War-ravaged Afghanistan has served as a tragic model of the same story. Ajmal Sadiqi escaped from the country, which has been in a constant state of war for many years. The situation there has taken a much deadlier turn since the US invasion in 2001.
Sadiqi told CNN that the vast majority of those who joined him on his journey from Afghanistan to Turkey, Greece and other EU countries died along the way. However, like many in the same situation, he had few alternatives.
"Afghanistan has been at war for 50 years and things are never going to change," he said. "Here, I have nothing, but I feel safe. I can walk on the street without being afraid."
Alas, that sense of safety is, perhaps, temporary. Many in Europe are refusing to examine their own responsibility for creating or feeding conflicts around the world; they only perceive the refugees as a threat.
Despite the obvious correlation between western-sustained wars and the EU's refugee crisis, no moral awakening has yet been realized. Worse still, France and Italy are now involved in exploiting the current warring factions in Libya for their own interests.
Even in Syria, the EU is hardly innocent. The war there has resulted in a massive surge in refugees, most of whom are hosted by neighboring Middle Eastern countries, although many have set sail in leaky vessels to seek safety in Europe.
"All of Europe has a responsibility to stop people from drowning," insisted Bello. "It's partly due to their actions in Africa that people have had to leave their homes." Countries such as Britain, France, Belgium and Germany, he added, think that they are far away and not responsible. "But they all took part in colonizing Africa. NATO took part in the war in Libya. They're all part of the problem."
As you would expect, Italy's Salvini and other politicians like him refuse to frame the crisis in such a way. They use whichever discourse is necessary to guarantee votes, while ignoring the obvious fact that, without Europe's military interventions, economic exploitation and political meddling, a refugee crisis -- at least one of this magnitude -- would probably not exist in the first place.
Until this fact is recognized by EU governments, the flow of refugees will continue, raising political tension and contributing to the tragic loss of lives of innocent people, whose only desire is simple survival. Is that too much to ask?
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