Shame on EU states that oppose refugees

Let these countries not forget that the bloc isn’t all about money, but helping the desolate as well

The experiment of the European Union (EU) began in the rubble of the Second World War, with the governments of France and then West Germany vowing that never again would their people witness the horrors of war that had killed millions in three separate conflicts: The Franco-Prussian War and then the two World Wars. Beginning with the coal and steel pacts, their grand project grew from economic to political, and eager nations in the European community signed up for the benefits of membership.

Given its history — and if we forget the lessons of history we are bound to repeat our failures — it’s surprising now that the EU is split as never before. There are the compassionate nations — the eight states who are willing to open their doors and welcome the desolate and desperate refugees from Syria; the considerate nations who are willing to assist as they can — and most of the rest fall into this category; and the obstinate — notably Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, who have taken a hard line against those most in need.

How many Poles were sheltered in the West when Warsaw was under the iron fist of Communism? How many Hungarians fled and sought shelter in the West when its 1956 revolution failed? And how many Slovaks were sheltered when the Prague Spring failed?

Since this refugee crisis began, nearly 900,000 refugees have been registered by European officials — each file opened the human reality of the greatest refugee crisis since the end of that Second World War. Yes, the EU has been fractured before — on a monetary issue, on how best to save the euro and ensure the continued economic prosperity of the union. That economic prosperity was the dividend for nations wanting to join the club in the first place. And the exodus of Slovaks, Hungarians and Poles into the rest of Europe shows how quickly those new members of Europe were willing to cash in on that dividend.

But the EU isn’t just about money. There is a moral price as well. And that means helping the desolate and the desperate.