EU Response to Syrian Refugee Crisis - Response

Throughout the semester, our blog group covered the impacts of the Syrian refugee crisis on the EU, primarily focusing on the EU perspective and response. Our blog posts covered several different aspects on this topic including an overview of the initial reactions by EU states, the current and prospective economic impacts, and the social impacts for both refugees and EU civilians. In our overview post, we talked about the varying levels of involvement among EU states in helping refugees as they arrive; Germany and France offer refugees temporary housing in asylum camps, extra protection, and monthly allowances, whereas countries like Hungary and Slovakia fail to contribute their equal share (Buchanan, 2016). We also briefly summarized the history of Syria’s civil war, outlined how it ultimately led to thousands of refugees fleeing their homes, and how the arrival of these refugees challenges the EU’s integrity as a major, collective political-economic force. We then delved deeper into the economic impacts in our second post, where we explored the short-term and long-term effects of refugees entering EU state economies. For short term effects, it is likely that the EU will experience an increase in aggregate demand and employment demand (Aiyar, 2016). The long term effects are less predictable, since the impact of the refugees on employment rates and GDP will be based on the extent of integrating refugees into the economy (Aiyar, 2016). We also analyzed the economic policies of the EU, and how specific states are integrating refugees into their economies with employment programmes and financial support. Our final post looks at the social impacts of the refugee crisis on EU member states and civilians. The main concern of EU citizens, according to a Pew Research study, is that the increase in migrants will result in an increased likelihood of terrorism , and that incoming refugees will take away job opportunities and social benefits from citizens (Poushter, 2016). We then turned our attention to EU policies on asylum seeker rights, such as the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the EU Reception Conditions Directive. After outlining how these policies work to protect the basic rights of asylum seekers, we concluded that a peaceful and smooth integration will depend heavily on people's’ ability to treat the refugees with respect and dignity, rather than discrimination.

German football fans in support of welcoming refugees into their home country
http://cached.imagescaler.hbpl.co.uk/resize/scaleWidth/614/offlinehbpl.hbpl.co.uk/news/ORP/Refugees-20150908114358671.jpg

Before conducting our research, our group created a list of inquiries regarding our topic. We then used our questions to guide our research, which was initially done by half of the group. The researchers were responsible for finding sources, reading and analyzing the text, and providing the writers (the other half of the group) with key points to include in the blog post. Although each researcher provided 3-4 sources, it was always necessary for the writers to do extra research to understand certain terms or concepts stated in the text. This system did not equalize the workload for everyone; the writers ended up having to re-read the sources themselves because the researchers’ summaries were either vague or incomplete. We then switched to a system where each member of the group was responsible for doing their own research, and writing their own paragraph. This worked well because we collected more of a variety of sources, and each member could research deeply into their single sub-topic. We tried to use relatively unbiased, yet informative sources such as Human Rights Watch, Open Society Foundations, and Carnegie Europe. My own research included collecting information from the EU official website, and EU official documents that defined specific terms and policies used by the EU. Overall, the research process became more efficient, and more precise with each new blog post.

This project taught me a great wealth of information about the Syrian refugee crisis, and coincidentally, sparked my passion for blog writing as well. First and foremost, I learned the basics of blog writing and what makes a good blog; concise writing, hyperlinks, attention-grabbing introductions, pictures, accurate citations, and a focused, yet permeable topic. Blog writing is very different from academic writing as well as creative writing, and I found it to be more of a mix of the two. I also learned that to conduct good, thorough research, it is important to consider the origin, purpose, limitations, and values of a given source. Evaluating these factors will help the writer determine which sources are valid and appropriate for use, depending on the topic and intention. Finally, I also learned the importance of delegating tasks within group members. It is not uncommon for there to be an imbalance of work, but the workload should never be completely one sided. Working with a group can be a blessing or a curse depending on how the boundaries are set in the beginning; it is always important to consult with others along the way to make sure everyone is meeting their deadlines and contributing equally. Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this project, as it challenged me as a writer, researcher, and thinker. I will continue blog writing in my own time and use what I learned from this project to guide future blog posts!