Austria: 71 refugees found in abandoned truck probably died of suffocation
Over the last few weeks, ImmigrationProf (here, here, here, here) has been relaying the news of the growing refugee crisis in Europe. CNN reports that a group of refugees — most likely fleeing war-ravaged Syria — died of suffocation inside an abandoned truck on a highway in Austria Friday. The 71 victims were 60 men, eight women and three children — ages 2 3, and 8.
Efforts by refugees to enter the European Union have resulted in massive efforts by nations on the outer perimeter of the EU to enforce their borders, which has been criticized as part of the Fortress Europe. Migrants have been dying in increasing numbers seeking to cross the Mediterranean and through other routes. In many respects, a similar phenomenon — often referred to on this blog as “death on the border” — has occurred in the U.S./Mexico border region, with increasing fortifications in major border cities resulting in migrant flows through mountains and deserts where migrants frequently die.
The question remains: How will the EU respond to the refugee crisis? One EU leader, Germany, has announced (and here) that it is allowing Syrians to remain in Germany and apply for asylum.
KJ