‘More from everywhere’

European governments are gradually moving to impose greater order on the massive and chaotic flow of refugees into their countries.

Leaders of 11 European Union and Balkan countries agreed to set up reception centers for 100,000 people along the main routes being followed by migrants from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. They also resolved to begin following procedures for registering and relocating refugees when they arrive, rather than simply waving them on to other countries.

While that is progress, it is still “much less than what the dimensions of the crisis will require from the international community.” Those words came from António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, whose agency is struggling to manage the massive flow of desperate humanity from the Middle East to Europe.

“People have not yet understood the dimensions of the crisis,” Guterres told us. “We are talking of levels of support [for refugees] that are totally insufficient to the levels of need on the ground.” A few figures show that he is not exaggerating. Between 6,000 and 7,000 people a day are still landing in Greece, mostly after traveling in flimsy boats from Turkey. That means the reception centers, once established, will hold a couple of weeks’ worth of arrivals. The European Union has agreed on a plan to relocate across the community 160,000 of those granted asylum. But more than 700,000 have already arrived.

The United States, too, has fallen short. Though it is the largest provider of humanitarian aid to Syria, the Obama administration has so far agreed to accept only 10,000 refugees from the country in the next year. It can and should do much more.

Said Guterres: “We need more from everywhere.”