Europe Struggles to House One Million Migrants During Winter

A recent survey sheds light on exactly why Syrians are leaving their country of origin. Despite the ruthlessness of ISIS, over 70% percent of migrants report fleeing in order to escape Syrian President Assad.  According to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, President Assad’s regime has killed over 250,000 citizens with indiscriminate barrel bomb assaults. 

With no end to the conflict in sight, the European Union is expecting the number of migrants to continue to surge. Currently housing over 770,000 migrants, the flagging European Union is facing the harsh reality of an impending Winter season.  As many of the migrant camps are open air tent communities, greater accommodations will be required  to avoid people freezing to death. 

“We want to keep up the pressure to ensure that the things which have been decided really happen,” German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in Brussels. “We are simply too slow in the face of the still constant refugee numbers.” 

In desperation, the Germans have begun packing migrants into sports halls, youth hostels and empty office buildings. According to Herbert Hessler, a doctor at the medical practice in one such facility, two-thirds of refugees there have caught a cold. Fears of rioting due to closed quarters, sickness and food shortages are had by many who oppose the open-door policies established by Germany. 

The end of the crisis in the Middle East is far from near, and massive migration will continue to challenge the already struggling European Union. With the German birthrate lower than the German mortality rate, the country could soon become the first majority Muslim country in Europe.