Germany has closed its border to Syrian refugees, possibly leaving them to death at the hands of the Islamic State. And my mind drifted back…
In the 1930s, the United States turned away Jewish refugees from Germany. The world is still reeling from consequences. One of those consequences was the swelling of the ranks of Zionist settlers which contributed to the formation of the state of Israel which, through a series of unfortunate consequences, contributed to the emergence of the IS. I think Europe had better take those refugees in. It is the just and compassionate thing to do, and might even prevent a future disaster.
(update, Oct 14) And the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights sees it, with examples and historical citations of language. I did not know of the 1938 Evian conference,
when countries including the US, the UK and Australia refused to take
in substantial numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler’s annexation of
Austria on the grounds that they would destabilize their societies and
strain their economies."
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