Refugees’ Rights in the West
Dr. Bahaa Helmy Writes:
Refugees living in camps on the European borders or on the border between Mexico and the United States, especially children, face extremely harsh living conditions.
They lack means of protection against bad weather and natural disasters, or against hazards and fires, such as the devastating fire that struck the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, which is about 8 kilometres from Turkish territory.
The refugees slept in the streets and on the land surrounding the destroyed camp in a miserable state, while the disagreement and argument continued among the countries of the European Union over who should receive them.
Others have used refugees as a commodity and a tool of terrorism, as Turkey did with its neighbours in the European Union, or in sending many refugees to Libya as mercenaries, exploiting their need and that of their families.
Refugees lack means of protection against the coronavirus pandemic, in addition to ill-treatment by the authorities of some European countries, or inside others among those that allowed them to enter.
Disregarding the dignity of refugees is contrary to all the humanitarian, moral and legal principles and values set out in international conventions, whether in the field of refugees and migration or in human rights charters, under which the Western countries undertook to provide refugees with care like that granted to their own citizens, to respect their freedom to practise their religious rites, and to guarantee their rights and freedoms; these are the same principles and values that the Western countries have been proclaiming at the international level for many years.
The truth is that refugees on the European and American borders are living the greatest human tragedy in contemporary history, and there is no consolation in the values and principles of human rights and freedoms.
The evidence of this is in the repeated demands of international organizations to the Western countries, such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, to protect and assist refugees, and Amnesty International, which demands that refugees enjoy human rights and that responsibility be shared, and that no one be forced to return to a country where they were exposed to danger and violations of human rights.
And the World Health Organization and various international associations and bodies issuing warnings about the risks of refugees and migrants to Europe being exposed to the deadly coronavirus epidemic.
In addition to the UN call issued to the European Union in mid-February last to stop violence against migrants and refugees.
But the West’s shameless adoption of talk about human rights and freedoms in other countries is astonishing; the European Parliament and the new American administration (the Democrats) are trying to focus the spotlight on human rights in Egypt, expressing their concern over violations of the principles and values in which they believe.
This raises the question: what values are they talking about? Have the existing disagreements among the countries of the European Union over refugees, and the suspension of the Dublin agreement on distributing refugees, not raised the fears and concern of the West?
Have the negative effects resulting from the West’s disregard for the dignity of refugees, and their repercussions on European security and order and on undermining the trust and convictions of the European population in the values of democracy and freedom and the principles of human rights in the European Union, not raised their concern?
Have Egypt’s success in saving and protecting the institutions of the state, and its foiling of the previous American administration – during the rule of President Hussein Obama – in its efforts to implement the plans of creative chaos, and the details of the American conspiracy and the size of the financial support to the Brotherhood, who failed to run the country, revealed by former US President Trump, not raised the fears and concern of the West? They do not learn from lessons.
We are truly very concerned about the care of refugees and their rights and freedoms provided for in the Western world? And our concern grows at the inability of the European Parliament to resolve the disagreements among the European countries over the problems of refugees on the borders.