Today, at a conference in Geneva, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pleaded with countries to pledge to create new and additional pathways to promote the safe transport of about half a million migrants within the next three years.
“Neighboring countries have done far more than their share,” he said.
Migrants traveling from Africa across the Mediterranean are having to risk their lives to relocate. According to Reuters, just today alone, Italy’s coast guard and navy vessels rescued 1,361 refugees from boats and rubber dinghies.
Some of the suggestions Ban made to successfully transfer refugees to safe lands were:
“resettlement or humanitarian admission, family reunions, as well as labour or study opportunities.”
Last year, more than a million migrants securely reached Europe’s shores. The European Union is struggling to find ways to accommodate those fleeing discord and persecution from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
Ban stood up for refugees during the conference and said that condemning new arrivals is “demeaning, offensive and counterproductive.” He stressed that many migrants have skills and human resources that could benefit host countries.
“I call on leaders to counter fear mongering with reassurance, and to fight inaccurate information with the truth,” he urged.
Sadly, only Italy, Sweden and the United States instantly pledged to take part in alleviating refugees’ stress during their search for a new home base.
Personally, I think all countries need to take a stand and treat these people how they would want their own people to be treated. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home and the fact that only three countries promised to help the refugees is sickening. It’s time world leaders swallow their pride and judgment and help the thousands of families desperate for a warm bed and a roof over their heads.
Just because war and corruption aren’t happening in their individual countries does not mean others should be ignored and put to the side. Every human life is valuable, and it makes me proud knowing that the U.S. put its foot down and vowed to save these people from a life of fear and helplessness or even worse, death.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons by Mstyslav Chernov under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
