Communication study speech

Organizational Pattern: Topical

I. INTRODUCTION

The United Nations High Commission on Refugees defines a refugee as “someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence.” And someone who most likely “cannot return home or [is] afraid to do so.” (UNHCR, n.d.) While this definition is technically accurate I don’t think it demonstrates what these people go through in an effort to find basic safety and needs. Imagine that we were forced to leave nearly everything behind to go on the run. To flee because of war or violence or persecution. And then imagine finally reaching “safety” but living in camps with insufficient resources and aid. While this seems like a stretch for many of us, this is a reality for 22.5 million people around the world according to the most recent data collected by the UNHCR. The refugee crisis has been especially persistent within Europe. According to the European Commission “In 2015, over 1 million people – refugees, displaced persons and other migrants – have made their way to the EU, either escaping conflict in their country [or] in search of better economic prospects” and 885,000 of those people arrived in Greece. The mass flow of migrants, most of which travel to Europe from Turkey, has created an enormous humanitarian crisis in Europe. The EU Turkey agreement was established in 2016 as a way to alleviate the growing problem of the refugee crisis and to specifically benefit Syrian refugees, however, the deal has sparked widespread controversy throughout the international community.

Transition: Before talking about the many arguments centered around the agreement it’s important to understand what the EU Turkey deal is.

II. BODY

A. The EU turkey agreement was created in an effort to slow the flow of refugees to Greece, improve conditions for refugees, and specifically help resettle Syrian refugees.

1. In all, the EU Turkey statement identified nine main objectives which the EU and Turkey agreed to and implemented in march of 2016. (European Council, 2016)

2. There are some provisions that are especially notable.

a) “All new irregular migrants crossing from Turkey into Greek islands as from 20 March 2016 will be returned to Turkey,” (European Council, 2016) irregular migration is defined by the International Organization for Migration as “Movement that takes place outside the regulatory norms of the sending, transit and receiving countries.”

b) “For every Syrian being returned to Turkey from Greek islands, another Syrian will be resettled from Turkey to the EU,” because of the mass movement of people (5.6 million) that have been coming from Syria due to the nature of the civil conflict the nation is immersed in. (European Council, 2016) (UNHCR. (n.d.).)

3. The remaining objectives focus primarily on increased collaboration between Turkey and the EU when working to mitigate the refugee crisis and specific economic efforts that both parties will follow. (European Council, 2016)

Transition: Now that you know what the EU Turkey agreement is, we can move on to discussing the controversy centered around the deal.

B. The EU supports the agreement as an effective tool used to tackle the refugee crisis and an important part of their current migration policies

1. Arrivals of irregular migrants have dropped by 97% when measured from their highest point in 2015, likely because of the knowledge that refugees could be sent back after making the trip. (EU Turkey Statement One Year On, 2017)

2. The EU says it has followed all international law while creating and executing the agreement by ensuring a case by case basis of returns and not executing any “blanket returns.” (EU Turkey Statement One Year On, 2017)

Transition: While the EU has shown strong support for the deal, critics from the international community argue that the agreement is flawed

C. Arguments have been made that the EU turkey agreement is ineffective and detrimental to many of the refugees which the EU claims to be helping

1. The agreement was made under the assumption that Turkey is a safe country for refugees but it is hard to establish this fact as according to an Amnesty International Article “Greece’s asylum appeals committees” (the courts which hear cases for refugees regarding their status and future) “ruled in many instances that Turkey does not provide effective protection for refugees.” (Gogou, 2017)

2. There have been questions raised as to whether or not the agreement would follow international law and according to Amnesty international there have been documented cases where the agreement has breached international law. (Collett, 2016) (Gogou, 2017)

3. The agreement really has not been very effective in accomplishing its goals of resettlement of Syrian refugees in EU nations when you compare the number of resettled refugees (4,000) to the roughly one million migrant arrivals in 2015 (Gogou, 2017)

Transition: Everyone agrees that the refugee crisis in Europe is a complex problem which is in dire need of a solution, however, opinions on what that solution should be are quite varied as is apparent from these conflicting opinions.

III. CONCLUSION

A lot has been done to try and improve the complex situation of the refugee crisis, but it is abundantly clear that there is still a long way to go before these asylum seekers can reach a state of full protection. The EU Turkey deal created a mechanism that is capable of sending irregular migrants back to Turkey and has lead to constructive collaboration between the European Union and Turkey with respect to asylum seekers. The implementation of the statement has helped improve the situation to some degree but many critics argue that the improvements it has made are negligible when looking at the extent of the problem. Though the example that I asked you to imagine at the beginning of this speech was purely hypothetical this problem is all too real for the hundreds of thousands of refugees arriving in Europe every day who are often living without adequate housing, sanitation, and other basic needs according to Amnesty International and EU reports. The reality is that this issue is too large and complex for Europe to solve on its own. This is a problem that requires international attention and international aid. Creating international awareness and attention could spur an increased humanitarian effort that is vital to creating stability in the lives of refugees in Europe.

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