“Send us only the Christians, we do not want Moslems,” the Slovak government has told the European Union in reaction to the influx of thousands of refugees from Iraq, Syria, Libya and Africa who want to start a new life in Europe.
This statement speaks to the scene of migrants drowning in the Mediterranean Sea when smugglers sink their dinghies and European coast guards and commercial ships rush to save them.
The Greek island of Kos is struggling to register them, Macedonian riot police are using tear gas to hold them back, and in Calais thousands storm the Channel tunnel to reach Britain and the message from Germany is that by the end of the year the number of asylum seekers there could reach 800,000.
It all makes good stories, and good pictures. Fathers with small children crying from desperation after making it safely to Greek soil, children getting caught up between riot police and refugees, people pulling down fences that keep them from reaching their destination.
These images could be interpreted as hordes of people coming for Europe’s riches, and Muslims coming to take over the Christian world. That is a message that journalists may not be aware that they are sending, and do not really intend to send.
In Europe, many cannot make sense of who these people are, but most of them are people who have fled from war and violence, from terrorism and the threat of having to convert to radical Islam. Those who are not fleeing from such persecution are desperately looking for a future for their children.
Somewhere between the pictures and their interpretation in Europe this truth has got lost and that leads to xenophobia, racism and fear.
For this reason, Al Jazeera decided last week to scrap the world ‘migrant’ when referring to these boat people because it may give the impression that they want to get to the Europe for economic reasons while in reality most are seeking refuge from unbearable situations.
What is happening now is not unique. For years people have been trying to cross the border between the United States and Mexico. Cubans fled to America by boat, and a great many like Sri-Lankan Tamils fled their civil war. Millions more have fled from violence and hardship in their home countries.
Some of these people who have paid smugglers are hoping to find a better job, or any job. Others flee for different and complex reasons, but they all have one thing in common: to find a better life in the West.
The use of another term does not change the fact. Who are we to label a whole group of people? I have seen all the name changes over the years in the West: first we had guest labourers, then they became foreigners, then we started calling them immigrants, followed by migrants, refugees, IDPs.
It does not make a real difference at the receiving end. The issue is that the West has closed its doors and people try to find backdoors to get in. Making it so hard is only feeding people’s determination.
Many are attracted by stories of government benefits, about the housing they will be offered, or the job waiting for them.
That’s what has lined the pockets of the smugglers, who only add to the fantasies and get more people for the perilous journey.
The difference this time is the numbers that mirror the wars in the Middle East. These numbers scare people at the receiving end who seem to be able to only handle a small number of newcomers.
Refugees arriving at Kos were disappointed for not being welcomed at all. And this is the tragedy: they were told of a welcoming paradise. But that’s no longer the reality, if it ever was. Yet these facts do not reach those who plan to leave, partly because those who found out keep quiet, or because those are leaving don’t want to hear it.
Europe wants refugees to be housed and fed in their own areas. But people will not stay in tents forever. They need to see light at the end of the tunnel, a future for themselves and their loved ones. So they will keep dreaming of the West no matter how many people get disappointed. For many, Europe is paradise lost, but for others it will remain the only way out.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.
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