I wanted to post something on this, but I don't even begin to know how to discuss this issue.
Over the past two years is has become clear that the destruction of any form of effective national governments in Syria, Eritrea, Somalia, Afghanistan and Libya (other countries as well, including Mali, both Sudans and the northern parts of Nigeria) has created an enormous humanitarian crisis that has become the largest mass migration on the planet since the Second World War. This has coincided with a period of global economic slowdown and distress for many wealthy western nations who would normally have assisted more in the early stages of the crisis (as happened with the Vietnamese boat people in the 1980s). The rise of right wing, isolationist parties - many in Europe which don't even pretend to hide their xenophobia and racism - in western nations has happened rapidly, and has had an effect as well.
I don't even pretend to know if there is an answer, or what it would be. I do know that as humans we have some form of shared, common humanity which is what separates us from animals. More than 7,000 people have made it to the Westbanhoff train station the past two days alone here in Vienna, a mere 2km from where my comfortable flat is located. Tens of thousands more are currently bartering with human traffickers, police, transit officials and criminals of all varieties in Turkey, Lebanon, Egype, Libya, Greece, Serbia, Hungary and everywhere else along the path hoping that they could be lucky enough to end up as one of those people sitting in the park outside Westbanhoff simply because at least it would be safe there for a day or two. I have never been, and almost certainly never will be, in any situation in my life even remotely close to that desperate. 71 people were found dead by suffocation in the back of a small shipping truck on the side of the road here in Austria last week. Thinking of my wife and I looking into a truck with 69 people already in it and thinking "this is still the best option we have in our lives" is beyond sobering.
I went last night to a march with more than 20,000 other Viennese, just normal citizens - to let the government here know that outside of the rhetoric of hate, there's plenty of people who want to address this crisis and expect that as a society (and this goes far beyond Austria, but as an entire shared "wealthy western nation" society) we can find a way to recognize these people as fellow humans who simply need help - and that if we don't, we aren't humans ourselves. I've spent time this week now volunteering to help distribute food and other items that have been donated, and I'll continue to find ways to provide the help that I can. I don't know what the solution is to end this suffering, or if anyone will find one, but I do know that my basic requirement of being human being is to help others in need.
Right now, the USA is largely shielded from this beyond a few mentions in the news. It's come here to central Europe, and in person it's astonishing. And we're still only seeing the tip of it ... of the 4m Syrian refugees alone, the vast majority are in Lebanon and other "stable" regional nations which are in danger of becoming failed states themselves as the flood of migrants overwhelms their services.
The hashtag in German that has become something of a slogan for people trying to help is
#menschsein (Humanity - mensch in German is the same as in Yiddish, implying the good characteristics of humanness). Massive banners in the stands stating "Refugees Welcome" were seen all over German and Austrian soccer matches last weekend, and the megaphone of hate speech has been silenced for a week or so at least.
This post is rambling and probably makes no sense. The scope of what I've seen just with my own eyes the past few days is saddening to my core. I do know that I am a human, and part of the human race. My trust in that has been both shaken badly and also encouraged, but putting it into context is nearly impossible.
