Where are Saudi Arabia and Qatar?

Not since World War II has Europe been faced with such a large number of refugees. In July alone,107,550 entered Europe illegally. A month earlier the number was 70,000. The figures are only rising. This year, Germany has had to cope with 800,000 asylum requests, four times last year's amount. And Europe doesn't know how to handle it. Growing numbers aside, this is mostly because of the refugees' ethnicity.

Europe built the European Union to bring peace and stability to its borders. It did not take into account that beyond the European bubble wars would continue, which would bring refugees to its gates. Europe has not managed to create a unified foreign policy, or a unified domestic policy, for that matter. On the refugee issue, the EU is splintered. Not since the days of Communism has Europe been so divided between East (which wants to shut the gates) and West (which wants solidarity, even if limited.)

We need to remember that this time it's not about economic migrants. This time it's about people fleeing war zones, about refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan; hundreds of thousands of people escaping the clutches of Assad, the Islamic State group, the Sunnis, the Shiites -- fleeing the new and promising Middle East. This time it's not about the stability of the currency, but about the stability of the continent.

This is not a simple matter, because the refugees are creating a legal quandary (international law requires them to be treated appropriately), a moral quandary (European values), a religious quandary (Christian Europe doesn't want to alter its character), a demographic quandary, and also a nationalistic quandary. European nationalism is also being put to the test.

The EU, laid bare

The refugee story is exposing the EU for all to see. After the Greek economic crisis rattled the foundations of the EU bloc, the refugee crisis is now leaving a giant question mark over the Schengen Agreement. The open borders agreement shared by 29 countries is suddenly in jeopardy. Citizens of eastern European countries, who so greatly benefited from the open borders that allowed them to escape the clutches of Communism (remember the images of Hungarian refugees in Germany during the revolutions of 1989-) would rather close their gates today. Note the irony. Europe eliminated borders, but is now building walls. Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain and Greece -- each has built, or is now building, a wall to stem the tide of refugees.

Meanwhile, no one in France, Great Britain, Scandinavia and the Baltics is thrilled about hosting new refugees, either, certainly not refugees from the Middle East. Generally speaking, the EU paradoxically contributed to a reawakening of nationalism. You are first and foremost German or French, and only then European. The same applies to the other societies, as well.

The refugees from a different place, and mainly from a different culture, are a threat to the European Union. Remember how Christian France and Germany objected to Muslim Turkey's EU membership? So why add more Muslims to the continent? Eastern European leaders have not been afraid to say this out loud. The Hungarian prime minister has vociferously warned against "the threat to Christian Europe."

The dreadful civil war in Syria has claimed over 200,000 lives and has displaced over 4 million people. These are appalling numbers. Two-thirds of those refugees are in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. They dream of reaching Europe, which for its part is preparing a solution of quotas; although it appears that for the time being each country will decide independently how to proceed.

In the meantime, one question still looms large over this story. Where are the Arab states? Where is Arab solidarity? Where are Saudi Arabia's billions of dollars? Where are Qatar's billions or the Emirates' billions? Millions of Syrian refugees are in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan today but hundreds of thousands more are already in Europe, as well. We are sitting on a powder keg.

We must also keep in mind that while the horrible image of the poor boy whose body washed ashore in Turkey has aroused compassion, it is entirely uncertain that it has sparked solidarity.

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