Likewise, when Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court ruled Australia’s camp on its Manus Island is illegal and must close, its resolve persisted. Between PNG and the island nation of Nauru, Australia has diverted and detained more than 1,200 sea-borne migrants, leaving these asylum seekers in limbo, and Australians with a big problem.
Justin Trudeau, heart-throb political leader and PM of Canada rolled out a refugee solution for Syrian refugees last December. Since that time Canada has rolled out the welcome mat for almost 28500 refugees and are trying to integrate them into society as fast as they possibly can. While Angela Merkel and Stefan Loven, Sweden’s PM, have also done a lot but what is special about Trudeau is welcoming humanity towards the refugees. He received them personally showing they are welcome deserving dignity.
No other nation has had such a humanitarian attitude except the above three. But it is Trudeau that we see who embodies the human ideal — taking selfies with refugees, smiling them, and welcoming them at airports. These are photo ops which will get him no votes or sympathy, but he does them anyway to show that First World nations can be different — not like the harsh rigid attitude of Australia, or the meagre response of the USA.
He has shown how a First World nation can show humanity and human warmth to incoming refugees in distress.
Definitely there are some problems. When Trudeau promised during last fall’s election campaign to bring 25,000 government-sponsored Syrian refugees to Canada, he also said the Liberals would assist in bringing additional Syrian refugees to Canada who were supported by private groups that had raised money to finance their settlement here.
Ottawa has fulfilled its initial pledge to bring 25,000 government-sponsored refugees here and has expanded that plan to bring in another 25,000 by the end of 2016. But it has failed miserably in bringing in refugees under the private-sponsorship program.
What is not appreciated by many rich nations of the West is that it is the global power politics that is responsible for displacing thousands of men, women and children and making them suffer inhumanly.
It’s no doubt that some sponsorship groups may have to wait more than a year — and likely longer — before their refugee families arrive. Syrian families are still languishing in refugee camps throughout the Middle East. Apartments rented and furnished in a hurry last fall for the refugees are sitting empty. Up to $200 million raised to sponsor the families lies unused in bank trust accounts.
Prime Minister Trudeau’s greatness lies in offering the refugees the human dignity they deserve as human beings.
