Treating refugees as a problem is the real problem

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Seemab Mehmood, first year MBBS student at Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

Refugees and Migrants are two terms. Refugees are the persons who are outside their country of origin for reasons of feared persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order and, as a result, require international protection. While there is no formal legal definition of an international migrant, most experts agree that an international migrant is someone who changes their country of usual residence, irrespective of the reason for migration or legal status by UN Refugees and Migrants.

The far-reaching topic of ‘people without borders’ has a long deep-rooted stance varying from the migrant’s country to the hostage country. It does not involve a single entity or even one group. It involves a chain of networks from different backgrounds, regions, or even different ethnicities. But it always began from the one who misguided, tortured, or beguiled the native people.

Back to 2015, we had seen a surging number of almost a million of migrants to Europe. Majority of the people were from Syria but a significant number from Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. This condition was alarming. And with the passing of every single day, it gets worse. It is not only because of the increased number of migrants, but the increased casualties and deaths are. Besides all the conflicts or wars, the people who are spending their life below the poverty line, are the most vulnerable to this kind of tactics and they are on the surge of this kind of migration or immigration.

But what would be the best approach for the control of such mass migration from the very beginning. I must say, the European Union (EU) must vow its diplomatic relations with the migrant’s countries. The EU should employ its resources to capture these heinous groups working in such countries, and rather than costing the money of serving the migrants must spend it to control it before they leave their own country.  And ultimately, to create a positive impact on the native lives, the EU must start their green projects to impact the lives there either with the business icons or with the local governments.

Besides that, the ones who are in Europe or in European custody or in the refugee camps, they must be addressed on a priority basis. Their concerns should be listened to, judged and sorted out as soon as possible. It will not only lessen the torture of these homeless people but pave the way for EU to decide earlier whether they should be sent back or allowed to live their lives in Europe.

It is not the refugee, but those who made the man to flee are the real problems. I will sum up my note with a call to the Global or the Local Leaders to consider migrants issue a prevailing issue of 21^st century and to demise their action plans accordingly with the exact calibration it needs, because

‘No one leaves home; Unless home is the mouth of a shark.’

About the author

Seemab Mehmood, first year MBBS student at Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan. She is the Vice President for External Affairs-VPEA of FJMU-LC for the term 2021-22 as well as the Country Coordinator of IFMSA-Pakistan for ACTION 2022. She has been the Planetary Health Campus Ambassador (PHCA) and an MCN Member Alumni. She envisions a world full of enthusiasm with a never-ending race of optimistic innovations. And being inquisitive, she loves her visuals to write, re-write and get them re-written. A curious mind that always strives for change within an ever-changing world.