They were the leading and direct cause for the recent misfortunes unfolding in Libya, Iraq and Syria (we certainly did our part) and here they are lecturing at us. 

Recently, Europe, more precisely, the European Union, has been deluding us into believing that it cares for the refugees (the US has not even bothered to pretend) after the tragic drowning of hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea and the rescue of a fortunate few by the Italian Navy and here the EU is lecturing at us!

We must forget that the West decided to invade Libya in 2011; we must forget that the West halted migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean waters when Italy stopped its Mare Nostrum mission in November 2014 because the rest of Europe failed to fulfill its financial obligations towards this mission. Indeed, the Mare Nostrum mission destined to rescue stricken migrants was replaced by two operations, Triton and Operation Poseidon, aimed at protecting Europe’s maritime borders. Some have even gone as far as demanding the bombardment of migrant boats before they set sail. They did what they did to Africa and its people and here they are lecturing at us!

Roughly 1750 people have drowned in the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2015, a figure that is 30 times the death toll registered during the same period last year. So far, close to 3200 refugees have died in the Mediterranean. 

In 2014, Italy rescued roughly 170,000 refugees of different nationalities and detained them until they were assessed and subsequently most of them were deported. Britain hosted 143 Syrian refugees; the US welcomed 524 and is expected to host another 1000. 

While all of Europe has decided to accommodate 5000 refugees and deport the rest, Lebanon has received alone more than a million refugees from Syria. The European Union, whose population is estimated at 500 million, has sounded the alarm and announced its inability to accommodate the influx of refugees.

If we were to calculate the numbers of refugees that should be hosted by Lebanon by using the European equation, the figures should be as follows: 

500 million (Europe’s population) / 5000 = 0.00001%

5 million (Lebanon’s registered population) * 0.00001 = 50 Refugees

Indeed, if Lebanon were to follow in the footsteps of Europe, it should host 50 Syrian refugees.

To the hypocrites in Europe, Lebanon must say ‘How dare you preach morality to us. You transformed our land into a graveyard and the Mediterranean into a floating cemetery!’