"There are people fleeing out of a fear of being killed and abandoning house and home to save their own lives. These people used to live normally. They were not poor or anything. They had normal lives. But they fled because of the effect of this scourge. That is no good. It has happened; these guests are now here with us. That war has happened. We cannot behave in any other way.
As you travel around, may God forbid, you may see injured people, covered in blood. Of course you get out of the car and try and help. You may have new clothes on, and they get covered in blood. You go to hospital with the person. Then the police detain you. They want information about that person. You wait in the emergency department all night to see what happens to that person. You do that for God's approval. Many things may happen. You may be exposed to numerous difficulties. But what would you want if it were you? That is what we are doing. For example, someone is there covered in blood. He is freezing cold and on his way out. How can you say, 'This is none of my business'? That would be terrible immorality. How could one sleep at night?
How could we possibly tell our Syrian guest, may God forbid; 'Go back to your own country. Two million of you are causing us problems. We cannot bother ourselves with you. You have eaten our food. We have had enough of you. Go back home.' Let us imagine that we sent refugees back home and they were killed or injured by barrel bombs or something. May God forbid. How could anyone sleep at night after that? Terrible things are happening in the region. A terrible scourge is there. These things are the natural consequence of that, and we must not shame our guests. A guest's worse fear is to think, 'Am I being a burden?' The host has a duty to set his guest's mind at rest. That is just good manners.
"That is no good. You are a guest from God. You have brought prosperity with you, and we are delighted by you. You must never think you are a burden. What's mine is yours. Remember how the Qur'an praises Ansar (Helpers) and Muhajirun (Migrants). We must do the same thing."
A person's life is infinitely valuable. EU countries must therefore reinstate the Triton mission and initiate other operations to expand Mare Nostrum to save the refugees from death. It is a complete violation of its mission for EU countries, regarded as the pioneers of human rights, to turn a blind eye to the deaths of hundreds of people in the middle of Europe every month.
As the world public witnesses such suffering among refugees, the response must not seem to be so feeble as to fail to assist these people in such difficulties. Indeed, another report came out the other day. Prof. Per Pinstrup-Andersen, a leading figure in the FAO campaign against food waste, stated that 100 million tons of food is thrown away in Europe every year. According to the most optimistic FAO estimate, one-third of the food produced in the world is either lost before it can be eaten or simply wasted.
In conclusion, the data shows that there are enough food resources to feed all of the seven billion people in the world. In that case, the most pressing matter is to get these resources to the areas where they are needed and then to establish systems to ensure that nobody in the world is hungry or homeless.
Food is only one aspect of waste. The greatest waste is the weapons made for fighting and the bombs built to devastate cities. Since love is imprisoned in the world today, countries are arming themselves in an insane frenzy; hatred results only in destruction and more suffering. When waste of all manner is prevented, when mechanisms of distribution are set up for God's sake, these problems will be eradicated.
The first requirement for people forced to migrate because of troubles at home is the right to enter countries where they can be safe and can move around freely. In this way, they will not be forced to wait at border crossings after long journeys, and at least the first step in the journey will be made easier.
There is an urgent need for a union of Muslim states, resembling the European Union, to be set up to resolve this problem and the growing refugee question in the Middle East. In this way, citizens of countries that enjoy free rights of movement into one another, like the EU, will have a way out when troubles arise and will be able to find a humanitarian corridor. Rights such as dual nationality and the right to work without visas will put an end to conditions that restrict refugees and prevent them from living under humane conditions and provide a solution that all people of good conscience can be comfortable with.
Even when we look at the implementation of a more humane phase by improving the lives of refugees, we still see the need for the Middle East to have its own union. In order for a rapid solution to this emergency situation without lengthy political and bureaucratic procedures, everyone who espouses freedom and equality should call for such a union.