A dramatic drop in refugee numbers to Europe

In a year full of calamities, there is one that has failed to happen: Europe’s summer migration crisis. Indeed, as the northern summer has gone on, the number of people trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa by boat has fallen dramatically.

The latest statistics from the United Nations refugee agency show that the expected crisis was looming in June, with 23,500 migrants crossing to Italy. The next month, it dropped to 11,400 and by August, to just 3,900. And August is usually the busiest time of the year, before the weather turns.

It seems like someone had waved a magic wand. The Washington Post earlier this month headlined an article, “The mysterious drop in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean”.

There is no mystery now, but there are some key aspects that no European government wants to talk about. Human rights organisations, by contrast, have a lot to say. And those who worry about the long-delayed pacification of Libya – the embarkation point for most migrants headed for Italy – also have concerns.

The timing of the stemming of the flow of destitute people seeking a better life in Europe is not coincidental. The migrant problem has dropped off the TV screens ahead of the German election on Sunday, when chancellor Angela Markel is running for a fourth term. As for Italy, the weak centre-left government is facing an election early next year amid fears that continued unrestricted immigration would sweep the far right into power in Rome.

Two years ago, the usually cautious Mrs Merkel opened Germany’s borders to refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan traipsing through the Balkans in search of shelter and safety. “We can do this,” she said, becoming Europe’s paragon of generosity and internationalism.  

When the enormity of the problem of turning 900,000 aliens into German citizens became clear, she switched tack, concluding in March 2015 a “dirty deal” with Turkey to cut the flow of migrants into Greece, while the frontiers throughout the Balkans became a patchwork of barbed wire.

    As the focus this year has moved to the Libya-Italy route, the roads into Austria and France were heavily policed to stop migrants moving north into the European heartland. Italy – the former colonial power in Libya that has been left almost alone coping with the problem – was given the go-ahead to do what it could on the other side of the Mediterranean.

    thenational.ae

 

A dramatic drop in refugee numbers to Europe

In a year full of calamities, there is one that has failed to happen: Europes summer migration crisis. Indeed, as the northern summer has gone on, the number of people trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa by boat has fallen dramatically. The latest statistics from the United Nations refugee agency show that the expected crisis was looming in June, with 23,500 migrants crossing to Italy. The next month, it dropped to 11,400 and by August, to just 3,900. And August is usually the busiest time of the year, before the weather turns. It seems like someone had waved a magic wand. The Washington Post earlier this month headlined an article, The mysterious drop in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean. There is no mystery now, but there are some key aspects that no European government wants to talk about. Human rights organisations, by contrast, have a lot to say. And those who worry about the long-delayed pacification of Libya the embarkation point for most migrants headed for Italy also have concerns. The timing of the stemming of the flow of destitute people seeking a better life in Europe is not coincidental. The migrant problem has dropped off the TV screens ahead of the German election on Sunday, when chancellor Angela Markel is running for a fourth term. As for Italy, the weak centre-left government is facing an election early next year amid fears that continued unrestricted immigration would sweep the far right into power in Rome. Two years ago, the usually cautious Mrs Merkel opened Germanys borders to refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan traipsing through the Balkans in search of shelter and safety. We can do this, she said, becoming Europes paragon of generosity and internationalism. When the enormity of the problem of turning 900,000 aliens into German citizens became clear, she switched tack, concluding in March 2015 a dirty deal with Turkey to cut the flow of migrants into Greece, while the frontiers throughout the Balkans became a patchwork of barbed wire. As the focus this year has moved to the Libya-Italy route, the roads into Austria and France were heavily policed to stop migrants moving north into the European heartland. Italy the former colonial power in Libya that has been left almost alone coping with the problem was given the go-ahead to do what it could on the other side of the Mediterranean. thenational.ae