In a recent interview with an Australian news outlet Tim Costello, CEO of the humanitarian organization World Vision, said the best way to handle the European refugee crisis is to secure the refugees in place so they can eventually return to their own countries. He dismissed resettlement as a primary goal because the refugees “want to go back home, not come [to Austrialia], not go to Europe.”
In an interview with ABC Australia, Costello said:
“Look, at the end of the day the intake is sort of the pimple on the hippopotamus. [Australia’s annual refugee intake of 20,000 is] small because "generous" has now redefined by Germany, with 800,000…Generous, we would say, is 30,000. But that's a very small number and it's not really the main game. It's actually giving people hope in the camps that they're secure, they're going to be fed, that they don't need to flee - and above all, that one day if Russia and America and the allies actually say we're going to demand a cessation of hostilities, then they can go back home. That's what they want to do. They just want to go back home, not come here, not go to Europe.”
William Bourke, President of the Australian Sustainable Population Party agreed, saying “We align with Reverend Costello’s overriding aim to help people live safely now, and ultimately sustainably in their homeland…Whilst an increased intake should be considered, the current game of moral one-upmanship by politicians is unhelpful and regrettable. For every one person Australia resettles, we therefore forego the opportunity to help over 500 people in what World Vision’s Tim Costello calls ‘the main game’.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., this week called for creating a safe zone in Syria so refugees can be protected in place. "Why not create that safe zone in Syria so people don't have to leave their country," he said. "They would rather stay there if we can guarantee safety and basic comforts of food, shelter and medical care . . . If we can create that, then people will come back."
According to its web site, World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization that “provides emergency assistance to children and families affected by disasters and conflict, partner with communities for long-term solutions to alleviate poverty, and advocate for justice on behalf of the poor.” Its 46,000 staff members work in 100 countries. The organization helped 107 million disaster survivors, refugees and displaced people in 2014.
The organization just announced it is expanding its operations to help refugee families in camps in northern Serbia, most of whom come from Syria. Their work in Europe “complements World Vision’s long-standing relief efforts to help Syrian refugees in the Middle East, which began in March 2011. Since that time, World Vision has reached more than two million people with food and food vouchers, water, household and hygiene supplies and educational support for children who have been without access to schooling. World Vision is active in working with Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan and with displaced populations within Syria itself and in Iraq.”
Read more here.
