Being the external border of the European Union because of their location, Bulgaria and Greece are some of the first countries that receive refugees from Asia and Africa. For this reason, the refugee issue will continue to be relevant and the main one to which societies in the two Balkan countries will respond. It will test our maturity and ability to deal with problems caused by refugee waves. Our poll in which we asked you, "What should the EU’s policy be towards immigrants and refugees?" provides some response to the issue in question.
The majority of readers of the Bulgarian page of GRReporter consider as a solution the termination of military conflicts that are the main cause for refugee waves and the role that the Western world could play in assisting the countries in distress to recover. This option is the preference of 41% of respondents. 28% of them support the opposite view - they think that only solid walls and destruction of smugglers’ boats at sea will lead to a lasting solution. 18% of readers perceive the existence of the Islamic State as the cause of refugee influx in Europe. 12% have the most compassionate motives and consider refugees as people in trouble, who should obtain all the necessary documents, shelter and work.
On the English page of our site, however, the percentage of those who believe that the Western countries should cooperate in terminating the military conflicts and in the recovery of the affected countries is lower. Unlike the Bulgarian version, here the share of those who prefer this option is 38%. However, the percentage of readers who believe that there should be walls along the borders and that the boats of smugglers should be destroyed at sea is higher, namely 31%. The radical responses of our English speaking readers may be explained by the fact that the majority of the refugees are only passing through the Balkans on their way to the richer and socially oriented European countries. Anti-refugee attitudes in this part of Europe are intensifying because their social systems are suffocating. The option that refugees are people in trouble and have to obtain all the necessary documents, shelter and work ranks third with almost double the readers vote, compared with the Bulgarian version, namely 22%. Only 9% see the Islamic State as the main cause of refugee waves.
The most explicit positions provoked by the poll are expressed on the Greek page of our site. 75% of respondents are of the opinion that military conflicts should stop and the West should help destitute countries. The remaining 25% of readers think the solution is to erect walls along the borders and to destroy the boats of smugglers at sea.
The majority of our readers want a permanent solution to the refugee issue and believe that Europe's policy should be aimed at ending the military conflicts in the areas that are the source of the larger refugee waves. The significant number of readers who want Europe to be isolated through too radical measures, namely through erecting walls and destroying traffickers’ boats at sea, is noteworthy too.
Please, share your opinion and comments in connection with a phenomenon that has been growing over the past few years by answering the following question in our latest poll, “Why do you think illegal adoption of Bulgarian children in Greece is thriving?”
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
