Page 160 - Beautiful Rohingyas

158 Beautiful Rohingyas

borders, and allowing its soldiers to use plastic bullets and

tear gas against the refugees. Slovenia is another such
country that tries to stop hundreds of refugees with pepper
spray, despite the fact that there are babies, toddlers,
women and the elderly amongst them. Unlike those coun-
tries, Germany promised to welcome 800,000 and possibly
more refugees a year, and therefore is a European country
with an admirable behavior towards refugees. Turkey, prai-

sed by the entire world for its hospitable, peaceful and
embracing attitude, and for its selfless and helpful approach
to refugees, has welcomed two-and-a-half million Syrians
and has become a prime example in how to handle a refugee
crisis.
The refugee problem is a humanitarian issue

International laws regarding refugees strictly forbid
any discrimination against refugees based on religion, lan-
guage, sex or race. Despite this, Slovakia and the Czech
Republic intend to determine the refugees they will accept
will be based on their religion and stated that they would
accept only a limited number of Christian Syrians; this is
another example of a clear violation of human rights and
international laws. At this point, it is crucial that Europe,

which prides itself with the importance it attaches to democ-
racy and human rights and in treating all faiths equally,
takes steps to ensure that EU countries abandon their selfish
and discriminatory behavior without further ado.

Europe must accept the fact that the ongoing refugee
crisis is not a security issue, but a humanitarian problem.
Erecting barbed wires and fences, planting landmines along