Editorial Cartoons & Immigration 

 Civil war and terror in the Middle East and Africa have thousands of people causing what BBC news has called one of Europe's "most significant influxes of migrants and refugees in its history," "risking their lives alongs the way" (BBC, 15).

 

Europe has been having these immigration issues for quite a few years now. So why are the refugees coming NOW instead of then? Great conflicts are currently raging, such as the conflict in Syria, Afghanistan and the human rights abuse in Eritrea.  In fact, the majority of those who have reached Europe by boat so far this year are from those three countries, with a percentage of 62%  (BBC, 15). 

 

There is also an issue with asylum-seekers. In order to be able to enter into a country in Europe, a person has to be to be able to claim asylum in the member state in which they arrive in. That is according to what is known as the Dublin regulation, which was designed to prevent asylum-seekers from submitting applications to multiple EU member states. Germany is the country with the highest asylum applications in the EU, with somewhere 800,000 refugees having arrived this year. Many say that the system isn't working. Countries like Greece and Italy are struggling to process all of the arrivals of refugees. Germany is the first country to suspend the regulation. To submit an application, you first have to prove to the authorities that the reason that you, the refugee(s) are fleeing is because you are in imminent danger, facing persecution, and would face harm or even death if you were to be sent back to your country of origin(BBC News, 2015).