PingviN and IndyColtsFan, you guys are simply talking about the ONE kid and his background. The problem is more systemic than this one kid. It's what the one kid symbolizes -- all the other innocent children (and adults) in that part of the world that are being forced into such measures.
And in regards to the one kid, I don't give a crap what his personal background is. All I know is that there is a dead kid washed up on a beach and it's depressing.
Yes, it's a sad picture. And a sad symbol.
But the idea that "they are all poor people, and we have to help them all, no matter what" is a bit too simple.
First of all you need to realize there are 2 types of refugees at the moment.
1) The war refugees from Syria and Iraq. These mainly seem to come via Turkey.
2) Economic migrants from all over Africa and Asia. They try to enter Spain and Italy from Lybia and Morocco, via the Mediterrean. A large group even comes from places as far as Bangladesh.
I have zero sympathy for the economic migrants. There are half a billion poor people in Africa, half a billion suppressed people in China, and another half billion poor people in India. Should we set up an air-bridge to get them all to come to Europe ?
Now let's talk about the poor boy Aylan.
Because his story does tell us something about the general problem.
Aylan, his dad and mum, and a brother (5) and sister were living for 4 years in Turkey. In Istanbul ! Which is a normal semi-western city. They were safe there. They had no reason to flee any further. There is no war in Istanbul. Any risk they took to move countries was unnecessary.
His dad had no teeth. He needed new teeth. Regular dentures were not good enough.
He wanted implants. That would have cost $14000. Aylan's dad could not afford that. So he made a plan, after 4 years of living in Istanbul, to illegally enter Greece. He would not ask from asylum in Greece, because Greece is not good enough for him. (If he had entered Greece the normal way, and asked for asylum there, he would have had to stay in Greece). No, they wanted to go to Germany. Because life in Germany is a lot better than in Greece. And in Germany he might get his teeth implants for free. That is why he took his family and took the risk go to Greece. He also hoped to be able to go to Canada, once he was in Germany.
It's still a sad story.
But for different reasons.
You might call this just one case, and not representative for all refuges. I disagree. I think the real victims are the people who are stuck in Syria. Or who are stuck in refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan. Not the ones who insist in going to Germany, Sweden or the UK. Who think Greece and eastern european countries are not good enough for them. And certainly not the young african kids who come with smartphones to europe, and who have stacks of money to pay for their illegal trips.
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