Not a Wall but a Fence—to Stop Migration to Europe
A top European Union official has suggested building fences to stop the flow of migrants into the European heartland. In a December 18 interview with the Funke media group newspapers, the leader of the conservative European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, suggested securing the EU’s external borders.
The EU states are sleepwalking into a new migration crisis if they do not act now. This huge challenge must finally be taken seriously. If necessary, fences must also be built, for example in the southeast of the EU, to be able to control the arriving migrants as completely as possible.
—Manfred Weber
Another refugee crisis: In light of rising numbers of illegal border crossings, Weber suggests that the EU must fund border facilities along with external border controls. In the first 11 months of 2022, the EU’s border protection agency, Frontex, registered around 308,000 attempts to enter the EU without permission. That was a 68 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
Hypocrisy: Ironically, in 2017 Weber opposed Donald Trump’s efforts to build a wall on America’s southern border. He tweeted: “We don’t build walls, we want to build bridges. Europe has to stand ready for a strong partnership with #Mexico.” But Weber has yet to offer building a bridge for the thousands of migrants who drown every year trying to cross the Mediterranean.
Some facts: Over the same period that 853 migrants died trying to cross the United States-Mexico border unlawfully, at least 5,684 died on migration routes to and within Europe. On the Central Mediterranean route alone, 2,836 deaths and disappearances were documented. The number of undocumented immigrant crossings into the U.S. via the southern border in 2022 was almost 10 times higher than those entering Europe (2.8 million). This shows that the U.S. has many more illegal crossings, fewer deaths, but much more criticism.
We’ve recorded more than 29,000 deaths during migration journeys to Europe since 2014. These continuing deaths are another grim reminder that more legal and safe pathways to migration are desperately needed.
— Julia Black, author of a new iom report on Missing Migrants Project data in Europe for 2021
Prophecy: iom warns that the actual number of drowning migrants in the Mediterranean is likely much higher. It is calling for drastic action. The Bible, however, reveals that Europe will deal much more forcefully with the problem on its southern border. The book of Habakkuk specifically warns that European leaders will lose their regard for human life (Habakkuk 1:14-17). The thousands of little-noticed migrants who drown every year are a sign that we are approaching the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Soon leaders will rise in Europe who will claim they will save the Continent. But the Bible reveals that their solutions will be more detrimental than the problems they try to solve. Read Nahum—An End-Time Prophecy for Germany.
