The Parlamentskaya Gazeta newspaper has held a round-table conference entitled "Migration Crisis in Europe: Aftermath". The ceaseless and ever-growing stream of migrants from the war-torn Middle East to Europe has become one of the paramount challenges for the modern European Union.

       European states have failed to find a solution and consolidate efforts to resolve the problem together. To make matters worse, the migration crisis is inextricably tied to rampaging terrorism and the entrenching ISIS militants.

       Russian experts assembled at the round-table conference to exchange their opinions about the current plight, risks the situation poses for Europe and the rest of the world, outcomes and possible solutions. Andrey Bystritsky, Chairman of the Board, Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, Dean of the Faculty of Communications, Media and Design at the National Research University – Higher School of Economics was one of the attendees.

       Bystritsky warned that the Islamic State was a dangerous "bait for an enormous number of young people. It is like Bolshevism in Russia, like Spanish Republicans." It is a revolution under the slogans of justice, equality, fraternity, sense of community, the expert opines. "It is always tempting for young people, it inspires a feeling of one's ability to fix the world," Bystritsky explained. In his opinion, the key problem of refugees is that many European politicians "treat Europe as an island, as something that needs defending, that there is this little island of civilization, some conventionally conceived human rights. And some people are entering it, maybe good [people], maybe bad, maybe partially bad, maybe partially good. But Europe needs to be protected in any case." That is the main keynote of the European Union's grappling with the refugee problem.

       The analyst believes that the reason for the lack of success in resolving the situation is idleness. The real question, to his mind, is not where and how to accommodate the refugees. Violence against the refugees would go at odds with European values; letting them in would create the risk of value erosion. Andrey Bystritsky noted that the issue of refugees was not a new subject and went deep into history: "In strict terms, Cro-Magnon's, who ousted Neanderthals, were basically refugees too, from Africa. Yes, the modern population of Europe originates from Africa. Whether they [Neanderthals] were eaten or not is unclear, but something was done to them." As another example, German tribes who moved to the Roman Empire were refugees as well, they captured Rome in one instance of history.

       "I believe that it is very important to understand that the idea of coordination, of organizing a sort of Entente, if you will, to combat the Islamic State is a paramount goal allowing to solve the refugee problem," the expert emphasized.

       Bystritsky raised an often omitted question about the origin of refugees: "Are they democratically-inclined people who could no longer bear the horrors of the Islamic State, or, on the contrary, shreds of the Islamic society that could no longer tolerate the pressure of new secular regimes? Who are refugees, what are their ideas, what do they want for Europe, to join European values, or, on the contrary, to build some new community and enjoy the lifestyle they see fit?" The analyst wonders, why not to give refugees a chance to build the world they want in the states they come from. The fight for order, human rights, for a chance to live in a civilized way in any part of the world is the gist of history and the refugee problem, Bystritsky reckons.

       "The Islamic State is an offshoot of a rather old ongoing process of radical transformation of the Middle East and the Islamic world as a whole. The traditional community broke up, the Ummah broke up. A mass of people were declassed," the analyst explains the origin of ISIS. He added that millions of young people in Cairo were ready-made cannon fodder, akin to the cannon fodder of the Russian Empire, when the peasant community in a decay.

       The current situation in the Middle East is methodologically comparable to a global civil war. "The Islamic State resembles Bolsheviks, they want to build a new beautiful world, its distinction is the same savage cruelty, brazen attitude and shortsightedness. Distinguishing Islamic militants from Bolsheviks of the 1917-1918s: the latter were shooting at barges with officers, the former drown people in cages," Bystritsky stated. The pivotal players in the region, according to his point of view, are Islamic states themselves: Iran, remains of Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, countries of the Arabian Peninsula. The point of the coalition is to find a way to unite the players. The reason why ISIS does not carry out terrorist attacks is that they are needless. ISIS needs to achieve victory around itself, strengthen its positions there and then, crack any potential coalitions. The latter is panning out well because countries of the Middle East compete with each other. Bystritsky assumes that the main beneficiaries of attacks on Syria are countries of the Arabian Peninsula.

       The expert interprets the point of the latest discussion at the General Assembly as an attempt to create an alliance, first and foremost uniting countries of the Middle East predisposed to constructive development, observing decencies, democratic and civilizational values. Bystritsky has no doubt that Europe will cope with the current crisis, but confronting the Islamic State alone will bode no good for European countries, it will be the defeat of the civilization. "All civilizational forces must be mobilized in the Middle East itself under the most serious assistance of European states, Russia, United States and so on," Bystritsky urges.

       "The demographic situation is such that [European] countries cannot survive without the inflow of refugees, they are badly needed" as labour force. The native population of Europe is not reproducing fast enough. The question, Bystritsky supposes, is whether the traditional values of Europe would be diminished or migrants will integrate into Europe. "Curiously, the highest aggression does not come from the first-generation refugees. On the contrary, they are grateful, they are adapting, trying to behave well. However, their children and grandchildren, especially children, who face complicated sentiments of self-identity, are the most dangerous terrorist cannon fodder. The terrorist attacks in London were conducted by people born in Britain, not those who moved there. And most of these terrorist attacks are organized by people who cannot find their place there, who are bothered by a lot of things, who are unhappy with something," Andrey Bystritsky concluded, adding that only time will show whether the lessons will be learned or not.

       Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.