Europe is facing a refugee crisis, and they have been for a very long time. Refugees come out of conflict as people must leave their home country or face unthinkable circumstances. Currently there is a lot of conflict near the boarders of Europe in countries like Ukraine, the Middle East, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2014 662,000 people applied for asylum in Europe. Already this number is tracking higher in 2015, with most of these people coming from Syria.
Unlike Australia, Europe is not an island. It's much easier to travel to, and much harder to monitor its borders. Asylum seekers come mostly across the borders of Austria, Turkey or Hungary. They are then processed in the first European country they set foot in and are resettled in countries willing to take them. Between them, Germany and Sweden take in around half of refugees and France, Italy, Switzerland and Britain resettle the rest. Other countries, like Australia, also take thousands of refugees from camps on Syria's borders each year. Europe has currently reached a state of crisis because of the amount of refugees that need to be processed and resettled. When hundreds of thousands of people cross country borders, this is hard from the aspect of civilly processing them all. Countries that then resettle them face issues of housing. Luckily most countries do have a pro-active approach to asylum seekers and are desperately searching for a way to resettle these people who are in much need of place where they are safe.
As a reader of a travel blog, you might be thinking, what does the European refugee crisis have to do with me? It is incredibly devastating, but I'm not sure how it relates to travel. Even though it may not seem like it, one of the core problems of this crisis is travel. Asylum seekers need to leave their home country, or most likely be killed or tortured. They have no choice but to travel to a foreign country. They would not be claiming asylum unless they had no where else to go. Because most people in first world countries have not experienced this, I don't think we realise how we take advantage of being able to travel freely. If I wanted to, in this moment I could go online and purchase a ticket to another country. I could even go down to the airport and jump in the next free seat, if I was so desperate to travel. This ability is an incredible luxury. These asylum seekers must use illegal means to get out of their country because people in authority are trying to prevent them from leaving.
What does this mean for people traveling to Europe? I searched intently for an answer to this question, but I could not find one. I suppose this is a good sign, that people are not concerned with their own needs for travel, but actually dealing with the crisis. However, I will offer my own response. Traveling across borders in Europe for tourists may take a little longer because of increased safety precautions, but it most probably won't be affected. The biggest issues are in the countries bordering Europe, so it is most definitely unwise to visit these areas. Smartraveller.gov.au does advise travellers to exercise high caution when traveling to Turkey, as this country borders with Syria where there is a lot of terrorism.
I hope this post has been informative, and does make you think about how the ability to travel freely is a privilege.
Unlike Australia, Europe is not an island. It's much easier to travel to, and much harder to monitor its borders. Asylum seekers come mostly across the borders of Austria, Turkey or Hungary. They are then processed in the first European country they set foot in and are resettled in countries willing to take them. Between them, Germany and Sweden take in around half of refugees and France, Italy, Switzerland and Britain resettle the rest. Other countries, like Australia, also take thousands of refugees from camps on Syria's borders each year. Europe has currently reached a state of crisis because of the amount of refugees that need to be processed and resettled. When hundreds of thousands of people cross country borders, this is hard from the aspect of civilly processing them all. Countries that then resettle them face issues of housing. Luckily most countries do have a pro-active approach to asylum seekers and are desperately searching for a way to resettle these people who are in much need of place where they are safe.
As a reader of a travel blog, you might be thinking, what does the European refugee crisis have to do with me? It is incredibly devastating, but I'm not sure how it relates to travel. Even though it may not seem like it, one of the core problems of this crisis is travel. Asylum seekers need to leave their home country, or most likely be killed or tortured. They have no choice but to travel to a foreign country. They would not be claiming asylum unless they had no where else to go. Because most people in first world countries have not experienced this, I don't think we realise how we take advantage of being able to travel freely. If I wanted to, in this moment I could go online and purchase a ticket to another country. I could even go down to the airport and jump in the next free seat, if I was so desperate to travel. This ability is an incredible luxury. These asylum seekers must use illegal means to get out of their country because people in authority are trying to prevent them from leaving.
What does this mean for people traveling to Europe? I searched intently for an answer to this question, but I could not find one. I suppose this is a good sign, that people are not concerned with their own needs for travel, but actually dealing with the crisis. However, I will offer my own response. Traveling across borders in Europe for tourists may take a little longer because of increased safety precautions, but it most probably won't be affected. The biggest issues are in the countries bordering Europe, so it is most definitely unwise to visit these areas. Smartraveller.gov.au does advise travellers to exercise high caution when traveling to Turkey, as this country borders with Syria where there is a lot of terrorism.
I hope this post has been informative, and does make you think about how the ability to travel freely is a privilege.
