By Josh Averbach ’18

With a refugee crisis in the Middle East, wealthy Persian Gulf states should accept refugees to alleviate the vast amount fleeing to other countries.

Syria’s ongoing civil war has prompted more than 11 million people to flee the war-torn nation, according to the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps. Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have received more refugees than any other countries because they border Syria, while various European countries are taking in fewer refugees. The crisis, however, is by no means resolved, as millions of refugees are still stateless.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Oman compose the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a partnership between the Persian Gulf States excluding Iran and Iraq. What, if any, effort these countries have put into helping Syrian refugees is unclear as none of these nations have officially received any refugees, and they have offered little explanation about why that might be the case. A Saudi foreign minister, however, made claims that about 2.5 million Syrians have entered the country since the war began in 2011, and a UAE ambassador claims that the country has accepted 100,000 refugees during that time period. Both of these claims are unverifiable.

This lack of clarity stems from the 1951 United Nations (UN) convention which defines refugees, and obligates countries to take them in. No GCC country signed the agreement, so they have no legal obligation to take in refugees. It is unclear whether GCC countries have turned away refugees or accepted them under a title other than “refugee.”

The GCC countries are well developed, all with top 50 world rankings in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. They share the Arabic language with Syria. These factors make the GCC countries the best equipped to take Syrian refugees because refugees would be given an elevated chance to succeed there. These countries therefore deserve praise if they have been helping refugees, and condemnation if they have not.

Because the language of both Syria and the GCC is Arabic, refugees who were successful in Syria before it descended into chaos could put their skill sets to use in the GCC, and earn good livings. In non-Arabic-speaking countries, even refugees who were doctors, lawyers or CEOs would be forced into menial work because of the language barrier. Refugees, like everyone, are clearly better off if given a chance to succeed.

One reason why countries are often reluctant to accept refugees is the strain that an influx of poor immigrants puts on economies. Refugees come with virtually no assets, so governments must spend money on social programs to meet refugees’ needs. To pay for this, countries must borrow money or increase taxes, both of which put stress on economies. Because Syrian refugees could succeed in GCC countries, however, this effect would be lessened as refugees could work their way out of poverty, and no longer depend on the government. This would allow GCC countries to be less economically burdened by Syrian refugees than any other countries.

Because Syrian refugees are in dire need of assistance, the community of nations has an obligation to assist them. GCC countries are both the best home for refugees, and the least burdened countries by their presence. While their populations are not large enough to solve the crisis by themselves, GCC countries should accept more refugees, relative to their populations, than any other countries on Earth.