Although the word “refugee” does not find any specific mention in the charter, but Article 1.2. clearly demands to “unify the efforts of the Member States in view of the challenges faced by the Islamic world in particular and the global community in general”. Further, with limited means, the sheer physical distance between Syria and Gulf is a barrier.
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Arab expert Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi said: “The Gulf must realise that now is the time to change their policy regarding accepting refugees from the Syria crisis“.
According to the UNHCR, since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, almost four million refugees have fled the country and 6.5 million have been displaced within the country.
As thousands of refugees try their luck in the sea to flee to Europe, many people in the rich Gulf states feel shamed by the official silence of Gulf’s affluent monarchies on the ongoing crisis.
The several nations of the world have accused the richer neighbours of Syria, for not helping in amidst the refugee crisis.
The Saudis took in less than 700 refugees and asylum seekers last year, while a vast tide of 800,000 migrants rolls into Germany along with hundreds of thousands next year.
“Kuwait and Gulf states are expensive and don’t suit refugee life, it suits work”.
This group now contains many Syrians who have fled the war, although they get none of the protections or financial support that come with legal refugee or asylum status, nor a path to future citizenship – benefits Gulf countries do not grant. Israel has provided humanitarian medical assistance to countless Syrians and now Israel’s deputy minister of regional affairs Israel (an Arab Druze), has joined the leader of the political opposition in urging Israel to accept Syrian refugees, despite the demographic and strategic risks of doing so.
He noted that refugees are moving to Europe because of the constraints imposed on them by Syria’s neighboring countries – Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon – where they are restricted from working and all too often have no access to education and health care services. Most importantly, one must remember, that the only permanent solution to the crisis is the end of the war itself, an outcome that will need the major players to keep aside their vested interests and think with compassion.
As the USA debates opening up its doors to largely Syrian refugees, following the lead of generous European nations such as Germany, the notable absence of Arab Gulf states offering to house refugees is more than curious. There are 22 Arab countries, and only three of them are bearing the burden of Syrian refugees: Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. What is ironic here is that the countries contributing most to the rebels are among the most hesitant nations to take in the influx of refugees who have to pay the price of the war inflicted on them.
Israel, as mentioned, is an enemy state for Syria and the anti-Semitic education that Syrians received under the Baath Party’s school system will not make it easy for them to change their minds about that.
It is baffling that the Gulf region, especially UAE, which thrives on migrant labour and is the religious centre of Islam has turned a blind eye to providing opportunities to the refugees.
Others felt Gulf states should go further.
Most cases that are successful are Syrians whom are already in Gulf States that are extending a stay or those who are entering due to have family that are already there.
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For the Arab World, the brunt of this responsibility has fell to poorer or less stable nations. “When my son was born, among the worst thoughts was how it has no space for him”.
