When refugees knock on the EU's door

The wave of refugees that suddenly piled up at Europe's gates after Turkey abandoned the policy it had so far applied of preventing Syrian refugees who want to go to Europe or elsewhere is a subject poised to become Europe's most important agenda item now. In what we call "such a short time," all within 4 days, the number of refugees pressing against Europe's gate has reached almost 150 thousand.

The scene that has emerged on Europe's borders has shown the whole world with its own eyes what kind of problem Turkey has been left utterly alone to cope with for years.

In none of the crowds pressing at the gate is there the slightest statement that they are being forcibly sent from Turkey. Turkey is not forcibly sending anyone; on the contrary, it only says it will not stand in the way of those who want to go. Those who go are in any case people who look at Turkey as a stop on the way to Europe. Very, very few of them set out on this journey having come with Turkey as their target. Besides, Turkey does not forcibly send anyone anywhere.

By contrast, the great majority of those who go express sorrow at leaving Turkey. There is a dream, a vision that drives them on this journey. The European dream is still a valid dream for many of them. They have the expectation that they can build a better life there than in Turkey. This expectation and motivation sends people on this journey of hope.

In fact, the end of this journey will be a complete adventure and in all likelihood will end in great disappointment. For even if they cross the border and reach their goal, although Europe has ample material means to offer these refugees, it will not be so generous in offering them, and indeed it is not. But people with hope do not agree to consume in advance a future they have not yet experienced. They will not know without living it, they will not understand without seeing it.

Today's Europe has begun to eat itself up and consume itself with xenophobia. Let alone the possibility of giving the foreigner anything, the very existence of the foreigner now puts all the values said to belong to Europe into an inescapable vise. On the one hand it is xenophobia itself that already prevents the practice of admitting refugees as a human right, and on the other hand the presence of refugees, whose number grows by the day, has turned into a test that has become very difficult for Europe to win.

The rise of the far right in Europe, which has no rational policy and brings with it withdrawal inward and the irresponsible consumption of its own human resources, is a reaction to the foreigners who are increasing through refugees. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that this reaction is the greatest crisis the EU has faced.

What has already happened on the Greek border gives no optimistic impression that Europe can pass this tough test successfully. The treatment shown to the migrants does not only crush the migrants; together with them it tramples to the ground the EU's humanitarian values, its consistency and its sincerity.

In fact, at this point the "refugee readmission agreement" Turkey made with the EU was a huge opportunity for the EU. The picture of Turkey having more than fulfilled its part in this agreement is being given most clearly today on the Greek border. Turkey, by doing its part, was keeping all these refugees within Turkey's borders. Moreover, the only cost of ensuring this is not the livelihood of the refugees; there is a far higher cost of the police and security forces employed to prevent these refugees from moving toward Europe.

In return for this magnificent opportunity Turkey provided to Europe within the framework of the agreement, there was very little the EU had to do, but the EU turned this into a constant matter of stalling. It displayed in this matter the very same attitude it applied on admitting Turkey to the EU: getting all the benefit it gets from Turkey for free.

Visa exemption was one of these conditions, and it has been almost entirely shelved. There was financial support to be given, and very little of it was delivered. And of course the most important thing was supporting a lasting solution to the conflict environment in Syria that constantly produces refugees, applying the necessary pressure on the Assad regime, the source of the problem, and removing it from power. If no effective step could be taken on this, then at least it was understanding the struggle of Turkey, which is fighting on this path, not obstructing its struggle, and not supporting the terror organizations that further destabilize this region in Turkey's fight against them.

Unfortunately, while the EU countries, far from preventing instability in Syria, displayed behavior that fanned it further, they also left Turkey alone in its fight against terror, and moreover continued in the unjust comfort of having shifted onto Turkey the bill that should have been presented to themselves because of it.

Seen from this angle, Turkey's decision to lift the obstacles it had put against the movement of refugees was as justified as it was politically a clever step that will reopen the dialogue doors between the EU and Turkey, which had begun to jam.

To repeat, Turkey is not forcibly sending anyone; it is only giving up obstructing those who want to go. Indeed, all its effort in Syria consists of making conditions favorable for those who want to go back. Even in that case, there will never be any question of forcibly sending those who do not want to go.