Controversies ignite

Hello readers! I hope you guys enjoyed reading my last post and I hope also that it answered any questions that you  might have had. So in my last post I talked about all the countries that came together to help the refugees. I also went a bit into detail about Germany because in the refugee crisis they have been one of the prime supporters/helpers. Germany has been making quite a few news headlines recently for positive helping during the refugee crisis and  this week they made headlines once again... but for a less positive reason.

As a suspected arson fire was causing immense damage to an old hotel turned into a refugee home in eastern Germany,  a crowd of people were cheering and celebrating as Syrian families were fleeing their home as it burned. Luckily nobody was hurt... this time. Police are worried that this could spark new concerns about violence towards the newcomers. One of the police officers said that people were saying derogatory remarks and showing their joy for the fire with pride.

Now of course there are people that will be very welcoming to the new refugees because they are open to the idea but there are also people that are not open to welcoming them and thats alright because everyone has a different way of thinking as well as a different opinion when it comes to big changes like welcoming millions of refugees into your home country. Personally myself, I have very mixed emotions about the whole refugee crisis, but I will talk more about that in another post. In Germany, the people that are not welcoming to the idea have definitely voiced their opinion by organizing protests in front of refugee homes.  At the scene of the fire police officers had to ask three people to leave the scene because they were trying to distract the firefighters from doing their job. Two of the people were detained after traces of fire accelerant were found on the scene.

This isn't the first alarming situation that has happened in Germany regarding the refugees. Back awhile ago a mob threw bottles and fireworks at the police officers that were setting up a shelter for the refugees. Also, this past Thursday as refugees were arriving in a bus  to the small town of Clausnitz, people were blocking the way shouting at the refugees to go
 home. The governor of Clausnitz said that both of those situations were horrible and that he is surprised. 

In my opinion, I dont think that this will be the last situation like this. Its unfortunate but I do see this happening again in the future for sure. Whether its a fire or a riot, the introduction of Syrian refugees will remain a hotly debated controversy.  What is in store for the future? Will people start to be more open minded to the newcomers or will they reject the idea even more? I guess only time will tell. Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it:)

Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/02/22/onlookers-cheer-as-fire-damages-refugee-center-in-germany.html

Countries come together

Hello everyone! I am super duper happy that everyone enjoyed reading my last post so much, it makes writing new posts so much more exciting! So in my last post I talked about Canada and how newly elected Prime minister Justin Trudeau entered the project of helping the refugees. I've had many requests to talk about the other countries that are involved in helping so that's what  I will be talking about in this post.

Since the beginning of the war in Syria, almost 4 million refugees have left the country and fled to other countries. Many long journeys such as great walking distances and crossing large bodies of water have been undertaken by the refugees to reach safer countries. Many countries have accepted the refugees but other countries have chosen to not get involved. Countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Greece have taken in large amounts of refugees. Turkey leading with 1,9 million refugees, followed by Lebanon with 1,5 million refugees, and then Jordan with 1,4 million and finally Greece with a quarter of a million. Unfortunately those countries are not offering permanent homes and are only offering refugee camps for a temporary amount of time in hopes to send the refugees back when the war is over. 

But countries like Italy, The United States of America, Australia, Germany, Sweden, France and Britain are offering permanent homes for the refugees. Italy has taken in 110,00 refugees, the USA has taken in only 1,500 but has given 4.1 billion dollars since 2012 to Syria to help, Australia has taken in 4,400 refugees, Sweden has taken in 80 000, France has taken in 24 000 and Britain plans on taking in 20 000 by then end of 2020. But out of all those countries, there is one that has taken in the largest number of permanent refugees which is Germany with 1.8 million taken in.

 Now you may be asking yourself a couple of questions like why would Germany take in so many permanently? Well here's the answer. Germany estimates that the work force will drop 6 million people by 2030 because the death rate is higher than the birth rate, making it hard to keep a growing expansion. Many businesses are relieved because a large number of refugees are  seeking jobs and will practically take anything that is offered to them. Daniel Kok, an owner of a flooring business has been looking for a few new employees and so he hired refugee Tesfagebriel Abraha and offered him a position until 2018. Over the past few years 1,5 million job opportunities   have been opened and Germany hopes that the refugees will help fill in those job positions.

 Another possible question that you might be asking yourself is why some countries have only offered temporary living arrangements. Its a complicated issue and these countries have simple decided that they do not want  to permanently take in a bunch of newcomers as it isn't possible to help. For example in Jordan, the refugees are already struggling with water and energy resources.

In my opinion I think that as a world it is our job to come together and help our countries in need. Fortunate countries need to put themselves in the shoes of unfortunate countries like Syria and realize that we can't just abandon them and that it is our duty to help them during their tough times.

Many countries have come together in helping the refugees. Some countries have decided to take in the refugees and some countries have decided not to and have decided to only provide temporary conditions. Is there  a right or wrong decision? I guess only time will tell. In my next post I will be talking about families that have settled in to their new countries and experiences that they have had. I hope you enjoyed reading this post and are looking forward to my next post:)

Sources;
1)http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-migrants-scorecard-20150908-story.html
2)http://www.businessinsider.com/r-in-ageing-germany-refugees-seen-as-tomorrows-skilled-workers-2015-9

A tough time for Syrian refugees

Since the spring of  2011, the Syrian war has become a talked about topic worldwide. The country was and pretty much still is in major distress. Innocent people continue to be killed with no solution to the crisis at hand. The world we humans claim to have is falling apart. Many problems are arising and at this point there are far too many to even think about repairing, but I guess we have to take everything one step at a time.  Newly elected prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has decided to involve Canada in helping give the Syrian people a brighter future along with a better and much safer life by allowing them to immigrate to Canada. 

However they face great difficulties integrating into Canadian society for reasons  such as language barriers because they speak neither English or french. Also because of religious beliefs, the men of Syria believe that their women shouldn't work in public jobs to be able to help support their families.  Another reason for which they'll face economic hardships is because many are coming to Canada with injuries and/or sicknesses that will make getting a job difficult.  

For many years to come the new coming Syrian families will be forced to rely on social welfare systems. In a recent Windsor Star story, they interviewed a new Syrian family to see how everything was working out for them so far here in Canada. The man told the interviewers about how before they moved to Canada and lived in Syria, a group of men came up to him, his wife and their five children and demanded them to give them their car. The man said no way and then drove away with his family. It wasn't over though. The group of men tracked the man and his family down and stole the car and kidnapped the man and threw him into prison and tortured him for 3 months. When the man came out of prison, he explained to the interviewers that his hand was severely damaged and he had lost almost all function in his hand.  

After he explained his story he expressed his fears about not  being able to get a job since the jobs offered to him consisted mainly of manual labor which he can't do because of his injury. His main fear is not being able to feed his wife and five children. He hopes that now that he is in Canada and has full benefits, that he will be able to get his hand fixed and provide for his family. 

In my opinion I think that Justin Trudeau is making a good decision to bring in the refugees because no family deserves to go through an experience like that. All humans should have the right to live a life without fear of being captured and tortured. I just hope we can bring and help as many as possible in moderation of course. In my next post, I will go more into detail about the problems and the future for the Syrian refugees. Be sure to read up on my next post. Thank you:)

Here is a video of our Prime Minister greeting the Syrian refugees arriving in Toronto

 http://windsorstar.com/?s=syrian+refugees