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One Syrian refugee’s story
″I could no longer live in Syria″
Syrian refugee Alaa Houd left his job and family and hired people smugglers to make his way to the wealthy countries of Western Europe. Hiring people smugglers was his only way of leaving war-torn Syria. Diana Hodali spoke to Syrian Alaa Houd and recounts his story for him
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Portrait of the refugee helper Father Zerai
"All these people want is a chance"
The feisty Catholic priest Mussie Zerai is a staunch advocate of the rights of refugees in Italy and has already saved countless lives. A candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, he is known as the "refugees' guardian angel". Many refugees simply call him "Father Moses". By Andrea Backhaus
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The responsibility of the wealthy in the refugee crisis
Plea for a refugee solidarity tax
In view of the refugee crisis in Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel should enlist the services of high earners and the wealthy when addressing this acute issue of national importance. This would send both a necessary and shrewd political signal that could have immense significance for the preservation of social stability, says Stefan Buchen
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Refugee crisis in Europe
The price of European indifference
In dealing with the refugee crisis – harassed by its xenophobes and consumed by self-doubt – Europe has turned its back on its values. Or has it lost sight of them altogether? A critical discussion by the French philosopher Bernhard-Henri Levy
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European refugee policy: a commentary
Europe needs common standards
The refugee crisis is a chance to revive Europe's humanitarian heritage. Germany and the German people are taking the lead, says Loay Mudhoon
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Europe's refugee policy
Anything is better than the status quo
Using military force to combat people-smugglers also increases the risks for refugees. How can Europe reform its refugee policy without lying to itself? By Julian Lehmann
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Migration and xenophobia
Europe's refugee problem, then and now
This is not the first time that Europe has faced a wave of desparate refugees. Nor is it the first time that its response has left a lot to be desired. According to Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the continent should recall its past when considering how to deal with the people who are willing to risk everything crossing the Mediterranean to reach its shores
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After the refugee catastrophe in the Mediterranean
How the EU is killing refugees
The figure is shocking: an estimated 800 people lost their lives when a boat carrying refugees sank off the coast of Libya. According to Heribert Prantl, the EU has the ways and the means to rescue refugees in the Mediterranean, but because it is guided by a cynical logic, it is letting them drown
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The jihadi fighters of IS
"Jihadism has become a German phenomenon"
German jihadists are participating in Islamic State's war of terror. Security forces fear they could also pose a threat to the country. Guido Steinberg is an expert on Islam and Islamism. He has written a book about Germany's jihadi fighters. Bettina Marx spoke to him about the country's home-grown fighters
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Rebuilding Gaza
The back of the Gazan economy has been broken
What will become of the Gaza Strip? The American academic Sara Roy doubts that there is a future for Gaza and its inhabitants following the recent Israeli offensive. Bettina Marx has the details
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Syrian refugees in Turkey
Time for Turkey's allies to rally round
Turkey has quietly taken in one-and-a-half million Syrian refugees, yet assistance from Europe has thus far been shamefully inadequate. According to Stefan Kornelius, both the EU and NATO are leaving an ally in the lurch
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Landmine victims in Algeria
Open wounds
Landmines left over from the colonial era are still claiming victims in Algeria. For 50 years now, those affected have been fighting for recognition as war invalids, which France still denies them. By Susanne Kaiser