Syrian Refugees And Difficulties Of Seeking Asylum In Spain

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Proceedings of The National Conference On Undergraduate Research

(NCUR) 2016 University of North Carolina Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina April 7-9, 2016

Syrian Refugees and the Difficulties of Seeking Asylum in Spain

Alyssa Bertoni

Political Science

The University of Kentucky

Faculty Advisor: Carlos de la Torre

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Abstract

The conflict in Syria between the government of Bashar al-Assad and various other

forces, which started in the spring of 2011, continues to cause displacement within the country

and across the region. By the end of 2014, an estimated 7.6 million people were internally

displaced and 3.7 million Syrians had fled the country since the conflict began (OCHA 2014;

UNHCR 2015). The refugee situation caused by the Syrian conflict is horrific, and it has an

placed enormous strain on neighboring countries. Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Turkey host

massive numbers of Syrian refugees and Syrians have been seeking protection beyond these

countries in increasing numbers since 2011 (OECD 2014). This investigation explores

discrimination against Muslims in Spain and how perceptions of discrimination are related to the

histories of immigration in European countries.

This paper analyzes why refugees have been fleeing to other European countries instead

of Spain. This paper also argues that the international community of Spain has not sufficiently

contributed toward alleviating the burden caused by the Syrian refugee influx, in terms of both

financial assistance and refugee reintegration. With the influx of refugees, Islamophobia will be

analyzed throughout Spain since the government is doing little to assist refugees. With the

enhancing number of refugees in Europe, I will be analyzing Barcelona’s motives through a

series of semi-structured interviews as to why they began their “Safe-cities program”.

Key Words:

Table of Contents

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Abstract ———————————————————–—————————- 3

Introduction ———————————————————————————- 4

Background on the European Union’s Asylum Process ——————————- 6

The EU’s Migration Policy and Response to the Current Refugee Influx———— 6

Spain’s Asylum Process ————————————————–———-——– 8

Syrian Refugees in Spain ——————————————————————- 10

Overview of Fear and Discrimination of Islam —————————————– 11

Overview of Misinformation in the Media ———————————————- 13

Islamophobia in Spain —————————————————-—————–– 15

Prejudices in Spain ———————————————-————————-— 16

Research Design Method ——————————————————————- 16

Data Collection —————————————————————————— 18

Research Questions Asked —————————————————————– 19

Response to Questions ———————————————————————- 19

Islamophobia and Syrian Refugees ——————————————————- 22

Discussion ——————————————————–————————–— 21

Conclusion ———————————————————————————– 26

Appendix A. ————————————————–——————————- 27

Bibliography ————————————————–——————————- 30

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Introduction

For months, citizens have been reading, seeing and hearing about the Syrian refugees

fleeing to Europe in hopes of escaping civil war. Families are struggling to survive inside Syria,

however; it has proven to be very difficult to make a new life in neighboring countries. For

some, fleeing to Europe is the only place they believe they will have an opportunity to make a

better life. Syrians are risking their families, lives, and futures when they embark on these

journeys in hope of a better life. As of 7 July 2014, some 2,854,211 million people have fled the

civil war in Syria and registered as refugees. In July 2013, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

António Guterres observed that the world has ‘not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a

frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide almost 20 years ago…’ This is now ‘the largest

crisis of forcible displacement in the world, and… poses a growing threat to regional peace and

security (UNHCR).’ Charlotte McDonald–Gibson states, “Europe’s response to the crisis in

terms of opening its doors to refugees has been slow to start and minimal in numbers” (The

Independent).

Many EU countries have been incredibly helpful and open to refugees during the crisis,

however; Spain has not been as proactive as other EU countries. The Spanish government has

been criticized for failing to take in refugees from Syria and Iraq over the past six months. The

Spanish government agreed to take in 15,000 refugees under the European Union’s distribution

plan in September 2015 to help relieve the pressure of the tens of thousands of refugees who

were arriving in Greece and Italy. However, figures published by the European Commission in

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April showed that so far 18 refugees have been relocated in Spain (UNHCR). The new mayors of

Madrid and Barcelona, Manuela Carmena and Ada Colau, as well as the Catalan government,

have all announced they are looking at ways of welcoming an unspecified number of Syrian

refugees in response to the crisis occurring in the Mediterranean. This investigative study will

examine what motivated Barcelona, Madrid and several other cities to start their own network of

“safe cities” to assist Syrian refugees arriving in Europe. Barcelona City Hall said it intends to

create a network of cities to welcome refugees and announced a €200,000 budget increase for the

city’s Immigrant, Emigrant & Refugee Service, following a meeting between Mayor Ada Colau,

the trade union Commissions Obreras, the Red Cross, the Catalan Human Rights Institute and the

Barcelona lawyers association (The Spain Report).

This research paper will also be addressing why Spain has done little to accept Syrian

refugees compared to other EU countries. Race or fear may play of factor in this process and

through research and existing literature I will be able to investigate if the media plays a role in

the reasoning behind Spain not accepting as many Syrian refugees. Refugee entering European

countries has become widespread over the last year. They face many challenges trying to cross

borders, and sadly, their trials do not end there. Asylum, jobs, and social acceptance are some of

the other obstacles they face once in a new country. I want to investigate the many reasons why

Barcelona, Madrid and several other cities are so openly to welcome these refugees. I will

investigate their reasons through interviews with immigration offices and contacts with Ada

Colau. I will also analyze how these programs will help increase the amounts of Syrian refugees

that enter Spain by looking at data on their websites and contacting refugee and immigration

offices.

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Background on the European Union’s Asylum Process

The United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees is an international

convention that defines who is a refugee, and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted

asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum. The Convention also defines which

people do not qualify as refugees, such as war criminals. Refugees are people who arrive in a

country as asylum seekers, who apply for and are granted refugee status and are selected as

refugees under a UNHCR quota program. (UNHCR 2004).

The Maastricht Treaty (the founding legislation of the EU) highlights the purpose of

promoting social cohesion and unity amongst member states. But as countries disagree on how to

manage the refugees coming into their borders, the very solidarity the EU was founded on is now

threatened. Member states are split on how to respond to the refugee crisis. Some people respect

and uphold the Maastricht Treaty’s firm commitment to the protection of and compliance to

human rights and fundamental freedoms by welcoming refugees, such as Germany. Others,

driven by xenophobia and nationalism, have strong belief on securing and closing their borders.

The EU is made up of millions of people; all with different ethnicities and religions.

Some member states are more similar than others, making it easier to establish a national

identity. However, is it possible for the European Union to share a similar European identity that

can unite its people together through difficult times as well as the good?

The EU’s Migration Policy and Response to the Current Refugee Influx

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Immigration policy is still a power of the Member States, with selected and limited

executive powers for the EU (the Dublin Regulation). The “Dublin system”, named after the

convention that launched it, affects an average of about 50,000 cases a year. This considers the

family unit, meaning the state responsible is the one that the applicant’s relatives already live in

rather than the one that the applicant prefers (Barcelona Ciutat Refugi). The European Union

distinguishes asylum seekers from refugees. The former are those who ask for international

protection, while the latter are those who obtain it. To reach their goal, asylum seekers must go

through a long procedure, which varies in length from one country to another, and prove they

had to abandon their country of origin because of a danger to life and limb, something that is not

always easy to show. States award two forms of protection: the status of refugee and subsidiary

protection. Some countries also allow people to stay for humanitarian reasons.