Syrian refugee crisis: Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, UAE do nothing as Europe struggles

As Europe struggles to cope with a massive humanitarian crisis in the form of influx of refugees from Syria and other parts of the Middle East, Western governments have been accusing each other of not taking on a more active role in accepting these refugees. 

However, that presents only one side of the story. The other side of the story is that six of the richest Gulf states have taken in a grand total of zero refugees so far.

An Amnesty International report recently pointed out, the "six Gulf countries - Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain - have offered zero resettlement places to Syrian refugees."

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has taken in zero refugees so far, said the Financial Times. It adds that 'Syrians say that influx into these countries has become impossible'.

These countries are far closer to Syria than any part of mainland Europe. But refugees have preferred to cross the dangerous seas to reach Western Europe than negotiate their way into any of the Gulf nations. 

Pakistani-Canadian writer and liberal rights activist Tarek Fatah retweeted the following map, which was first tweeted by his daughter and CBCNews correspondent Natasha:

How many #Syrian refugees are wealthy Gulf states accepting? Zero. Covering this story on @CBCNews Network. #CBCNN pic.twitter.com/gT8LNvgpsc

— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) September 4, 2015

A Washington Post report went further, asserting that the six aforementioned countries have some of the world's largest military budgets and have deep investments in the ongoing conflict in Syria. They also have some of the highest standards of living in the Middle East. Curiously though, none are signatories to the United Nations' 1951 Refugee Convention, which defines what a refugee is and lays out their rights, as well as the obligations of states to safeguard them.

So why don't these countries take refugees in? Some of the reasons may be political and religious. Iran supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Saudi-led Gulf states have funded rebel movements in these countries.

But according to the Washington Post report, the refugees would also require visas to enter these countries, which is a very difficult matter. 

According to the BBC, the only Arab countries where a Syrian can travel without a visa are Algeria, Mauritania, Sudan and Yemen. These are hardly choice destinations for anyone looking for a better life, it would seem.

It seems that while Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran engage in an expensive war in Yemen, they have no thought to spare for opening their borders to refugees fleeing the Islamic State and other horrors, and resettling them.

Also Read: United Nations calls on European Union to accept 2,00,000 refugees

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