'Why Europe is tired of welcoming refugees'
BY MARIELLA RADAELLI
and JON VAN HOUSEN
www.luminosityitalia.com
MILAN, ITALY -- As Europe faces its worst refugee crisis since WWII, post-war humanitarian policies across the continent are under siege from the economic realities of today and a backlash from average citizens often struggling with high taxes that fund compassionate social policies.
Just as some members of the 28-member European Union begin to emerge from the economic malaise that followed the 2008 global economic crisis, migrants are arriving in unprecedented numbers. More than 1 million arrived in Europe last year, including 300,000 by sea, as they fled conflict and economic desperation in their home countries. An estimated 3,000 died or vanished at sea in their quest for a better life in Europe. And the toll continues -- in the first month of 2016 another 244 died, according to the International Organization for Migration.
And many who made it found it a dubious victory as they failed to find work and a fulfilling way of life.
Both migrants and European citizens are wary and confused. New arrivals have found countries with already high unemployment rates and little meaningful work available. Those who manage to open small shops might serve a limited clientele of other immigrants as time-honored European cuisines and traditions carry on in well-established local operations.
Yet whether it’s accurate or not, many Europeans now hold the view that migrants are getting better treatment than taxpaying residents through free daycare for their children, healthcare, reduced or free rent and even subsidized cellphone service.
www.luminosityitalia.com
MILAN, ITALY -- As Europe faces its worst refugee crisis since WWII, post-war humanitarian policies across the continent are under siege from the economic realities of today and a backlash from average citizens often struggling with high taxes that fund compassionate social policies.
Just as some members of the 28-member European Union begin to emerge from the economic malaise that followed the 2008 global economic crisis, migrants are arriving in unprecedented numbers. More than 1 million arrived in Europe last year, including 300,000 by sea, as they fled conflict and economic desperation in their home countries. An estimated 3,000 died or vanished at sea in their quest for a better life in Europe. And the toll continues -- in the first month of 2016 another 244 died, according to the International Organization for Migration.
And many who made it found it a dubious victory as they failed to find work and a fulfilling way of life.
Both migrants and European citizens are wary and confused. New arrivals have found countries with already high unemployment rates and little meaningful work available. Those who manage to open small shops might serve a limited clientele of other immigrants as time-honored European cuisines and traditions carry on in well-established local operations.
Yet whether it’s accurate or not, many Europeans now hold the view that migrants are getting better treatment than taxpaying residents through free daycare for their children, healthcare, reduced or free rent and even subsidized cellphone service.
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