TEN YEARS OF MIGRATION CRISIS: The Fracture that Changed Europe

“…On September 5, 2015, after Angela Merkel uttered the now infamous words “Wir schaffen das” (“We can do it”) on August 31st, Germany’s borders were effectively opened to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers waiting in Austria and Hungary. With that gesture, celebrated by left-wing media as a show of humanity, one of the most convulsive stages of contemporary Europe began: the era of mass immigration. Today, a decade later, the data, the social problems, and the political transformations prove that the decision marked a turning point in the continent’s history.

More than one million people arrived in the European Union that year, mainly from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Germany received more than 440,000 asylum applications, Sweden 156,000, and Austria 88,000. Routes were saturated: Greece became the main entry point, Italy and Spain endured massive landings, and Hungary built fences to stop the flow—something harshly criticized at the time but now proven to be the only effective way to resist migratory suicide.

Thousands died—and continue to die—in the Mediterranean, yet the official narrative focused on “solidarity” and the promise that these newcomers would sustain the European welfare state. Today, those who once promoted open borders tell us that the system has failed and that massive cuts are needed, ‘discovering’ that the immigrants do not contribute to the sustaining of the welfare system but overwhelm it…”