The tragic images of the children who drowned in their attempt to escape the hell in Syria may shock the world’s public opinion, but unfortunately that is as far as the sensitivity extends. The equally tragic images of thousands of refugees who arrive every day on the Greek islands, the shameful scenes being played out on the borders as well as the stations in European cities are not raising the necessary awareness amongst the Europeans and their leaders.

The huge refugee and migration crisis is really an open wound that Europe is unable to manage. A resurgence of the worst kind of nationalist and racist instincts and stereotypes is taking place, as the European leaders – under pressure from the financial crisis – are stalling and trying to defer responsibility elsewhere. With the exception of Germany, which is receiving the main bulk of refugees headed for Central Europe, the other countries appear unwilling to accept even a few thousand refugees.

The problem however is right in front of us and it is testing the endurance and policy of open borders, upon which Europe has been constructed. Countries such as Greece, which are under immense pressure, are unable to endure, neither can Germany absorb such a huge volume of uprooted people.

It is high time that Europe addressed the problem as a whole, without the evasions or small funding boosts for the countries that are primarily facing the problem; but rather with an overall change in policy, with broader alliances and above all, with collective solidarity. The sensitivity cannot only extend to the images of drowned children…

TO VIMA