The world is in a state of constant dilemma; global warming, poverty, racism, sexism, crime, global conflicts, the list goes on, and on, and on. Right now, six-thousand miles away in Syria, is a civil war. According to World Vision, Two hundred and forty thousand lives have been lost to Syrian Genocide since 2011, twelve thousand were children. And according to the Syrian Refugees official website, nine million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries in search for a better, safer life. Although the journey was challenging; the blockage of the Budapest train station and Hungarian camps, many of those families have successfully fled to Germany. The German government welcomes the families, and so do many German people.

Antje Umståtter and her daughter Camilla Umståtter came to Saint Louis from Berlin, Germany. Antje is a faculty member of Saint Louis University, Camilla attends Clayton High School. Antje expresses her opinion on the Syrian refugee crisis. “It will be very hard to integrate them fully, it’s a very hard task,” Umståtter stated, “I do not know any refugees personally, but generally my friends, family, and I welcome them because they come from war zones and depend on our [Germany’s] help.”

Beuth Hochschule, the university in which Umståtter works at, has design students who are trying to help refugees by making an app that connects employers to the unemployed, primarily refugees so that they can have jobs and become part of German society.

When asked if the refugee crisis has affected anyone she knows in Germany, Umståtter tells us, “My mother needed to go to the hospital when her head got wounded and needed treatment, but the hospital was overcrowded with refugees and she couldn’t receive help immediately.”

Teenagers in Europe shared their perspectives on this crisis.

Salomé Defaut of Bordeaux, France has witnessed and is appalled by the hatred of many French natives towards the refugees. Defaut said, “I think that the refugees are badly received in our country. We should be helping them to integrate into our society. They are fleeing a land where they have no freedom, no rights, in which they were forced to submit to an unfair government.”

Defaut does not want to be categorized by other countries for the hostility of her own. Defaut says, “We ought to show them that democracy still exists, that people and their government can live in peace with one another, where you can leave the house without the fear of never returning.”

Defaut leaves us with some lasting words, “We can offer them a better life in a place that they worked so hard to get to.”

We also spoke with Sophia Zehrer of Berlin, Germany. In her neighborhood lives two groups of young refugees who were forced to leave their families behind. Zehrer and her family have spent lots of time with their new neighbors, “They are eager to learn German!” Zehrer exclaimed.

We asked Zehrer about how her community was treating the new refugees. Zehrer tells us, “My community is very open. There are some negative comments, but they are subliminal.: Zehrer brings up the debate about refugees from neighboring countries pretending to be Syrians with hopes of receiving “preferential treatment.” Zehrer argues, “[There is this] classification of “real” refugees and the “wrong”. The “right” are the Syrians, whose home is a war. The wrong are, [for example] from Albania. I think this classification is incorrect. Nobody escapes [that doesn’t need to]. If someone is fleeing, they must be very desperate to take such a risk.”

We asked Zehrer about how the crisis has affected her and her community. Zehrer puts things into perspective, “When someone is truly desperate for help, everything fades into the background.” She is proud of her community for giving so much to the cause, but she has noticed a pattern, Zehrer says, “There are far too many donations. The issue is with how it is distributed. The large refugee camps receive the most.” This puts the smaller camps at a disadvantage, for they are seen as “less needy.”

Sophia Ellenwoere of Berlin, Germany, makes some interesting comments regarding the implications of Germany taking in refugees. Ellenwoere says, “I think that it’s necessary to help people who are in need. [But] there should be a system of integration.” Ellenwoere recalls the massive Turkish immigration years ago and the problems it posed for Berliners. “They have certain customs that are not tolerated in Germany, like forced marriage. The people coming to Berlin need to realize that things are different here. We have other rules and customs.”

Ellenwoere welcomes the refugees, but she fears that the German and Middle Eastern customs may conflict with each other. She experiences the tension between the German and Turkish populations of Berlin, and fears that such hostilities will only worsen if refugees maintain their own practices that are seen as controversial in Germany.

Anne-Sophie Worm, also of Berlin, has participated in many demonstrations to welcome the refugees. But she also recognizes the consequences of accepting so many people into Germany. Worm says, “Our government has ignored this issue for so long, that’s why there are so many problems. Every refugee camp is overwhelmed with people. We need structure.”

Worm has spent lots of time with children from refugee families living in her neighborhood. She has donated clothes and wants to do everything in her power to make their transition more comfortable. She realizes that people need her, and her community’s help, but she also understands the issue from a political point of view.

There are many different sides to this argument, but it all comes down to space. Germany simply does not have enough space to house so many people in need. Like our four interviewees said, there needs to be structure to, not only find a home for everyone but to help them integrate into European society. The U.S. is now being pressured to welcome Syrian refugees as well, due to its vast amount of space. Some American citizens are wary of the idea of housing refugees due to fears of terrorist attacks, the limited amount of available jobs, funding, and more. There will always be the inevitable opposition, but many American citizens are very welcoming to the idea of helping the Syrian refugees out of their crisis.