The Dark Side of European Politics

ALICIA PRYOR | CONTENT WRITER

The treatment of refugees at European borders is appalling and over time has only gotten. In Calais, in Northern France, refugees have been subjected by French officials to degrading treatment in hopes of deterring their entry. Calais’ geographical location that makes it one of the easier places for asylum seekers to arrive in Europe, leading to an unsteady increase. French police have routinely conducted mass evictions; prevented access to essential items; and have seized people’s belongings including tents and sleeping bags. This has left thousands of migrants, often including children, extremely vulnerable. Due to the Russo-Ukraine War being of more immediate concern to the European Union, Ukrainian refugees have received a high recognition rate and have been granted temporary protections. Refugees from other parts of the world, predominantly from the Middle East and North Africa, have not received the same level of attention or treatment from the EU. Instead, they have been met with harassment, abuse, and cruelty. There is an immediate need for the EU to adopt a different, more humane approach.

Asylum seekers have risked their lives crossing land and sea, with thousands dying or going missing during the journey. Yet, they continue to face an unprecedented amount of physical and psychological abuse by European officials when they arrive in Europe and have often been pushed back by border controls through illegal means.

There is often no protection provided for unaccompanied minors, and many of these practices violate human rights protocols. The case of Northern France is not unique, as enforcement agencies such as the Croatian Police Force, the Hellenic Coast Guards, and Frontex (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency) have received millions in funding from the EU in recent years to militarise the borders of member states with the purpose of obstructing and repelling refugees. European member states have been allowed, and even encouraged, to use violence in handling the influx of refugees. Worse still, member state governments like Latvia, Poland, and Lithuania are seeking to make migrant pushbacks legal in their judicial systems. The European Commission has failed to take any action against these efforts.

This is a situation that needs to be urgently dealt with through a strengthening of EU policy that will provide rapid protection status to refugees seeking asylum from their country of origin. There also needs to be a system that will ensure the fair and safe treatment of refugees at EU borders, and that protected asylum options are available to refugees. The refugee problem in Calais is not unique. The influx of refugees will not stop. The EU needs to ensure that no single member state is unfairly burdened with disproportionate amounts of refugees, but also that refugees’ protection policies and regulations are securely applied and enforced all throughout Europe.

Source: Time

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Schildkraut also says that “toxic masculinity” is a part of the problem; a topic which has seen its own issues recently with the increase of bizarre hypermasculine “Alpha” and “Sigma” males on social media, such as Andrew Tate. All these factors point to innate institutional problems that America is incapable of dealing with.

There have been numerous panicked studies and surveys conducted in recent days due to the sudden spike in gun violence. But it cannot go unnoticed the staggering lack of support on social media. The very same social media that cannot stay away from cause or campaign to fight. In comparison to the academic research, the people’s platform has been relatively radio silent. 85 people have been shot to death, with 205 injured. That is 290 families irreversibly and tragically changed forever. 85 people gunned down mercilessly. 85 mothers who will never get to say “I love you” to their child again. 85 families who will forever have an empty seat at the dinner table. 85 people gone. And the world does not seem to care very much.

Maybe it is due to other, larger scale catastrophes dominating the headlines such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or the UK’s energy crisis. Or perhaps, the world has simply gotten used to seeing that notification pop up on their phone: “three dead in mass shooting in Chicago”. This violent and agonizing crime has become so common in America that it is no longer shocking in the way it should be. It is not the world’s fault for becoming so desensitized to something that happens twice a day.