Refugee crisis

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan will fuel a wave of immigrants seeking refuge in regions far away from the troubled land. Chancellor Angela Merkel who welcomed thousands of Syrian refugees, a few years ago, stands as a beacon of hope for many. But with her term nearing end, fear abounds not only among those who are yet to get regularized in their new home in Germany, but those who were to head for Germany, ahead of the Taliban blitz (“As Merkel’s term nears end, Syrians worry Afghan crisis could fuel anti-migrant vote,” Aug. 26, Gulf Today).

Like the US and other countries, Germany scrambled to evacuate thousands of local helpers from Afghanistan, along with its own citizens, but many are left behind. Now the fate of some of those stranded could rest on which party comes to power as Germany heads for the polls.

Immigration naturally is the hot topic and as the article points out two thirds of Germans ‘fear’ a repetition of 2015, when Merkel opened Germany’s border to almost one million asylum seekers, mainly Syrians. The prognosis is not very good for immigrants should Merkel’s Christian Democrats lose majority. The international airlift operation may have ended with the Taliban taking charge of the Kabul airport, but evacuations are likely to continue, this time with the consent of the new government. As for Germany, it is preparing to assist nearly 40,000 Afghans who are entitled to come to Germany with their close family.

Germany aside, to make matters worse, news reports say that Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is also not prepared to take in more Afghans and is unlikely to back a Europe-wide system for distributing refugees from Afghanistan across the European Union.  I am hoping though that EU in general will reach out to the hapless Afghanis who are in distress.

Mustaq Ahmed — By email