At the last Cafe, Professor Holly Case gave a talk about the current political situation in Hungary pertaining to differing viewpoints on the refugees from Syria and her own experiences from her travels there in the summer. It was fascinating to hear a first-hand account about many of the people involved in the migration of refugees, from the volunteers who worked long hours to provide food for the travelers, to the random, kind-hearted people who took the initiative of traveling from their own European countries to transport supplies and aid to those they saw as fellow human-beings in need of support, to the refugees themselves, who pass through Hungary in droves in search of a more promising future, bringing little of their past along.

What people often hear about in the media is a story of pity. It’s certainly true that these people are leaving everything they know behind and that they need as much help as possible to rebuild their lives. But what people often don’t recognize is how much of a burden these new-comers can be for the host country. The two perspectives Case shared encompasses two broad views. The “spaceship earth theory” states that, succeed or fail, the entire human race is in this together, ultimately sharing limited resources and hurtling through space towards the same fate. The “life raft theory,” on the other hand, postulates that certain segments of the population must perish for others to survive. Not everyone will fit on the life raft. Inevitably, some will drown. Though brutal, this theory was adopted by the ruling political party in Hungary who thinks that their hard-earned resources and achievements are not necessarily to be shared. One must consider this point of view not as inhumane, but logical. This is especially the case when one realizes that refugees come to a new country empty-handed, demanding housing, food, jobs, heath care, and every other amenity that citizens worked hard to earn. All of a sudden, thousands of people show up asking for the same rights and privileges, though they have done nothing but burden the people native to the country by forcing them to share their resources. Furthermore, it becomes difficult to take pity on the refugees when one hears accounts of blatant sexism and violence towards natives. These aren’t usually reported in our news, but having family in Europe, it’s interesting to hear the other side of the argument, which can definitely be justified.

It was intriguing to gain insight into this very relevant topic. I think it’s important to remember that issues are rarely black-and-white, and that when differing viewpoints are strongly defended, there’s usually a good reason behind both arguments. Yes, Syrian refugees are in need of help, but perhaps other perspectives should be remembered too.