*Update 4-30-2016. Whether Italy years ago, Greece months ago, or again Italy today, Open borders have been a disaster for all, including the true war refugees themselves. For those who say it is a secure border causing dangerous journeys to Europe, I would ask, "What secure border"? Neither Greece or Italy is secure; they allow all migrants to enter. If one wants to cite a "secure border" to make a case that it promotes dangerous journeys, they need to use a valid example, like Australia. However, they may be disappointed. But don't pretend the external EU border at Italy and Greece is "secure". It has been surrendered. Enjoy original post below from Jan2016.
Original Post:
The debate goes on in Europe over "values". Somehow, the leaders of Greece and Italy believe they have a monopoly on the subject (for the record, my blood is a mix of Italian, German, Slovak while my heart is Czech since I am married to one; my ego still American). While the EU desperately seeks to secure the border, Italy and Greece claim 'their values' prevent them from securing their (in reality, the EU) border from undocumented migrants.
But is surrendering ones border really an act of humanity or is it the cause of so much tragedy and does it indirectly enable human smugglers to thrive? Let's take a look.
Greece is a perfect example with 85% of the refugees making their way from Turkey to Greece by sea. The open border encourages these dangerous journeys which have resulted in death and abuse by smugglers. Everyone knows Greece offers no resistance, especially the smugglers. They arrange the trips on the Turkish coast where a bustling and profitable trafficking enterprise exists. It goes on right in front of Erdogan's eyes; he could stop it but chooses not to for his own interests. The trips are expensive and sometimes the women pay for the trip through forced sex with the smugglers. Children are often abused. This is not a secret; both Greece and the UN know what is happening yet choose to ignore it based on their greater 'value' of humanity for the migrants.
Moreover, the migrants are often without any identification and are barely vetted, which makes the route accessible to jihadists posing as migrants. Most of the migrants are young males who do not respect the culture. They pose great risks to women as evidenced by the Cologne sexual attacks and numerous others across Europe. Blowback will also occur years from now when a mass of parentless, young men grow up with many emotional scars. In addition, they are easy prey for radicalization and criminal gangs (we already see this happening in Sweden and Germany).
On the other side, Australia provides the example of a secured border. Years ago, when the boats started to arrive on their coast, they implemented policies that discouraged illegal human trafficking. This included turning the boats back. Tough love at first, but the boats stopped and they no longer have a problem. The smugglers were put out of business due to a sealed border, there are no drownings and their citizens have not been exposed to the dangers of undocumented male migrants. You can also look currently at the V4 countries (Czech, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) that control their borders and detain the illegal migrants. There is no chaos in their streets and their citizens are safe, sleeping like babies.
The conclusion is obvious. Securing the borders saves lives, eliminates the smugglers, and provides order and safety for the citizens of that country. Moreover, it can provide an orderly process outside the borders that can actually help a limited amount of true refugees in need.
An open border like Greece is a disaster for all, including the true war refugees, who are actually hurt by the huge mass of illegal migrants. The huge volume of refugees produce long delays in processing and even abuse from the illegal migrants themselves. The open border in Greece encourages the dangerous voyage, and as a result, we have seen far too many deaths. The citizens of Europe are exposed to great risks and they are tense and see their way of life disappearing.
So when we hear Renzi or the leaders of Greece talk humanity, we may want to ask them why the smugglers prefer their 'values' as opposed to Australia's Tony Abbott or Hungary's Viktor Orban. For what type of 'values' risk the security of your own people in the name of 'humanity'?
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