Panelists discuss refugee crisis Wednesday night

By Ying Jiang

[email protected]

Eight panelists spoke about the refugee crisis happening in the Middle East and Europe at W.T. Young Auditorium 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Almost 60 million refugees have been forcibly displaced by the crisis since 2014. The refugees do not have gauranteed housing, food or water, and they have no jobs or income to support themselves.

Since 2014, conflict and persecution has forced about 42,500 people per day to leave their homes and seek protection elsewhere, either within the borders of their countries or in other countries.

Europe has experienced a significant increase of refugees.

“It is a worldwide issue, and everyone should play a role to resolve the refugee issue,” said Christoph Kositzke, a biology and public health sophomore from Jordan. “Especially those in countries near Syria.”

By the end of 2014, Syria became the top source of refugees in the world, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ 2014 report released in June 2015.

Patricia Ehrkamp, an associate professor of geography, said the UNHCR proposed durable solutions like repatriation, local integration and resettlement, but it was not enough for such a large number of refugees.

“During the United States Refugee Resettlement Process, it may take a long time to get the permission to enter the U.S. for refugees,” said Emily Jones, an immigration attorney for Kentucky Refugee Ministries.

One of the panelists, Mohammad Zannoun, is a visiting sociology professor from Pakistan who “has researched the relationships between gender and religion, especially Islam,” and “has deep, personal knowledge of the Middle East,” according to UKNow.

“If there is a peaceful environment, then those refugees would be not willing to leave their homes to seek more safe places in other countries,” said Zannoun, who said the biggest problem is not how countries could accept refugees, but how the international community — including the United States, Russia, China and other countries — can help to resolve the problems caused by the war in Syria.

Michael Samers, an associate professor of geography, said the U.S. could send volunteers to help set up apartments, tutor refugee families who are learning English, or sponsor fundraisers to help refugee families. His work especially pertains to the life and experiences of European immigrants.

“Everybody needs to become informed and decide what they want to do — there are a lot of opportunities for students to respond, like participating in (non-governmental organizations) or students organizations,” Roberts said. “We should take action.”