Syrian and Iraqi refugees: a Palestinian perspective

Abstract

It is heart wrenching to see images of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, including Palestinian refugees of the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) who became refugees for the second or third time, desperately searching for safety from the nightmare befalling them. Although the welcoming support of ordinary Europeans who could not tolerate seeing these distressing images (especially the image of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi found dead on a Turkish beach) is heartwarming, the contrast with xenophobic reactions of some groups, governments, and border closures are inhumane and outrageous.