Lately one can’t turn on the news in the Netherlands without encountering a lengthy segment on the vluchtelingencrisis, the refugee crisis gripping Europe. Dutch news programs like the NOS Journaal and Nieuwsuur are devoting extensive coverage to what most sources call the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Last week the surfacing of one particular gruesome photograph breathed even more fire into the political debate surrounding the vluchtelingencrisis, warranting a renewed look at what is going on in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe.

“No refugees on the streets or in prison cells.” Photo by Alex Proimos.

Millions of refugees are fleeing oorlog and even burgeroorlog in countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia. Most are facing hopeless situations in their countries of origin and thus make perilous journeys to what they percieve as the political stability and economic prosperity of Europe.

Activists in the streets of Brussels. Photo by Amnsesty International.

Last week a photograph lit up the international news media and may have shifted the discussion around the refugee crisis. On Wednesday, the dead body of a young Syrian boy washed up on a beach near a tourist resort in Turkey’s Bodrum peninsula. The image is highly disturbing, so I link to it here rather than including it in this post.

The vluchtelingencrisis has been a politically tense issue in the Netherlands and other European countries for nearly a year. In April there was a debate in the Dutch government over the ‘bed-bad-broodregeling‘, or the arrangement from the Dutch government that provided at least a bed (bed), bathing facilities (bad), and basic food for incoming refugees (brood), regardless of legal status.

The Partij van de Arbeid argues that bed-bad-brood and opvangen or receiving of refugees is simply humaan and a social responsibility of wealthy countries like the Netherlands. Prime Minister Rutte’s VVD party, however, fears that it will be too big a drain on the Dutch economy, and that offering too much assistance will incentivize more refugees to seek asylum in the Netherlands.

Southern European countries like Italy and Greece claim that their Northern neighbors like the Netherlands are not doing their part in receiving refugees, taking advantage of the fact that they are geographically so far removed from the crisisgebied. Most refugees come overland through Turkey and the Balkans, or via the much more dangerous route of the Mediterranean sea to Malta or Italy.

While some European politicians have argued that the refugees should be seeking asylum in neighboring countries in their home regions, countries like Jordan and Lebanon are already bursting with refugees beyond what their resources and economies can accommodate. Lebanon alone, a country of just under 4.5 million, has taken in an astounding 1.2 million Syrian refugees. Meanwhile, wealthy countries in the region like Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have refused to accept any refugees.

Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Syria and neighboring countries. Image from the European Commission.

Additionally, there are many concerns about the role of the mensenhandel, human trafficking, in the movement of these people. Human rights groups have found evidence that many are profiting from the perilous journeys over sea and land as they smuggle the refugees over borders under unacceptable humanitarian conditions.

Bed, bad, brood remains in place in the Netherlands, as mandated by European law, and many gemeentes offer their own assistance above and beyond what is required by these laws. Thousands of asielzoekers arrive every day in search of legal asylum in the Netherlands, hoping to acquire the necessary paperwork to reside legally and work until they can return to their home countries.

German citizens welcoming refugees. Can you spot the Dutch cognates? Photo by Montecruz Foto.

In the last week, perhaps stirred by the photos of the Syrian boy linked to above, rallies have come out in the Netherlands and Germany chanting slogans like “refugees welcome here”. Individuals are going beyond what the gemeente offers and even opening their homes to refugees. Many of these voices are chanting that mensen should come before grenzen.

As of this morning, the VVD and PvdA (the two parties that make up the current coalition government in parliament) have agreed on a new asielbeleid, adjustments to policy regarding asylum seekers, that will include accepting more refugees and working to stop future refugees from risking dangerous journeys over sea and land.

Vocabulary:
de vluchteling — refugee
de vluchtelingencrisis — the refugee crisis
de oorlog — war
de burgeroorlog — civil war
bed, bad, brood — ‘bed, bath, and bread’, the Netherlands’ implementation of European law regarding minimum support for refugees
asiel zoeken — to seek asylum
de asielzoeker — asylum seeker
het crisisgebied — crisis area
het asielbeleid — asylum/refugee policy
de grens — border
de mensenhandel — human trafficking
de regering — government