Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

On March 18, 2016, former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the current President of the European Council, announced that the European Union has successfully concluded a deal with Turkey to curb the flow of migrants coming into Europe from its territory. Action was imperative: in 2015 over 1 million migrants came by sea and entered into Europe, seeking asylum. In the first two months of 2016, another 127,000 entered Europe, mainly from Turkey to Greece. Europe has not seen this level of mass migration since the end of World War II. DEFINITION: The term ‘migrant’ is being employed to describe all people who are migrating from Asia and Africa to Europe. This includes genuine refugees fleeing from war and terror, as well as those who are looking for a better way of life, known as ‘economic migrants.’ Anyone who has objectively watched the situation closely realises that something had to be done. Despite its advanced societies and extensive welfare system, Europe and the EU simp...

I saw them with my own eyes. We were on the highway between Athens in the south and Thessaloniki to the north. At one point, we stopped to have a break. And there we saw them: They were milling around the Greek rest stop for buses: standing, sitting, smoking, and eating. Though there were families present, many were young men. Everyone had a cell phone. Arabic was often heard, though a South Asian language may have been detected, too. They had come from the Greek islands to Athens, now they paid 50 euros per person to be driven from the Greek capital to the northern border. From there, they planned to make their way to the rest of Europe. Who were these people? They are part of the biggest news story of the year. Hundreds of thousands of migrants are flooding into Europe, with many having Germany and Scandinavia in mind. What does this mean for the continent and the world? Before proceeding, the word ‘migrant’ is being used to denote someone on the move, be they a ref...

Today, when you hear the word ‘Greece,’ what do you think of? The Acropolis in Athens? Romantic islands in the Aegean Sea, white stucco homes with blue roofs? Chances are today, when you hear ‘Greece,’ you think of economic collapse and European Union bailouts. Too bad ... because there is more to Greece than that. Very, very few countries in the world have had the influence that the ancient Greeks wielded. Their ideas, philosophies, even the concept of democracy, are the bedrock of the western world. At the age of 18, I spent a year full time at university studying nothing else except ancient Greece and its key role in founding western civilization. Their contribution is incalculable. So like the ultra-Greek nationalist Gus Portokalas, father of Toula in the 2002 hit movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding (the biggest-grossing romantic comedy of all time), I agree that the Greeks are high up the totem pole. It seems that today, however, they are at the bottom of the deepest valley...