In the past year hundreds of thousand of Syrians have been forced to flee Syria. The majority of refugees have left war torn Syria for Germany, France, Austria and other northern European countries. Spain has not been a desirable location for refugees in the past year. Spain has only accepted 1,681 refugees which in comparison to Germany's 24,000 is very few. But with new global legislation, The Dublin Regulations, it is likely that the number of refugees in Spain will sharply increase. Under the Dublin Regulations a refugee must remain in the county which they enter first.
Many refugee enter Spain through its coastal city Melilla, which is actually located on the African continent. The Spanish border control in the city of Melilla is extremely tight, often refugees are denied access into Spain through the city. Along with the difficulty of entering the country (a refugee can only enter through the mainland) infrastructure and policy concerning the treatment of refugees is seriously underdeveloped and unorganized. According to many statements from refugees, Spain is not a welcoming country in fact one may say that Spain is openly hostile to the incoming Syrian refugees.
Spain had agreed to help with the massive amount of refugees that were putting a huge strain on Greece. They agreed to open their doors to 15,000 refugees but have only accepted just over 1,500. Spain has defaulted on many promises of allowing refugees into the country on several occasions. The system is completely at fault. Spain's system of accepting refugees is very slow and currently there is no immediate plan to fix it. There is a lot of red tape involved with how Spain deals with refugees. The general public is very much for Spain accepting Syrian refugees, but there is a lack of "political will."
In most countries accepting refugees there is financial aid and work, but it is a different story in Spain. The Spanish economy lack the funds to support the influx of refugees, but does have 200 million euros budgeted for refugee care. Spain does help to support refugee families financially, but only for six months.
I am currently in Madrid, Spain. I walk past the big fancy government building everyday and everyday there are protesters begging to allow more refugees into the country, to save children from the brutal violence and constant bombings. But I have also seen many Syrian beggars in the streets. Many of the current refugees living in Spain are homeless and struggling to survive. Spain clearly has a crisis on their hands but the solution is not clear. Whatever Spain chooses to do they must do it quickly because passivity will no longer pass as acceptable.
