Blog Articles

By Lisa Dezauer, Intern at Social Platform

As part of my internship at Social Platform I monitor daily European, national and local news, and what I am reading scares me. Not because people fleeing war, persecution and poverty are coming to Europe to find a more livable future for their families and themselves, but due to the reaction of many people in Europe to this reality.

As a German, I’m particularly concerned about what’s going on in my home country these days. This year alone, more than 500 refugees have been violently attacked, as well as their homes and shelters destroyed. The atmosphere is tense, not only in Germany but across Europe. It seems that nobody offers a solution, apart from extremist groups, which apparently propagate the easiest solution to this crisis: “keep them all out of Europe”. But this is not a solution, as asylum is a fundamental right and an international obligation, first recognised in the 1951 Geneva Convention on the protection of refugees.

It is time citizens and decision-makers understand that this is a matter of humanity, and that one cannot seal oneself off from global problems by hiding behind walls and fences. People’s fear being taken advantage of by unjustified rumors and accusations about “terrorists infiltrating Europe” as part of the migratory movement, or the idea of migrant’s “dangerous characteristics”, such as “young, aggressive men with the dark eyes”.

In the social discourse, it seems the views of ordinary people are either labeled as right-extremist or left-extremist. Either someone is labeled as “racist”, or a “do-gooder”. There seems to be grey area, which makes discussion irrational and dialogue impossible.

Labeling people makes the discussion black and white, when in fact it is complex and people are diverse. Labeling a person as a “refugee” for example, reduces the person to this status only and prevents people from perceiving the individual as a complex human being. Labels like “racist”, “do-gooder” or “refugee” are used to pit one group against another, and on unequal footing.

What is needed is a fact-based, open discussion about the situation that includes all people – refugees, migrants, politicians and citizens – in order to raise awareness and provide clarification about the real situation. People should be able to meet face to face on equal ground, without labels. This is why we need a civil dialogue, where political stakeholders enable people in Europe to be heard and become part of the decision-making process that concerns them.

If further attacks on refugees and migrants or demonstrations ending up in fights are to be prevented, the current social discourse needs to be changed. The fear of people shouldn’t be abused; instead, a safe and non-violent environment, respecting individuals’ human rights should be promoted. This is the only way to deal with this global crisis, where sealing off and shifting responsibilities on to others cannot be a sustainable solution.