An exodus that cannot be sustained

The largest migratory exodus in Europe since World War II, which has now been taking place for months from the South-East and Eastern Mediterranean and whose cause is the widespread conflict existing in countries such as Syria, Libya and to a lesser extent Afghanistan, is stretching the seams of the European institutions to their limits and, what is worse, breaking all boundaries with regard to respect for human dignity. A situation like this cannot be sustained for long without serious humanitarian consequences if there is no determined and coordinated action by the European authorities, which are reacting in a slow and off-balanced manner, raising questions regarding the humanist qualities of which the continent boasts.

It is true that this avalanche is not easy to manage now nor will be once a system for providing people with shelter and procedures for distributing them among the various states have been regularised. The situation is not simple and is understandable given the time that has passed since such a huge migratory flood was last seen, and also because in many places there is a clear hostility towards the arrival of immigrants, which although intolerable and unacceptable, is real and must be managed. We must also bear in mind that providing refugees with shelter is only an emergency action in a situation whose root cause needs to be resolved while trying to return the countries in conflict back to normal. In the best case scenario, however, bringing peace to these conflict zones will take years, meaning the measures adopted by Europe cannot be seen as temporary.