It has been 12 years since the conflict in Syria began to displace Syrians from their homes into neighboring countries. Since then, their numbers in Turkey have reached 3.7 million. In the absence of any traditional durable solutions — in the form of voluntary return, resettlement, or local integration — the presence of Syrian refugees in Turkey has bec protracted, with no end in sighr
Showing posts with label Refugees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Refugees. Show all posts
5/29/23
3/10/22
Ukraine war: More than 1.9 million internally displaced by Russia's invasion, says UN
An estimated 1.9 million people are displaced within Ukraine, according to UN officials, adding to the more than 2.3 million who have fled the country following Russia's invasion.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday that most of the internally displaced people are moving away from the front lines and heading west toward Lviv. The humanitarian situation “continues to deteriorate at an alarming pace,” he said.
Read more at: Ukraine war: More than 1.9 million internally displaced by Russia's invasion, says UN | Euronews
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday that most of the internally displaced people are moving away from the front lines and heading west toward Lviv. The humanitarian situation “continues to deteriorate at an alarming pace,” he said.
Read more at: Ukraine war: More than 1.9 million internally displaced by Russia's invasion, says UN | Euronews
2/14/22
Afghanatan - EU relations: Meet the Afghans making Europe their home after Taliban takeover | Euronews
Six months on from the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, we catch up with four Afghans who fled and
have made Europe their new home. Atefa, Reza, Zahra and Farid are among tens of thousands airlifted to Europe in the aftermath of 15 August 2021.
Many are trying to adapt to life in their corner of Europe, while at the same time worrying about those they left behind in Afghanistan.
Read more at: Meet the Afghans making Europe their home after Taliban takeover | Euronews
have made Europe their new home. Atefa, Reza, Zahra and Farid are among tens of thousands airlifted to Europe in the aftermath of 15 August 2021.
Many are trying to adapt to life in their corner of Europe, while at the same time worrying about those they left behind in Afghanistan.
Read more at: Meet the Afghans making Europe their home after Taliban takeover | Euronews
8/19/21
Biden: US may stay in Afghanistan beyond August 31
US forces will stay in Afghanistan until all US citizens are out of the country, even if that means staying beyond the August 31 deadline, President Joe Biden told ABC News in an interview on Wednesday.
The president said he was committed to getting all Americans who want to leave Afghanistan out of the country. His administration had set the end of August as the deadline for all troops to leave.
But he accepted the possible need to stay longer. "If there are American citizens left, we're going to stay until we get them all out," he said.
Read more at: Biden: US may stay in Afghanistan beyond August 31 | News | DW | 18.08.2021
The president said he was committed to getting all Americans who want to leave Afghanistan out of the country. His administration had set the end of August as the deadline for all troops to leave.
But he accepted the possible need to stay longer. "If there are American citizens left, we're going to stay until we get them all out," he said.
Read more at: Biden: US may stay in Afghanistan beyond August 31 | News | DW | 18.08.2021
5/14/20
Middle East: Pandemic 'shock' could destabilise Middle East, EU fears - by Andrew Rettman
The economic "shock" of the pandemic could aggravate crises on
Europe's southern fringe, EU diplomats fear, amid other concerns on
Israeli annexation.
"From a political perspective, the impact of the pandemic may exacerbate the many existing crises affecting the [Middle East and North Africa] region," the EU foreign service said in an internal report on 8 May, seen by EUobserver.
The Syria war "may also see another wave of refugees towards Europe", it noted. "The tragedy of the conflict only deteriorates in Yemen," it added.
Other countries in the region also risked instability due to the "triple parallel shock on [falling] revenues, from oil, tourism, and remittances", the EU report warned.
"All this may result in increased risk of social upheavals, jeopardising security and stability in the region" and create "tensions between secularists and Islamists," it said.
"The plummeting oil price will have huge impact in Algeria," it noted.
"Iraq, due to the combination of political instability, insecurity, and low oil prices stands out as a country the EU should focus its attention on," it said.
"The pandemic can only worsen things in the protracted Libya crisis", it said.
Read more at: Pandemic 'shock' could destabilise Middle East, EU fears
"From a political perspective, the impact of the pandemic may exacerbate the many existing crises affecting the [Middle East and North Africa] region," the EU foreign service said in an internal report on 8 May, seen by EUobserver.
The Syria war "may also see another wave of refugees towards Europe", it noted. "The tragedy of the conflict only deteriorates in Yemen," it added.
Other countries in the region also risked instability due to the "triple parallel shock on [falling] revenues, from oil, tourism, and remittances", the EU report warned.
"All this may result in increased risk of social upheavals, jeopardising security and stability in the region" and create "tensions between secularists and Islamists," it said.
"The plummeting oil price will have huge impact in Algeria," it noted.
"Iraq, due to the combination of political instability, insecurity, and low oil prices stands out as a country the EU should focus its attention on," it said.
"The pandemic can only worsen things in the protracted Libya crisis", it said.
Read more at: Pandemic 'shock' could destabilise Middle East, EU fears
3/1/20
EU calls emergency meeting on deepening Turkey-Syria crisis
Brussels has called an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers as Turkey’s escalating conflict with the Syrian regime risks creating a new refugee crisis.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said that the fighting around the province of Idlib, Syria’s last rebel-held enclave, represented “a serious threat to international peace and security” and that the EU had to “redouble efforts to address this terrible human crisis with all the means at its disposal”.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, declared on Saturday that his country had “opened the gates” to the EU for the 4m refugees currently living in Turkey as he sought to pressure Europe into providing Ankara with greater support in Idlib.
Read more at: EU calls emergency meeting on deepening Turkey-Syria crisis | Financial Times
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, declared on Saturday that his country had “opened the gates” to the EU for the 4m refugees currently living in Turkey as he sought to pressure Europe into providing Ankara with greater support in Idlib.
Read more at: EU calls emergency meeting on deepening Turkey-Syria crisis | Financial Times
2/29/20
EU: Coronavirus could be a bigger test for the EU than the refugee crisis
Most dramatically, the Turkish government this week backed off from its commitment made in 2016, in return for 6 billion euros in EU funds, to prevent Syrian refugees from entering Europe. That followed a Thursday airstrike by Russian-backed Syrian forces in Syria’s Idlib province, killing at least 33 Turkish troops, with some turkish sources claiming more than 150 troops killed.
Even as Turkey ordered police, coast guard and border security officials to allow would-be refugees to pass into the EU, Bulgaria responded by sending an extra 1,000 troops to the frontier with Turkey and Greek police launched smoke grenades at one crossing to dissuade migrants.
Containing pathogens is a much different business than managing waves of refugees. However, what unites the two issues is how dramatically the European Union’s response will shape public attitudes about the institution’s relevance, responsiveness, and effectiveness at a crucial historic moment.
The impact of coronavirus on Europe’s future has the potential to be even more significant than the migrant crisis, particularly as it unfolds in almost biblical fashion atop a plague of other European maladies.
Tourist wearing protective respiratory mask tours outside the Colosseo monument were a common sight in the center of Rome..
The ripples from the European migrant crisis of 2015 continue until today with its dual shock to the EU’s unity and domestic politics. It triggered a wave of populism and nationalism, the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, and Germany’s political fragmentation behind the weakening of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Even as Turkey ordered police, coast guard and border security officials to allow would-be refugees to pass into the EU, Bulgaria responded by sending an extra 1,000 troops to the frontier with Turkey and Greek police launched smoke grenades at one crossing to dissuade migrants.
Containing pathogens is a much different business than managing waves of refugees. However, what unites the two issues is how dramatically the European Union’s response will shape public attitudes about the institution’s relevance, responsiveness, and effectiveness at a crucial historic moment.
The impact of coronavirus on Europe’s future has the potential to be even more significant than the migrant crisis, particularly as it unfolds in almost biblical fashion atop a plague of other European maladies.
They include, but by no means are limited to: economic slowdown and possible recession (made more likely by coronavirus), the rise of populism and nationalism (stoked as well by the virus), disagreements about how to handle trade talks with a departing United Kingdom (which start Monday), internecine fights over the European budget, and ongoing German leadership crisis and French social upheaval.
The coronavirus morphed this past week into an increasingly global phenomenon that experts agree can no longer be contained. The hit to stock markets was $6 trillion, the biggest weekly fall since the 2008 financial crisis. By Friday, the WHO reported more than 78,000 cases and more than 2,790 deaths ion China – and 70 deaths in 52 other countries.
In Europe, what began as northern Italian phenomenon – where there have been more than 800 infections – has now reached Spain, Greece, Croatia, France, the UK, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, North Macedonia, and San Marino.
For Europe the Corana Virus is certainly a wake-up call and a national European Medical Emergency.
Read more at: Coronavirus could be a bigger test for the EU than the refugee crisis
2/15/20
Syria: 'Catastrophe' looms as displaced Syrians flee toward closed Turkish border
Syrian families have been fleeing their homes and pushing toward a closed border with Turkey as government troops backed by Russia seek to regain control of the last opposition enclave in the country.
Read more at :
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-displaced-closed-border-1.5463295
Read more at :
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-displaced-closed-border-1.5463295
1/24/20
Development aid versus military spending - a lopsided disaster - by RM
If we look at the 5 largest economies in the world, and their latest official figures, re: their military budgets this is what we see. Mind you, these "official" figures are just the top of the iceberg, governments do have a history of hiding some military expenditures in other budgets.
China : $ 146 billion
EU: 220
India 53
Russia 69
USA 639
Total $ 1.1 trillion
Please note that the figures above do not include the overall global expenditures, as to military spending, which was $ 1.8 trillion in 2018
In comparison the total amount of development aid provided to countries in need (OECD figures), to military expenditures is quite alarming.
One thing is certain, however, politicians, corporate executives and economists should keep in mind what Abraham Lincoln once said: "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time ".
This EU-Digest report can only be copied or republished if EU-Digest is quoted as the source
10/25/19
Amnesty Intl.: Turkey forced Syrian refugees back into war zone
The human rights watchdog spoke with dozens of refugees who were illegally removed from Turkey and sent back to Syria without a so-called "safe zone" in place. Turkey claims they went back willingly.
Read more at: Amnesty: Turkey forced Syrian refugees back into war zone | News | DW | 25.10.2019:
Read more at: Amnesty: Turkey forced Syrian refugees back into war zone | News | DW | 25.10.2019:
9/29/19
World Day for Migrants and Refugees: 'We cannot remain insensitive': Pope decries world's indifference to migrants, refugees
Pope Francis on Sunday decried "the culture of comfort" that leads to indifference in the face of a global migration and refugee crisis.
The Pope, who has made caring for migrants a major objective of his papacy, spoke during a mass at the Vatican in Rome for the World Day for Migrants and Refugees.
"We cannot be indifferent to the tragedy of old and new forms of poverty, to the bleak isolation, contempt and discrimination experienced by those who do not belong to 'our group,"' Francis said.
"We cannot remain insensitive,our hearts deadened, before the misery of so many innocent people. We must not fail to weep. We must not fail to respond.
The pontiff has often spoken of the need to be welcoming to migrants, travelling to the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2013 on his first trip as Pope to comfort refugees.
His message found political resistance in Italy's previous populist government, during which the former hard-line interior minister, Matteo Salvini, campaigned to prevent the arrival in Italy of migrants rescued at sea by humanitarian groups.
The Pope also noted the weapons that fuel wars are often produced and sold in other regions, "which are then unwilling to take in the refugees generated buy these conflicts."
Read more at: 'We cannot remain insensitive': Pope decries world's indifference to migrants, refugees | CBC News
The Pope, who has made caring for migrants a major objective of his papacy, spoke during a mass at the Vatican in Rome for the World Day for Migrants and Refugees.
"We cannot be indifferent to the tragedy of old and new forms of poverty, to the bleak isolation, contempt and discrimination experienced by those who do not belong to 'our group,"' Francis said.
"We cannot remain insensitive,our hearts deadened, before the misery of so many innocent people. We must not fail to weep. We must not fail to respond.
The pontiff has often spoken of the need to be welcoming to migrants, travelling to the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2013 on his first trip as Pope to comfort refugees.
His message found political resistance in Italy's previous populist government, during which the former hard-line interior minister, Matteo Salvini, campaigned to prevent the arrival in Italy of migrants rescued at sea by humanitarian groups.
The Pope also noted the weapons that fuel wars are often produced and sold in other regions, "which are then unwilling to take in the refugees generated buy these conflicts."
Read more at: 'We cannot remain insensitive': Pope decries world's indifference to migrants, refugees | CBC News
9/5/19
EU - Turkey - US relations: Turkey threatens to open the gates to Europe
Turkey threatens to 'open the gates' to Europe for refugees
Read more at:
https://p.dw.com/p/3P7xU
https://p.dw.com/p/3P7xU
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8/20/19
SPAIN REFUGEES: Bravo Spain and shame to Italy
Spain to send ship to collect Open Arms migrants
Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2019/08/20/eight-migrants-urgently-evacuated-from-open-arms-rescue-boat
https://www.euronews.com/2019/08/20/eight-migrants-urgently-evacuated-from-open-arms-rescue-boat
3/26/18
'EU Turkish Relations: Turkey needs Europe, Europe needs Turkey'
Turkey's
not exactly the flavour of the month in the EU right now, but - as the
two sides meet at a summit in Bulgaria - President Erdogan says it's
time for the bloc to "keep to its promises."
Ankara kicked off formal membership negotiations in 2005 and, all these years on, they have effectively collapsed.
But there's a reluctance to walk away from each other.
"Europe should take its share of the refugees, so that we don't have to depend on people like Erdogan to manage the issue," said Philippe Lamberts, a Belgian Green MEP.
"That obviously requires a little bit of political courage, but at the end of the day, it's our strategic independence from Turkey."
Erdogan's alarmed the West with a massive purge following a failed coup attempt.
But Turkey remains the destination for many Syrians fleeing war - and an important ally in the NATO alliance. So is it really curtains for the membership bid?
"If Turkey cannot relaunch the reform process and is not anymore in a position to meet EU accession criteria, relations will evolve into a kind of partnership and will be shaped more and more around common interests and strategic priorities," commented political analyst Seda Gurkan.
"And Turkey is considered in Brussels actually as an important strategic neighbour or a key partner rather a candidate."
Three billion euros of fresh cash is expected to be pledged to Turkey to lengthen a deal on it taking in Syrian refugees. And for Ankara, the EU is its biggest foreign investor and trading partner.
"Turkey is not doing very well economically, it needs outlets" said Lamberts, "and it is very clear that bad relations with Europe are harmful to Turkey, so somewhere on the economic level Erdogan needs Europe and Europe in fairness needs Turkey."
With Syria, France has been one of the biggest critics of the Turkish military operation in Afrin - saying border security concerns did not justify it.
Read more: 'Turkey needs Europe, Europe needs Turkey' | Euronews
Ankara kicked off formal membership negotiations in 2005 and, all these years on, they have effectively collapsed.
But there's a reluctance to walk away from each other.
"Europe should take its share of the refugees, so that we don't have to depend on people like Erdogan to manage the issue," said Philippe Lamberts, a Belgian Green MEP.
"That obviously requires a little bit of political courage, but at the end of the day, it's our strategic independence from Turkey."
Erdogan's alarmed the West with a massive purge following a failed coup attempt.
But Turkey remains the destination for many Syrians fleeing war - and an important ally in the NATO alliance. So is it really curtains for the membership bid?
"If Turkey cannot relaunch the reform process and is not anymore in a position to meet EU accession criteria, relations will evolve into a kind of partnership and will be shaped more and more around common interests and strategic priorities," commented political analyst Seda Gurkan.
"And Turkey is considered in Brussels actually as an important strategic neighbour or a key partner rather a candidate."
Three billion euros of fresh cash is expected to be pledged to Turkey to lengthen a deal on it taking in Syrian refugees. And for Ankara, the EU is its biggest foreign investor and trading partner.
"Turkey is not doing very well economically, it needs outlets" said Lamberts, "and it is very clear that bad relations with Europe are harmful to Turkey, so somewhere on the economic level Erdogan needs Europe and Europe in fairness needs Turkey."
With Syria, France has been one of the biggest critics of the Turkish military operation in Afrin - saying border security concerns did not justify it.
Read more: 'Turkey needs Europe, Europe needs Turkey' | Euronews
9/28/17
USA-Refugees-Migrants: Trump cuts refugee numbers: How the US compares with the world - nby Ben Westcott
US President Donald Trump's administration announced Wednesday it
would slash the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the United
States.
No more than 45,000 refugees will be allowed into the country
over the coming year under the new plan, less than half the number
proposed by the Obama administration for the current fiscal year.
If implemented, the reduced number would represent the lowest intake of refugees to enter the United States in 10 years under the resettlement program.
Resettlement is the careful selection and relocation by governments, such as the US, of vulnerable refugees who've already been granted asylum by another country.
In Turkey, almost three million people are currently living as refugees, compared to only 227,000 in total in the United States, according to UN statistics.
Both Pakistan and Lebanon host more than a million refugees, while more than 900,000 live in Iran and Uganda respectively.
Germany has the most of any developed Western countries, hosting almost 700,000 in 2016.
These numbers also don't take into account the more than two million still waiting to have their refugee status officially determined across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Read more: Trump cuts refugee numbers: How the US compares with the world
If implemented, the reduced number would represent the lowest intake of refugees to enter the United States in 10 years under the resettlement program.
Resettlement is the careful selection and relocation by governments, such as the US, of vulnerable refugees who've already been granted asylum by another country.
In Turkey, almost three million people are currently living as refugees, compared to only 227,000 in total in the United States, according to UN statistics.
Both Pakistan and Lebanon host more than a million refugees, while more than 900,000 live in Iran and Uganda respectively.
Germany has the most of any developed Western countries, hosting almost 700,000 in 2016.
These numbers also don't take into account the more than two million still waiting to have their refugee status officially determined across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Read more: Trump cuts refugee numbers: How the US compares with the world
9/9/17
Hungary: Why Viktor Orbán has a problem turning his country against immigrants-by Andras Schweitzer
tt seemed like an unexpected gift for the left-liberal opposition when
Hungary’s rightwing Fidesz government started a propaganda campaign in
June 2015 about the dangers of mass immigration.
There were practically no immigrants coming to the country at the time, so showing how pointless and wasteful it was to be spending public money on billboards about the issue looked like an easy battle to win.
But prime minister Viktor Orbán and his government proved to be far-sighted: later in the summer tens of thousands of migrants traveled through the country until a fence was erected at the southern border.
By then the populist government was systematically and regularly finding new enemies of the state to single out. First a daily newspaper close to Fidesz accused a group of philosophers of improper acquisition of research funding – the academics had raised concerns about the government eroding democratic institutions.
Then came attacks on foreign-owned banks and the excessive profits of multinational utility companies. But immigration has received the most attention, with the European commission, Hungarian-born American businessman George Soros, human rights NGOs and liberal organisations all seemingly implicated in a vast conspiracy.
Read more: Why Viktor Orbán has a problem turning his country against immigrants | Andras Schweitzer | Opinion | The Guardian
There were practically no immigrants coming to the country at the time, so showing how pointless and wasteful it was to be spending public money on billboards about the issue looked like an easy battle to win.
But prime minister Viktor Orbán and his government proved to be far-sighted: later in the summer tens of thousands of migrants traveled through the country until a fence was erected at the southern border.
By then the populist government was systematically and regularly finding new enemies of the state to single out. First a daily newspaper close to Fidesz accused a group of philosophers of improper acquisition of research funding – the academics had raised concerns about the government eroding democratic institutions.
Then came attacks on foreign-owned banks and the excessive profits of multinational utility companies. But immigration has received the most attention, with the European commission, Hungarian-born American businessman George Soros, human rights NGOs and liberal organisations all seemingly implicated in a vast conspiracy.
Read more: Why Viktor Orbán has a problem turning his country against immigrants | Andras Schweitzer | Opinion | The Guardian
Harvey and Irma remind us, all displaced persons around the globe share common problems and deserve common solutions - by R.M.
 |
| Irma : Floridians fleeing the State from natural disaster |
The only difference being that for one
the calamity came as part of a natural disaster, from which they
eventually can return home safely, and for the other,
as a result of “man-made “ disasters, commonly known as wars and
religious persecutions, and not able to return home.
We as humans, morally, can not show compassion for one human being and
withhold it from the other. Certainly not for those displaced persons,
who were forced to flee from their home countries against their will and become refugees in foreign lands, and considered second rate
citizens there.
A "master race" does not exist.
Humans are all equal in the eyes of our Creator. There is no
difference if you are a man or a woman, black, white, brown, yellow, African, American, Arab,
Asian , European, Eskimo, or Indian.
 |
| People fleeing from "man-made"disasters reaching EU coasts |
Bottom line: Yes, we need to help and
pray for all the stricken people in Florida and Texas, but
must also include in our prayers all those other displaced
persons around the world.
Displaced persons from Myanmar,,Syria,
Afghanistan,Sudan, and many other “disaster” areas, to mention just a few, deserve the same
helping hand and prayers we usually reserve for our own.
©
This article can be copied,translated,distributed by request to:
freeplanet@prontonmail.com
EU-Digest
9/2/17
German Elections: Steady wins the race as Germany′s Angela Merkel seeks re-election
Enjoying a coffee on one of Berlin's many rooftop terraces, a helicopter
suddenly rises from the Chancellery, the center of German power. These
days, that's nothing unusual. With weeks to go until the national election, Angela Merkel is on the move throughout the country. As the leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU),
she will have made more than 50 campaign appearances before Germans go
to the polls on September 24. She regularly draws crowds of several
thousand people. And during this campaign, her rallies are also regularly interrupted by groups of protesters from the right-wing populist or far-right scene.
The 63-year-old is at the center of every CDU event, and at the heart of its entire election platform. When the ruling party campaigns, it essentially comes down to who is sitting in the Chancellery. People would be forgiven for thinking that Merkel is the president of Germany. After all, she is responsible for issues of national importance: security, Germany's role in the world, the integration of immigrants. She largely determines how comfortable Germans feel in their own country. With her numerous demanding trips abroad, Merkel is also Germany's chief diplomat, someone who could one day be named UN secretary general.
She doesn't always bring up the topic of refugees in her remarks these days, and when she does, she speaks about the issue from a European perspective. But it was only two years ago when she put her political future on the line by opening the doors to hundreds of thousands of refugees. In 2015, the word "merkeln" was a trendy new verb among young people. It means to do nothing, to not make a decision. Up to that point, she was known for being cautious, sitting on the fence. But then came her mighty and moral decision to accept huge numbers of refugees, and suddenly "merkeln" was a thing of the past.
Read more: Steady wins the race as Germany′s Angela Merkel seeks re-election | Germany | DW | 02.09.2017
The 63-year-old is at the center of every CDU event, and at the heart of its entire election platform. When the ruling party campaigns, it essentially comes down to who is sitting in the Chancellery. People would be forgiven for thinking that Merkel is the president of Germany. After all, she is responsible for issues of national importance: security, Germany's role in the world, the integration of immigrants. She largely determines how comfortable Germans feel in their own country. With her numerous demanding trips abroad, Merkel is also Germany's chief diplomat, someone who could one day be named UN secretary general.
She doesn't always bring up the topic of refugees in her remarks these days, and when she does, she speaks about the issue from a European perspective. But it was only two years ago when she put her political future on the line by opening the doors to hundreds of thousands of refugees. In 2015, the word "merkeln" was a trendy new verb among young people. It means to do nothing, to not make a decision. Up to that point, she was known for being cautious, sitting on the fence. But then came her mighty and moral decision to accept huge numbers of refugees, and suddenly "merkeln" was a thing of the past.
Read more: Steady wins the race as Germany′s Angela Merkel seeks re-election | Germany | DW | 02.09.2017
8/10/17
EU Refugee Crises: EU needs a lasting solution to the refugee crisis- by Gianni Pittella
In the summer of 2015, images of the hundreds of thousands of refugees arriving on Europe’s shores dominated the front pages of European newspapers.
Journalists from every major publication were themselves migrating daily to new flashpoints, border fences or makeshift camps – chasing the latest scoop or story. Alongside this blanket media coverage came political urgency.
Heads of state and government met on an almost monthly basis to discuss the issue. However, as soon as the stories began disappearing from the front pages so did the political will to do something.
Despite the receding media coverage, the issue has not gone way.
While the numbers arriving in Greece have declined since the middle of 2015, the numbers arriving across the Mediterranean to Italy have increased markedly in the last two to three years.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants that have been rescued by the Italian navy and are now waiting in reception centres or being housed by local authorities, many of which are stretched to their limits.
Despite warnings from the Italian government, most EU member state continue to ignore the situation.
The newly elected president in France, Emmanuel Macron, has refused to open French ports to migrants and, in Austria, the foreign minister and defence minister even threatened to send the army to the Italian border to stop migrants crossing.
We are reaching another tipping point. Earlier this month we called for an extraordinary European Council summit to discuss migration before the summer break. National governments replied that this could wait till the autumn. This is simply not acceptable.
The most frustrating issue is that it does not need to be this way.
We are a continent of 500 million people and one of the richest regions of the planet – the arrival of a few hundred thousand refugees and migrants is manageable if we organize ourselves effectively.
Read more: EU needs a lasting solution to the refugee crisis
7/27/17
Refugees in the Netherlands: 'The Netherlands has accepted only 2,100 refugees under EU quota scheme'
The Netherlands has so far taken in 2,100 refugees under the European quota plan drawn up in 2015 when some 160,000 refugees were forecast to arrive in Italy and Greece, broadcaster NOS reports.
The Netherlands had been set to accept some 9,000 people under the quota plan, but the actual numbers of people claiming refugee status in the two countries is far below expectations. In total, 25,000 people have been allocated help in another European country.
In June, judges in The Hague said the Netherlands does not have to take in any more refugees from camps in Italy and Greece than it has already has.
A foundation called We Gaan Ze Halen (we are going to fetch them) had taken the Dutch state to court, arguing that the Netherlands had not taken in enough asylum seekers under the terms of the EU resettlement deal.
The Netherlands has accepted only 2,100 refugees under EU quota scheme' - DutchNews.nl
The Netherlands had been set to accept some 9,000 people under the quota plan, but the actual numbers of people claiming refugee status in the two countries is far below expectations. In total, 25,000 people have been allocated help in another European country.
In June, judges in The Hague said the Netherlands does not have to take in any more refugees from camps in Italy and Greece than it has already has.
A foundation called We Gaan Ze Halen (we are going to fetch them) had taken the Dutch state to court, arguing that the Netherlands had not taken in enough asylum seekers under the terms of the EU resettlement deal.
The Netherlands has accepted only 2,100 refugees under EU quota scheme' - DutchNews.nl
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