April 04, 2016

Panic in Panama, but not at home

editor:	Gurmeet Singh

While the world comes to terms with what the leaks from Panama actually mean, there's been a lot of calm this side of the world.

I mean in reference to the refugee situation, and not the papers - the first boats containing refugees/ migrants left the island of Lesbos and sailed for Turkey; 131 people, to be exact.

This initial move, the first to move under the EU-Turkey deal secured last month has already aroused great controversy; its legality is under review, as is the obvious humanitarian problems involved. By causing great agitation among many migrants, secular and inter-ethnic violence has already erupted, sparking fears that the deal might be useful for Europe, but will be a disaster for migrants.

Protestors against the move are calling it the largest illegal deportation in human history, with tens of thousands of people potentially facing deportation. The Turkish coast is only a little over 20km from Lesbos.

People across the continent have remained phlegmatic about the deal - and questions over its appropriateness as a response to the refugee crisis have not been vociferously put forth. Perhaps it is because there is a broad understanding in the media that the deal is an effective solution to the problem; Perhaps its a tacit assumption that the migrants will be better off in a majority Muslim country.

At any rate, there is a palpable feeling of indifference to the deal - and what a change that makes to a few months ago, when refugees were welcome to Europe, welcome to their new homes. This for me is probably the biggest tragedy.