Print friendly
Judging from the headlines, it sometimes seems no one in Europe wants to help refugees.
Record numbers are arriving in Italy and Greece this year, and yet other European governments have agreed to share less than a fifth of them.
Hungary is building a wall to keep them out. For the same reason, France has sealed its border with Italy.
In Greece, for much of this year there were doubts over the legality of giving a refugee a lift.
But on a local level, there are thousands of people across the continent who are braving the vitriol of their peers, and filling the void left by the politicians. Many Europeans back their governments’ stance but their xenophobia masks another phenomenon – that of a huge drive by ordinary citizens to welcome refugees, rather than reject them.
From the Hungarian volunteers providing round-the-clock support to Syrian and Afghani newcomers, to the Spanish priests assisting migrants with paperwork, here are seven movements from across Europe that are fighting for refugees’ rights.
Germany
Germany has more people applying for asylum than any other EU country and is this year expecting to receive more than 400,000 applications, more than double the number in 2014.
Overcrowding of accommodation is seeing many asylum seekers being housed in tents, sport halls and container villages.
Mareike Geiling in Berlin believes there’s a better way. Last year she decided to offer her room to a friend of a friend who had fled Mali, while she was away in Cairo for a few months.
“It was nothing special – I always tell people these refugees have the same issues and things to do as we do, they have to sleep, they have to eat, they have to shower. He is a very nice person and living together is very normal.” Continue reading
Sources
- Maryline Baumard of Le Monde in Paris, writing in The Guardian
- Image: Debating Europe
Related Posts:
News category: Features.
