In the past few months, people fleeing from conflict zones in the Middle East to Europe have surged to an unprecedented level, leaving many European nations confused about how to create a reasonable solution to deal with the influx.
This influx is largely due to the increase in violence in Middle Eastern countries especially in Syria where fighting between government troops and many rebel factions over the past four years have devastated the civilian population.
Most refugees who escape to neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon are left in very miserable conditions. Circumstances are insufficient for accommodating them and hence some have no alternative but to risk their lives on the high Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.
According to Mercy Corps, the number of Syrian refugees has leaped from 100,000 in 2012 to 3.8 million in 2015 due to violence and religious domination.
However, few nations like Germany, France and Sweden have called for commitment within the European Union to provide humanitarian help to these desperate people fleeing for their lives, Hungary and majority of Central and Eastern European nations are reluctant to put any help on the table. In fact, the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Mihály Orbán has even threatened to start arresting migrants who enter the country through the Serbian border. Many refugees are still left stranded in Hungary currently.
But apart from the few nations in Western and Northern Europe who have demonstrated the desire to help, the Nordic island nation of Iceland is even planning something big to deal with the situation.
According to the Plaid Zebra, Icelanders are embracing an “open door” policy, welcoming in thousands of immigrants searching for a brighter future to their country.
The citizens of the country are said to have recognize the desperate need to assist these refugees who are simply searching for safety. They have started working very closely with their government to increase the number of immigrants they can accept into their country.
It is said the idea of opening the country for refugees was started by the activist, Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir. She created a Facebook group addressing Iceland’s Welfare Minister and demanding a change in their current agreement to only accept a minimum of 50 refugees.
She wrote in her letter “They are our future spouses, best friends, the next soul mate, a drummer for our children’s band, the next colleague, Miss Iceland in 2022, the carpenter who finally finishes the bathroom, the cook in the cafeteria, a fireman and television host”, adding that the lives of these refugees are no different from those in Iceland and that they deserve respect and compassion.
Her effort went viral on both mainstream and social media. Other citizens started backing her demands and currently, it is said the group has over 11,000 homes willing to accept refugees, offering to pay for their flights and introduce them into society in exchange for working permits and residence papers.
The Prime Minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson also announced that there is a new committee that is focusing on creating a new immigration policy. He admitted there has been overwhelming support from the general public in favor of flexible asylum laws. There country is therefore preparing assiduously to admit many migrants to its full capacity in the few coming days.
Many humanitarian activists have welcomed the development in Iceland and have urged others to do so as human life needed be accorded with the greatest dignity.
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The icelanders don’t know what they were accepted.
Sadly, the icelanders are live in an inbred society and they want fresh blood in this community ‘coz they are mating with their cousins and even with there brothers, too!
BUT the Muslims are NOT the way to redemption!
The Muslims are aggressive and the icelanders will see this tardily!
These 11,000 Muslims will bring their relatives within a year and conquer Iceland…
Will the icelanders be happy as they are now?
!!!ALLAH AKBAR!!!
slx..I hope one day you are in the same situation that these refugees are in, so you know what it feels like. Have you ever heard of Karma? She’s a b!tch!!
@Anon
Thank you very much your kindness and I wish you the same (it is irony)!
My karma does not get injury ‘coz I didn’t mean to harm anybody; those are the sad truth what I wrote…
I think your karma got deformation ‘coz you wished me bad things with your smooth words; but I forgave you and I absolved you from your offense!
Open your eyes and see what is happening ‘coz of the fanatic Muslims in France, Germany, Italy, Greece in these days; and I hope you’ll understand the meaning of my first message (check video portals like utube)!
I feel sorry for the Muslims and the Icelanders and all those people who has already terrorized by the migrants, too!
Again somebody who looks only at a little part and applies it to every Muslim.
Yep, there are at this moment Muslims who are at war.
But look also to Americans for example.
The NSA which is spying on everyone.
All those missions in which America interfere and in most of the times restore for a little time at great costs.
http://www.unc.edu/~eoslavic/projects/bombsites/
they devide for example Israel while it wasn’t up to them.
Next to that, look at the NSA which is spying worldwide.
(I last saw the joke: “according to the NSA, data will not be shares with third parties)
They are interfering with everything!
They act like the world is theirs!!!
Should Americans be banned from our countries because they are spying everything?
Ofcourse not.
While we know these things are true, we don’t say them, because not every American is like this.
This even doesn’t come across our minds.
Why then, do we think every Muslim, or even every refugee wants to kill everybody? And if they are like this, then why are they fleeing?
ohh, sure! pls take them NOW!
@Anon you may not find your words harmful but most people will see your bigotry as destructive. You manage within one message to insult the humanity of those Icelanders who are offering their home and the refugees who are escaping war and appalling conditions. Refugees is a much more accurate word than migrant. I have seen the videos. I have seen refugees being treated like animals in some of the camps. I have seen how on entering Hungary and thanking the police for their kindness they were attacked. Eye witnesses have reported that it was the police that attacked the refugees and not the other way around. The former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány of Hungary is intending to report the current Prime Minister Orban to the UN for his criminal behaviour. Given the disgraceful language that he has used previously it is unsurprising that he would behave in this way. I have seen the Croatian police looking on without helping when one refugee was having a heart attack thankfully the journalists on hand were able to help. I have also seen how grateful the refugees were at the welcome the German people gave them. I hope that Iceland will be able to offer the 11 000 places. I also hope that other countries are able to rediscover their humanity and that you will be able to discover yours at the same time. http://budapestbeacon
ICELAND: first they kick out the central banks and corrupt politicians, then they show their generousity by offering homes and flights to refugees. What a wonderful show of solidarity 🙂 These people give me faith in humanity 🙂 Bravo Iceland!
(Now, if we could spread some revolutionary zeal, compassion and generousity to other nations, the world may yet have a future. A world without borders, without private central banks, a world where politicians respond to public opinion… Wow!)