
Germany's Refugee Detectives - rglovejoy
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/04/the-refugee-detectives/554090/?single_page=true
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ng12
It is completely naive to think that refugees in Europe are anything other
than economic refugees. Look at the data, non-European refugees are
overwhelmingly working-age males:
[http://www.pewglobal.org/2016/08/02/4-asylum-seeker-
demograp...](http://www.pewglobal.org/2016/08/02/4-asylum-seeker-demography-
young-and-male/)

I'm not discounting the struggle in Syria, but it seems fairly obvious that
the opportunists well outweigh those who truly need asylum. In a real crisis
the refugee population would be age and gender agnostic within a reasonable
margin.

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shaki-dora
What’s so great about this article is the nuance. It doesn’t deny the
existence of economic refugees, nor the reality of war refugees. It also
grapples with the morality of even making such a distinction: why should
someone in danger of torture have more rights than someone in danger of
starvation? Your comment is sorely lacking such nuance, and making
indefensible claims.

As for your supposed data: sending able-bodied men ahead, while women and
children remain in refugee camps along the way (or die) is independent of the
reason for leaving their respective countries.

And the many refugee camps all the way from Syria to Germany, in Turkey,
Greece, and Hungary, are quite obviously proof that many Syrians fled.

~~~
ng12
I'm arguing the cat-and-mouse game described in the article as a fundamentally
flawed approach. The system is set up in favor of the opportunists.

If your goal is truly humanitarian you must be proactive. Yes, many Syrians
fled due to immediate danger. Are those the ones making it to BAMF
headquarters? Arguably not.

