Development comes before acceptance of refugees
A unilateral approach to international issues usually will not produce an effective solution. This applies to the situation in the Middle East and specifically Syria.
Many people believe that we should prioritize the acceptance of refugees over developing the region.
I believe that accepting refugees is an important step to take, but if we hope to achieve long-term success in the Middle East we need to put forth the effort needed to develop the region. Development in this case meaning the advancement of these nations economies, political systems, militaries, etc.
The logic is simple, if a pipe is leaking you put a bucket underneath the leak, but you call the plumber to fix the problem in the long term. The bucket is an important step to solving the problem with the faucet, but calling the plumber is your priority because he solves the issue.
This analogy ties directly into the crisis in Syria, as it is important for developed nations to be the “bucket” that catches the “leak” of Syrians, but it is more important to try to stop the “leak” in the long term.
Some would say that substantial development can not occur with the terrorism and tensions in the area. However, the lack of development only exacerbates these issues.
People join ISIL because it is something that they can connect to. Society in the Middle East is so underdeveloped that there is nothing for people to identify with or stand up for. Because there are no societal ties, they go where ties can be found — ISIL.
By prioritizing development we could allow these nations to form a coherent societal identity that people could identify with and join. In turn, ISIL would be weakened.
Nations such as the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Lebanon have all showed that development and stability are possible to achieve in the Middle East, even with all the madness.
Acceptance of refugees is important, and the appropriate short-term solution. However, Band-Aids do not fix bullet holes, and too often the short term is prioritized leading to long term destabilization. If we hope to solve long term in the Middle East we must develop it.
