in a country that feels inferior or jealous of America.

Bless you, fourfortravel, and thank you very much for your volunteer work!

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Americans lecturing on the subjects of racial harmony, inequality, social justice, poverty, racial integration?

Any of you been out the front door recently?

swandav2000, thank you for your kind words. I feel privileged to be able to help, and, especially, to leave the judging to others. The migrant crisis is difficult for Europe (and the world), but at least I can do something to make someone's life a little better.

Kudos to you, fourfortravel.
Actions speak louder than words.

fourfortravel: ((Y))

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