News analysis: Europe struggles to cope with tidal wave of refugees

A tsunami of men, women and children fleeing their homelands in North Africa and the Middle East continued to overwhelm countries across Europe on Tuesday.

Nigel Farage, the leader of Britain's anti-EU party, UKIP, said on national radio Tuesday that the recent migration had become an exodus of Biblical proportions.

Human rights campaigner, Lord David Alton, a member of Britain's House of Lords, said the world was witnessing the biggest movement of people since World War II.

So far, little is happening to halt a tidal wave of people escaping from places like Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan, with their sights set on Europe.

Meanwhile, thousands have died along the way, having drowned on the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean Sea, suffocating in the backs of freight trucks, and facing unwelcoming reactions from many Europeans.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday the refugee crisis posed a threat to the EU's open borders policy created by the Schengen agreement. In a speech in Berlin, Merkel said although she wanted to keep the principle of freedom of movement throughout the EU, the Schengen zone could not operate unless other EU countries accepted their share of migrants.

Countries on the frontline of this mass movement of humans, notably Greece and Italy, continue to be overwhelmed as the masses knock on their doors.

The big question for Europe's political leaders today is how to deal with the growing crisis.

Experts and politicians remain divided on how the situation should be resolved, whether making each country accept its share of migrants will find favour in individual countries, such as Britain. The problem is that the misery, torture and fear that refugees are being exposed to is being played out daily in graphic detail as the crisis enters every living room in Britain and Europe via television.

Lord Alton wants to see the creation of a new homeland for the displaced masses by building a city in Africa's Sahara Desert.

"It has been done before, so there are precedents for such a project. Building such a city, and using solar power to provide energy for such a city would create work for many people," he said.

Scenes from the coastal French port of Calais show thousands living in makeshift camps - one known as The Jungle - with Britain as their intended destination.

Immigration from mainland Europe, which under EU rules is legal, is already causing a major headache for David Cameron's Conservative government. Opening the door to all but a trickle of escapees from Africa and the Middle East threatens a backlash in Britain. Immigration was one of the key issues during May's general election.

Official figures released a few days ago show that more than 600,000 immigrants arrived in Britain in the past year, a 24- percent increase compared to the previous twelve months. Many were from former Eastern European countries, now legally entitled to head to better paid shops in Britain.

Razor wire fences and high walls have not deterred the flow of refugees. Politicians realize that if they create a fortress around Europe, they will almost certainly be condemning thousands of desperate people to a grim future, with no escape. Endit