No country should close its borders to asylum-seekers

Uncertainty: the feeling that more than 800000 people are experiencing today. The
asylum-seekers’ crisis is not only a social problem but a political one. While governments are
still debating whether they should allow asylum-seekers into their countries or not, people
are being killed on a large scale. Would it be a solution to close the borders? The main
arguments in favour and against of closing the borders will be presented.

On the one hand, there are two main arguments in favour of closing the borders. It is argued
that, based on prior experience, a country that has already hosted asylum-seekers will have
to take measures in order to prevent them from coming in large influxes into the country. For
example, last September, the train service between Austria and Germany was closed for
twelve hours at the government’s request in an attempt to secure the borders. While this
kind of measures may prevent asylum-seekers from going from one country to another, they
may also bring severe consequences to people already living in those countries. When this
train service was closed, the Schengen agreement -which provides free travels within the EU
borders- was broken.
Another argument against receiving asylum-seekers is that only a few countries have this
responsibility and, therefore, the economic situation of the host countries is affected. No
matter how willing a country’s government is to shelter migrants, accepting floods of
refugees implies building camps from one day to the other. This could only be done with the
help of worldwide organizations and/or the cooperation of other countries, since it is not
possible for a single nation to feed, immunize and help that many people at the same time.
Refugee camps, then, end up being squalid and underresourced. A refugee crisis like the
one we are facing today should not be an individual responsibility but a collective one.

Refugee camps today

On the other hand, there are several reasons against closing the borders. Firstly, it is every
country’s obligation, by international law, to provide humanitarian help to those in need. It
was after WWII that countries realized what could happen if they refused to take asylum
seekers. The experience of some countries during the Holocaust, when 6 million of Jews
were killed after Cuba and the US refused to accept them, proved the vital importance of
foreign help in this kind of affairs. Furthermore, a direct consequence of the unfair situations
lived during WWII was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees a “right
to seek and enjoy asylum”. Therefore, if a country refuses to provide asylum, it will be
violating the human rights of those seeking shelter.
What is more, it must be known that all those families that are left aside in the countries at
war do not normally survive. It is assumed that it is the neighbouring countries’ obligation to
secure the future of many children which cannot live in their country of origin because they
are constantly been exposed to threats. Since regimes do not distinguish between children
or adults, many schools have been attacked with incendiary weapons: an example of this
can be found in Syria where the students who survived incendiary attacks had to move to
Turkey in a quest for food, medical care and, of course, education.

Taking everything into account, even though it is true that accepting asylum seekers into the
country has social and economic consequences, it is a country’s responsibility to host them,
not only because of legal reasons but also because of moral ones. As Pope Francis said in
his speech to the US Congress last September, ​“the Golden Rule also reminds us of our
responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development.” In his
speech he also reminded us that ​“the challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that
spirit of cooperation.” In other words, only if governments work cooperatively will they
overcome this crisis and millions of lives will be saved.

Pope Francis delivering his speech

“we must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirits of fraternity and solidarity,
cooperating generously for the common good”

“the Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at
every stage of its development”
golden rule= “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Mt 7:12)

“millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in
freedom. we, the people​ of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us
were once foreigners”

Jewish refugees in St Louis: