All it takes is a picture or an unexpected spark to action that changes everything instantly. If it isn’t this picture below there will be other other ones that will at the end of the day expose these politicians for what they are.
In May we learned about a Dear little girl at sea who was kind enough to look the other way as she floated lifelessly in Mediterranean waters.
Now there has appeared a Dear little boy washed ashore, lifeless on the beach. He’s also considerate to our indifference. His face is half covered by his arm.
Contrary to the Dear little girl at sea we are going to put him in a warm bed and imagine for a moment that he’s ok.
We wrote back in May:
Mark my words, all it takes is a picture, an action, that will spark the demise of xenophobes and heartless politicians and force their lies to come down in flames.
Whose lies are we speaking of?
Those very politicians and people that German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked you not to follow those that put the dignity of other people in question.
She said explicitly: “Don’t follow their leaders or those who have prejudice, coldness, even hate in their hearts.”
Since I live in Finland I will name a few of them in this post. We have one party in government, the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* that bases its popularity on xenophobia and on getting rid of the Somali and Muslim “problem” in Finland. You can find such politicians in all of Finland’s parties.
Timo Soini, Jussi Halla-aho, Olli Immonen, Juho Eerola, Laura Hauhtasaari, Maria Lohela, Teuvo Hakkarainen, Päivi Räsänen, Tom Pakaclén, Maria Tolppanen, Mika Niikko, Vesa-Matti Saarakkala, Kari Rajamäki, Pia Kauma, Wille Rydman, Simon Elo, Sampo Terho, Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, Hanna Mäntylä and many, many others.
The post below may contain a disturbing image and text to some. Viewer discretion is advised.
His name was Aylan and his picture was found on Facebook as well…
He was 3 years old. He drowned at sea with his parents and his 5 year old brother, Galip. They fled from violence, oppression and poverty and tried to reach Europe. They symbolise the desperation of thousands. This is how he should have been lying tonight. Safe. Warm. Alive.Our Europe didn’t let him. We need another Europe. #?RefugeesWelcome? ?#?HumanityWashedAshore? ?#?KiyiyaVuranInsanlik?
* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We therefore prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.
“Whose lies are we speaking of?”
What lies?
“This is how he should have been lying tonight. Safe. Warm. Alive.Our Europe didn’t let him.”
So its Europe’s fault once again. White’s fault right? How about we pause for a moment and take a good look. They had to leave their home because of civil war Europe had no part of. They themselves decided to leave safe Turkey for better standard of living. Smugglers, not Europeans, were responsible for their trip over that 2 kilometers of water. But lets ignore all that so you can justify your hate against Europeans!
“Yossie, you ask about lies. Lies of anti-immigration parties that base their statements on urban tales, prejudice, racism and bigotry. ”
Again, what lies? You just make vague references on absolutely nothing.
Well, boy’s parents decided to leave perfectly safe Turkey. So yes, they were seeking better life in Europe. Should they be called “surfers” or not. The fact is a lot of these refugees come through safe countries.
As you can see Yossie Europe is reacting in both ways to the humanitarian crisis: Some countries, the most advanced, are showing leadership like Germany that will accept 100,000 refugees. Other ones like Finland, are playing hard to get like Eastern European countries.
Every thing was in “theory” for parties like the PS which only spread their xenophobia and Islamophobia like it was going out of style. All that, mark my words, is going to sting them back and hard.
It’s a sad thing to see how Europe is not able to cope with some small number of refugees. If people say that they’d better stay in the so-called safe countries bordering Syria then I’d like to say two things to that:
1/ Is Turkey that safe a country? It is one of the more modern countries in the Middle East, granted. At last, on a superficial level, because it’s a state run by the military in essence. Minorities like Kurds and Armenians enjoy a poor status.
On top of that the islamization of society, meaning that Islam is becoming more and more of a factor in public and political life than before, is progressing, due to AKP’s (Erdogan’s party) islamistic political agenda.
Turkey is going through rough times and tethering on the verge of instability, mainly due to the ruthless clinging on to power of the enlightened despot Erdogan. And so on, do some reading on it if you will.
Even if Turkey is relatively safe for now, for how much longer? After all it is next to Syria.
2/ Turkey is already harbouring nearly 2 million refugees from Irak and Syria. Lebanon, by the way: same situation. These countries are already doing a lot in that respect. So if Europe, with its 350 million inhabitants can’t even take some 400 000 people – be it temporarily for some – what is Europe then? Where is Europe’s moral compass then?
I hear some say: it’s normal that people stay in the region where they come from, like e.g. Belgians fled to Holland and France in WW I. Granted, but hey! That’s exactly what’s happening, because as I said: Turkey and Lebanon are taking in already huge amounts of refugees from Syria and Irak, with regard to Afghanistan it’s Pakistan who takes in almost all refugees coming from that war-torn country. And Europe, the richest region in the world cannot take in some of those?
3/I hear some shout Europe not to blame? Bombing countries to pieces in (semi-)illegal wars… Europe is definitely part of the problem. The Syrian problem for one could have been contained if Europe and the US had been willing to negotiate with all parties, including Russia. Same goes for Ukraine…
4/ Let’s also look at the positive side of things, or the potential positive aspects of these people coming to our shores. All experts agree that the socio-economic profile of the bulk of those fleeing is rather (high) middle class, well educated. Exactly what Europe will need in the coming decades, since demography hasn’t been our best game for the past decades and Europe, especially ageing countries like Finland, Poland (every woman there makes a mere 1.33 children on average, 2.1 is what you need for demographic transition) and pretty much all European countries. Get used to the idea that Syrian girls or boys will be wiping your gilded arses in the future.
Sorry by the way that I have used the word experts, some people here probably prefer to rely on their “gut-feeling”. But why do you think Germany is welcoming these people? Only because of moral imperatives? It’s (also) the economy stupid! as one cigar-smoking fellow once said.
5/ All democrats should give a big round of applause for to the Leadership (with capital L) in this matter of Mrs Merkel, who does what great states(wo)men have always done: lead the way, try to find solutions, not instill fear and ignorance but inspire people with hope and a sense of we will manage and also: we have a duty towards our fellow human beings.
5/One last thing: many Finns so proud themselves on the fact that they abide by the rules, that everything should be done as planned and scheduled. Only, this doesn’t happen to be the case with regard to refugees or what? You just cannot go cherry-picking dear (True)Finns. You have signed the UNHCR-convention in 1953 (I think it was), so: stick to the rules and accept refugees. Piste!
Toiset Soundit, I couldn’t agree with you more. It is odd how short of a memory the media has. We’ve been invading and bombing the Middle East for over a decade and now we’re surprised why these people fleeing war are coming to our shores. Let them come. Europe needs new migrants and to challenge the graying of its population. As you mentioned, we are seeing educated and middle-class people fleeing.
And there is another point (seven?) that will change the political landscape. Xenophobic parties like the PS now have got a reality check with the pictures of dying kids. We must thank Olli Immonen for shooting the party in the leg and Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo as well. I hope both of them open their mouths again so they can shoot their party more.
Totally agree on point six: REFUGEES WELCOME!
1/ Turkey is safe and that is the bottom line. No its no rich western country, but it was never meant that refugees should have right to get a country financially benefits them the best. Or are you saying all refugees should ideally go to rich European countries?
2/ It is completely different if Turkey or Lebanon takes refugees to some UN run refugee camps or in other ways do very little for those people, compared to Europe having to give them the European standard of living. The expenses are totally different. Providing safety in Turkey or Lebanon is much cheaper than doing it here. When more and more refugees come, you can’t just ignore the costs. Especially with the economic situation in EU.
3/ Bombing what? Where? With Americans in Iraq? Some did yes, not all! Can we Finns wash our hands of it? We have not bombed anyone in decades. Maybe bombing ISIS was bad then when kurds were defending Kobane? But you know, I agree with you. Western countries bombing other countries is a problem. We should leave other countries to solve their own problems. If we go there to do anything, some people will find ways to blame to us in the end.
How exactly EU and US should had negotiated better? What should they have done? What would you have told Russians? Accept it that Russia invaded and annexed parts of its neighboring country? Have Putin sign a treaty that he promises peace and that he has had enough now. Then come home waving the treaty and claim we have peace for our generation right?
4/ First of all, their socio-economic position in their own country does not guarantee they have the relevant skills for jobs in here. Also, sorry if I have problems trusting your opinions be based on some expert opinion. Considering you talk about Syrians wiping our arses (high middle class job?) when Syrians account for 3-4% of these asylum seekers.
5/ Finland can’t cherry-pick but refugees on the other hand can all they want? Pretty sure convention was never meant for people to get the biggest financial benefit for themselves.
Also, as far as I have understood, convention allows protection for personal persecution. War in itself is not enough. That is why many get asylum based on some secondary protection. So sure, lets play by the convention and just let those come that fall in to the definition of 1951 convention.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/image-of-syrian-boy-washed-up-on-beach-hits-hard-1441282847
“Mr. Kurdi brought his family to Turkey three years ago after fleeing fighting first in Damascus, where he worked as a barber, then in Aleppo, then Kobani. His Facebook page shows pictures of the family in Istanbul crossing the Bosporus and feeding pigeons next to the famous Yeni Cami, or new mosque.
From his hospital bed on Wednesday, Mr. Kurdi told a Syrian radio station that he had worked on construction sites for 50 Turkish lira (roughly $17) a day, but it wasn’t enough to live on. He said they depended on his sister, Tima Kurdi, who lived in Canada, for help paying the rent.
Ms. Kurdi, speaking Thursday in a Vancouver suburb, said that their father, still in Syria, had suggested Abdullah go to Europe to get his damaged teeth fixed and find a way to help his family leave Turkey. She said she began wiring her brother money three weeks ago, in €1,000 ($1,100) amounts, to help pay for the trip.”
So he drowned because of his father.
Daily Mail story has even more horrible allegation:
Iraqi woman on the same dinghy as Aylan Kurdi makes sensational claims on television that the boy’s father is a ‘people smuggler’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3230422/Abdullah-Kurdi-people-smuggler-migrant.html
Who knows but what we know is a dead three-year-old boy washed ashore, lifeless.
One comment is also interesting, if it is true: “It should also be widely published that he was NOT escaping war with his family. They had all been living in Turkey for several years.”