* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
A banner proclaiming “World in Union” hit an intriguing note to me as I walked down Twickenham high street over the weekend. The Rugby World Cup has kicked off in earnest in England and we are in the grip of sporting fever.
But a sense of unity and welcoming friendship probably seems far off if you are a refugee in Europe today. Are we really a “world in union”? This strap-line rings a tone of irony especially on a day like today - the United Nations International Day of Peace, with a sub theme of “Partnerships for Peace – Dignity for All”. Peace, partnership and dignity seem to be elusive.
The refugee crisis has dominated our small screens and newspaper front pages for the last few weeks now. Pictures of three year old Aylan Kurdi’s body tragically washed up on the shores of Turkey galvanised many governments into action - it certainly woke up the public. However although we have heard of various pledges by leaders to take more refugees and to offer other types of assistance, all this rhetoric is yet to be backed by a unified approach from European Union (EU) member states with strong coordination and planning.
Last week the world waited to see if the EU ministers would go some way toward finding concrete measures to cope with the escalating refugee crisis. They didn’t. Tomorrow (22nd Sept) and on Wednesday, it’s round two. World Vision strongly believes that there must be immediate action to ensure refugees are better cared for and a clearer idea of how they will be looked after.
In Hungary and Serbia, where many refugees are living in limbo, the scenes that followed the stalled talks last week were of chaos and confusion. Since then some countries have tightened border controls and even responded with razor wire and tear gas. There’s been inadequate refugee registration, transport and management operation. This has led to desperation from many refugees, as illustrated by chaotic scenes on our TV screens.
World Vision has been supporting children by distributing aid in various improvised camps on the Serbia-Hungary border. We are seeing a growing sense of frustration as families have to make do with very little food and shelter. It has become a highly fluid situation where mass and sudden movements of refugees are taking place as they seek whatever means they can to find safe passage. This means thousands of refugees are effectively invisible, difficult to assist and at increased risk. Children, especially those who are unaccompanied, are particularly vulnerable.
Of course the issues being discussed tomorrow are complex and need to be properly thought through and funded. But the price of further EU inaction, delay and disunity - as we saw last week - is going to be further chaos. The people who will continue to bear the brunt of this are children and families. Our staff in Serbia report that children are being forced to sleep outside at night, are eating poorly, have inadequate sanitation facilities and have little to no access to health care despite many having already suffered on their long journeys. Many of these children will be experiencing uncertainty and emotional distress as a result of what they have witnessed in Syria, Iraq and other countries as well as since becoming refugees. They need to be protected, cared for and given stability.
While World Vision and other humanitarian agencies are trying to respond as best we can to ensure refugees receive the assistance they need and are treated with humanity. We cannot do this alone. We need governments to partner with us. We need them to commit to a long-term plan that emphasises burden sharing and puts the needs of the vulnerable, especially children, first. European nations should be responding with an urgently scaled up coordinated operation that ensures refugees are treated with dignity and care.
Ministers will sit in another Brussels conference centre on Tuesday to discuss the future for the refugees in Europe. Their decisions should be made from the perspectives of those refugees sitting outside in open, unsheltered fields waiting for relief. EU leaders need to understand that addressing this crisis requires a dual approach –assistance to refugees in Europe but also the need to address the reasons they continue to flee their homes. We need more political courage and foresight in resolving crises around the world and their many root causes. At the same time there needs to be adequate resources to provide assistance to refugees in countries neighbouring those in conflict and a willingness by all countries to fulfil their international legal obligations by providing asylum to those fleeing persecution.
So as we now all enjoy the rugby, let’s hope the slogan of unity becomes more of a reality.
