LONDON – As a further 7,000 Syrians fled across the border near Peskhabour in January to join more than 200,000 already sheltering in the Kurdistan Region, the number of their fellow citizens fortunate enough to be admitted as refugees to the United States in the same month amounted to: Just two.
The gross disparity between the burden borne by Syria’s near neighbors and more distant world powers has prompted humanitarian officials to call for a greater commitment by Western countries to provide shelter to those fleeing the civil war.
The Obama administration can boast that it is the single biggest provider of financial aid to the two million Syrians who have managed to make it out, most of them to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and South Kurdistan.
The British government, the second-largest international donor, similarly highlights its commitment to those displaced by the war. It has pledged a total of 600 million pounds to humanitarian aid within Syria and in neighboring states, principally Lebanon and Jordan.
But when it comes to taking in those fleeing the horror and trauma of the conflict, Western governments and electorates have been less supportive.
Domestic debates on the pros and cons of immigration appear to have backfired on refugees seeking even temporary shelter in the West.
Figures published by the US State Department show that just 44 Syrian refugees were admitted so far in the current fiscal year from October. None was admitted in December and only two in January.
Human Rights First, a Washington-based advocacy group which has urged the administration to admit 15,000 Syrians, says tough regulations on admission risked barring would-be refugees who had connections with the very opposition groups in Syria that the US supports.
The record of European states is variable, but in some cases not much better.
Sweden is the only country to grant automatic refuge to any Syrians who make it to its shores. It currently provides a safe haven to some 50,000 of them.
Elsewhere, however, governments have been reluctant to sign up to a UN quota system that would provide homes for 30,000 refugees across Europe.
Germany has pledged to accept 10,000 people as part of the UN plan, while France will offer a home to just 500.
Britain, where the immigration debate is looming as an issue in elections in 2015, will accept a few hundred outside the UN quota, with the focus on the elderly and the disabled, and those Syrians who have suffered torture or sexual violence.
Supporters of a more open-door policy accused the coalition government of gesture politics. The policy nevertheless appears to reflect attitudes in Britain, where opinion polls indicate a majority of the public is firmly opposed not only to any direct involvement in the Syrian conflict but also to providing a haven to those who are fleeing it.
Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is among officials who have urged Western governments to do more, in part because the massive refugee influx risks destabilizing the host countries in the region.
He told a donors’ conference in Kuwait last month that these host countries needed more than financial aid to cope with the refugee influx. But they also needed others to help carry the burden of taking in and protecting refugees.
“Few refugee influxes have ever generated this profound an impact on their host countries, with such dramatic demographic, economic and social consequences,” he warned.
The pressure is felt heavily in all areas of daily life, as budget deficits are increasing, growth suffers and jobs, salaries and price levels are affected across the region, leaving local families struggling to make ends meet.”
Mr. Guterres accompanied Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, on a visit to the Kawrgosik refugee camp near Erbil last month. During the visit, Mr. Ban urged President Massoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to keep the border open for refugees fleeing Syria.
He also praised the “generosity” of the Kurdistan Regional Government in accepting so many of the Syrians.
The people of Kurdistan and of Syria’s other neighbors might be more appreciative of the accolade if they felt others were more willing to share the burden.
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