It seems that the intended inspiration that the Refugee Olympic squad in Rio was meant to represent for the world just hasn't worked for the Norwegians, or some of the many other countries with a similar zero tolerance approach towards the refugee crisis.
.@TeamRefugees inspired the world. But will the flame of global support for their cause die as @Rio2016 ends? pic.twitter.com/5hNRqhrE7W
— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) August 23, 2016
Official statistics, according to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), show that in so far in 2016 over 13,000 official foreign applications have been registered, over 2000 of which have been withdrawn or dropped.
In July 2016, it was reported that the number of asylum seekers arriving in Norway had actually plummeted by 95 percent in comparison to previous years. This has been a result of already stricter border checks as well as coercive tactics adopted, such as the government issuing a number of financial incentives for migrants to leave the country voluntarily.
Desperate situation for 60,000 ppl returning to #Afghanistan. To end suffering, int community must act now! pic.twitter.com/BGhP5cqQg1
— NRC (@NRC_Norway) August 22, 2016
Stricter border control and checks in wider Europe are said to also be contributing to the lower number of approved applications. Yet, plans for 11 feet high fences are still deemed necessary to further tighten security from the 200 km stretch Storskog-Borisoglebsk border with Russia.
The "build-a-fence" strategy seems to be spreading across many European zones and is said to be reflecting strong shifts in public attitudes against refugees, fueled by the wider Europe crisis. Critics say that dismissive approaches like this shun human-rights responsibilities of every country and can also deter people fleeing persecution, which is highly unethical and inhumane.
Norway deports 7 young sisters to Jordan, two of them born in Norway. https://t.co/XPTgDzgKj6
— Linn Herland Landro (@linnhlandro) August 14, 2016
Hungary, being one of the first other European countries to build a border fence in late 2015 and making their refugee "no-entry" stance clear, have also this week announced plans to upgrade existing fences to become "unbreakable" by migrants. This follows earlier reports about Hungary also bringing extreme plans of pig heads to be placed at the border to specifically deter Muslim refugees.
The fence in Norway is said to be ready within weeks and will be replacing previous barriers that were in place to control reindeer herds.
As a result of this trend, a future vision where countries of the world simply "block-out" fellow human beings, and especially those in need of compassion and humanity fleeing from inhumane conditions within conflict zones, is certainly being met with much criticism and concern by large sections of the international audience.
