Refugees Welcome sticker on city handrail

Politics

新难民家园

Nov 27, 2015 Anne-Marie Slaughter

华盛顿—欧洲各国和美国各州都在争论一件事：接受来自叙利亚——或者事实上，来自任何穆斯林占多数的国家的移民的危险性。基地组织或伊斯兰国成员或同情者可能随着他们的家庭一起到来。从两个方面看，这场争论根本没有找准要点。

首先，没有证据表明任何一位巴黎袭击者真的是来自叙利亚的难民。在一位袭击者尸体附近找到的叙利亚护照似乎是被盗的。警察所辨认的袭击者在比利时或法国长大。他们是激进公民，而不是流窜的外国人。

其次，如今全世界有6,000万难民。这一数字相当于六个比利时、匈牙利或瑞典。如果他们建立自己的国家，其规模与法国相当。面临如此庞大的数字，收留几千乃至几万难民的承诺对于减轻数百万人的痛苦来说只是杯水车薪。

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Anne-Marie Slaughter

Writing for PS since 2006
103 Commentaries

Anne-Marie Slaughter, a former director of policy planning in the US State Department, is CEO of the think tank New America, Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University, and the author of Renewal: From Crisis to Transformation in Our Lives, Work, and Politics (Princeton University Press, 2021).

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 11 Comments on this article

Christopher williams Dec 1, 2015

I admire the aim of the writer; it would be a fantastic solution to create a functioning city to accommodate such enormous numbers. I regret I do not see how it can be achieved, not least in finding a country which could be moderate enough to both want to have them and capable of managing the outcome.
Our current program of setting up ten adult colleges, of 10,000 students each, in Turkey to pre-qualify workers for mainly German companies, is only capable of managing 200,000 migrants per annum; I agree this is nowhere near enough, but it does at least offer some encouragement to those left behind for a possible happy ending. I would love to see a way to expand that, but I struggle with the concept of millions doing so.
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lakshma reddy Dec 1, 2015

Anne-marie suggestions are curious. Egypt billionaire role model for other countries? Not to over estimate or underestimate the catastrophically events pervading the Roman down fall and the fear gripping the populations under the threat of invading Goths,scytian/germanic and Huns. is it time to revisit those calamities. Who and how they submerged the roman territories and why they were provoked and the conditions germane to such situations including the religious and economic turmoil,inequalities,discrimination and state suppression of others etc. Is there be any similarity of present to past for any guide to action?

Though it is quoted as axiomatic that history repeats,we should learn lessons from it and see that such situations does not recur.

Does the events now unfolding at global levels resulting in unprecedented refugee influx in to more developed European nations due to aggressive interventions of some nations appear to be similar to Roman calamities?does the 21st century civilisation cannot treated from 4th century historical conditions the greed and other human natural instincts remaining unchanged?

Therefore the author dealing would affairs may also keep those conditions preceding the historical events happening in almost same geographical territories as of now and almost for similar reasons in mind while analysing the present events though they may may appear as remote.

My view is that globalisation has brought like the then roman expansion of its empire a bigger interactive civilisation where every human being and there ethnic or nationalities want not merely freedom and equalities but a equitable distribution of rights of the global resources and it's reflected in social,economic and political conflicts in national state fora as well as global forums like WTO,UN meetings including security council, and word bank and even in UN climate summit.

We need a holistic global approach to solve the global issues and the international military and civil wars to settle local issues arising out of globalisation effects.

The refugee issues as a consequence of some countries intervention supporting some or opposing other groups in many countries cannot be resolved otherwise than creating global institutions in UN with executive police and military powers and NATO like military powers must be subordinated to Democratic UN to avoid repetition of the history?
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Garrett Connelly Nov 30, 2015

Please read about self-sheltering, the fly catcher compost toilet and harvesting drinking water from hurricanes to sell at 1.25¢ per liter. Gratis public service.

http://www.ferrocement.com
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Evan Easton-Calabria Nov 29, 2015

The figure for 60 million refugees is false and an important oversight to be corrected if this article is to be taken seriously. The correct figure is 60 million displaced people, according to UNHCR (http://www.unhcr.org/558193896.html). Distinctions between refugees, internally displaced people, displaced people, and stateless can be read here: http://www.un.org/en/events/refugeeday/background.shtml
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Richard Solomon Nov 29, 2015

I'd donate money to a reputable, competent NGO which would work to build these 'proto-cities.' Makes sense to me as a partial solution to this complex issue. But EU countries with their very low birthrates can benefit from these immigrants, too.

Thanks for the comments towards the end about the need to address the domestic issues in Europe, as well as the USA, which fuel the radicalization of Islamic youth. Unless/until these issues are also addressed effectively, more of these youth will arise and create havoc.
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Akbar Montaser Nov 28, 2015

Thank you for telling us the world now has 60 million refugees. The author should have reminded us we have 50 million poor and 50 million new poor in this country thanks to the former President and his wars.

The author states Media does not report about the radicalized Western citizens fighting for ISIS! Is she serious?

Also, surprisingly, the author's Think Tank, New America, tell us that only 466 individuals from 25 Western countries have left their homes to go to Syria. Even a high school student can predict the number is far more than 466!

Here is some information the Justice Department, the enticed media, and the author are not telling you and I. Who created radical Islamists? It is the western powers! Here is an example. Radical Islamists in Kosovo and Bosnia clashed with Serbia with funding and armed support of the US and NATO. It was the United States that assisted in radicalizing Bosnians!

Yet, I see a glimmer of hope. The Egyptian billionaire, Naguib Sawaris, is planning to acquire two Greek islands to resettle hundreds of thousands of refugees and put them to work building homes and infrastructure. This work is more than the work our government has done for homeless Syrians.
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Petey Bee Nov 27, 2015

"The ideological source of jihadist terrorism may ultimately be in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Mali"

Warmer...
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Florian Pantazi Nov 27, 2015

I am amazed to see that a Princeton IR expert borrows ideas first expressed about a month ago by the AK Party's vice-premier from Turkey. True, his idea of building new cities in Turkey for Syrian refugees with the billions provided by the international community probably makes sense to the current Turkish government.

Building new cities on land provided by Turkey might prove a cost-free and even ideal solution to solving the plight of Syrian refugees. Expensive as that might be, if it is done with other people's money it could hugely benefit both the host country and the refugees themselves. Building cities from scratch for hundreds of thousands - possibly millions - of people could provide tens of thousands of needed jobs and pave the way, when finished, for attracting manufacturing and service companies to such places.

I am not sure, however, that this particular solution could be used as a one-size-fits-all policy aimed at solving the refugee problem around the world. Admittedly, solving international crises such as the one in Syria or elsewhere is harder than providing a new habitat for the victims, but it is nevertheless a must. Utopian solutions to such crises, like the one the article advocates, do seem more tributary to the 20th century way of thinking than to that of the 21st century. The time for utopias has unfortunately expired in 1981 in Europe, these being therefore thoroughly discredited. What is surprising, however, is the large number of political or intellectual elites living in the past and trying to bring back to life 19th and 20th century ideas and policies - in economics, political theory or IR - that didn't work then and will not work now.
- Florian Pantazi Nov 27, 2015
  
  Errata: the year 1981 in the last paragraph should read 1989.
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jagjeet sinha Nov 27, 2015

60 million is your count from 'war torn' regions.
Rural to Urban migration in China n India + East / South Europe to North / West Europe = 1 billion plus.
The agenda of Bretton Woods perhaps requires fundamental rethink - Migration both internal and international must be central.
Global Demand has no greater trigger - 100 MegaCities in China, India, Europe, Africa.
And the sector screaming out - Infrastructure.
Bretton Woods not enough - AIIB is clearly closer in solutions than Bretton Woods
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Steve Hurst Nov 27, 2015

60 million refugees is not assimilable in Europe in a short interval for a number of reasons. There is indeed a homeland for most. It is called Africa. Birthrate and climate change will provide further pressures. The idea developed countries should be entirely welcoming to refugees is out of hand. Africa fails again and again - and actually wants migrant remittances. If numbers entering Europe have to be limited then it doesnt matter where the limit is set, there will be millions who are unhappy. In short the only entity to control the influx has to be Europe. How many islands in the Med would be needed to be developed to provide a home for refugees. Its insane. They have to stay in their Homeland and it is about time policy makers got a grip on reality
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