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Migrants expose Europe's policy rifts

It seems there is no end to the influx of refugees to Europe. The plight continues unabated and policy-makers in Europe are clueless as to how to feed, rehabilitate and subsequently settle such a large number of illegal immigrants. Though the tale has its origin in Syria, where a five-year-old civil war is imploding the entire Middle East, a host of other factors such as inaction from the Western countries and the rise of militancy in Asia and Africa are now widely taking the toll.
The heads of 11 European Union states and three non-EU countries that met in Brussels to jot down a roadmap for refugees were literally unable to come to terms. What they decided is nothing more than piecemeal measures intended at managing the flow of migrants on the borders and shores of the continent. The decision to create 100,000 spaces for refugees and to coordinate with northern countries and Greece is too little, too late.
As a matter of fact more than 9,000 migrants are arriving in Greece alone on a daily basis, and there is no count for people who are trying to sneak into Europe from various other porous check posts. More than 650,000 migrants are estimated to have arrived by sea so far this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration, leading to division in the EU over how best to deal with the crisis. Last but not the least, the courage that migrants have shown in risking their lives on rickety boats and marching on the frontiers without adequate facilities underscores the genesis of the crisis.
This is where the prosperous West and other regional states should come up with a humane and proactive policy to rehabilitate and settle the diaspora. What is happening in Syria and Iraq, and its consequences far beyond the Mediterranean, will have a snowball affect on migration, economy and politics of the entire world. These dispossessed souls are war-stricken and the least that the West and other regional stakeholders should do is to bring the war to an end in the region.
The rise of Daesh and its march towards Northern Africa, as well as recruitment drives in Asia is too serious a problem to be ignored. The moment a political solution is reached in Syria and the abettors of terror are plucked out, the ground situation will become conducive enough to stop illegal migration. Until then no laws and restrictions will work, as the destitute have nothing to lose in making a move for a better tomorrow.
From Balkan borders down to the shores of Italy and Greece, the rise of xenophobic sentiments are quite natural but the continent should never opt for an iron curtain to flush out the migrants. It's time for a new era with a new approach to address the root cause of the problem and embrace the migrants with open arms.