Day: October 30, 2015

Some middle eastern refugees are refusing accommodation in resorts.

Some news outlets have spun this as refugees wanting to be housed in cities. This may be partially true but not for the negative reasons that pop to mind.

Although, I suppose there are some of these folks that want to be in cities because they want to cause a ruckus.

I imagine if you’ve lived in a city all your life, you’re not likely to be happy about being relocated to a rural setting. It’s not that you’re ungrateful per se, you simply don’t have the skill set to deal with the situation.

I suppose that there is some truth to the forest creating anxiety as well. I’m evil enough that I’d tell the refugees about all the wild animals at night and how those animals lurk in the forest waiting for the unwary to become a meal. Yeah I like Grimm’s tales. That might at least keep the children (If there are any) from wandering off and getting lost, thereby preventing another issue.

I think that the refugees need to have it explained to them that there is simply a finite number of beds, they can either stay in places that are available, like a resort that many Swedes can’t afford, OR they can go the hell home. There are flights to the Middle East every day. Looking at the resorts, I wonder if I can call myself a refugee and let the Swedes put me up for a few months. Damn! Nice places… I digress…

It astounds me that any real refugee would even think to demand different accommodations. If you’re really escaping war, fear for your life and the lives of your children, wouldn’t you be grateful for a roof over your head, food in your belly, and being in a safe country where you don’t have bombs going off?

Maybe it’s a little different for me. A bit more personal, when my home burned years ago, I was essentially a refugee. I literally had a bathrobe and that was it. I appreciated the kindness of people trying to help me get my feet under me again. I didn’t care that the pair of jeans were too big or the t-shirt was too long. I had clothes. I didn’t care that the flip-flops were two sizes too big. I had something on my feet.

Within days, we were in a hotel, and that’s were we stayed for a month. It was cramped, and we had to eat out every day but we were warm and dry, and it was temporary.

During that time I asked for very little and said thank you for everything because I was grateful to be alive, and for every kindness I was shown. That’s the refugee mentality I had. I suppose I expect a similar mentality from people who are escaping a horrible situation.

As someone who’s been there, my heart goes out to refugees.

As a cynic, I question the actual status of any “refugee” who’s bitching about being put up in “too rural” an environment, or complaining their stipend isn’t enough for cigarettes, or that the WiFi signal is poor, (As has happened in Germany).

I expect a real refugee to ask for only what they need. Not demand things they can do without.

I suspect if you were to ask Swedes or Germans in the privacy of their homes or depths of a forest, they’d say the same thing.