By ELEANOR HEDGES DUROY, age 12
This Syrian family travels by boat to Europe in hopes of a safer life.
PHOTO: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
My family lives and works in Europe every summer. This year, the major issue discussed in European news was the huge increase in migration to and within Europe.
Migrants come to Europe from many different realities and experiences. There are those who come from another European country or from countries where they have rights to work in European countries, those who are refugees fleeing from war and conflict or who are leaving countries with droughts and high unemployment, and there are undocumented migrants. Often, these groups overlap.
Last year more than 3,000 refugees and undocumented migrants died trying to get into Europe, and this year already more than 1,800 have died. In the past two years 150,000 new refugees and undocumented migrants have arrived in Europe. The influx is so big that European countries, which are also fighting high unemployment and the European debt crisis, are struggling to find ways to provide for the migrants.
Of course, no one wants people to die trying to immigrate to another country, and the crisis is huge and not easily solved. In order to slow the flow of migrants into Europe, conditions in migrants’ home countries have to improve, and since these cover everything from climate change to political situations, worldwide assistance will be needed. Europe is already more densely populated than the United States, and some of the migrants are fleeing wars in which the United States has participated, so I think that maybe the United States should also take some responsibility and help to solve the humanitarian migrant crisis in Europe.
