Dalai Lama: Europe Letting In Too Many Refugees

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Buddhism, is known for spreading messages of unity and enlightenment. However, during an interview with a German newspaper published May 31, the Dalai Lama made some controversial comments about the immigrant crisis gripping Europe.

The Dalai Lama told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that although “we feel the misery” of each refugee and everyone has a “responsibility to help,” there are “too many” refugees seeking asylum in Europe, reports NBC News.

“Europe, for example Germany, cannot become an Arab country,” the Dalai Lama continued. “Germany is Germany.”

The Tibetan leader added, “There are so many [refugees] that in practice it becomes difficult,” notes the Washington Post. 

The Dalai Lama said “from a moral standpoint” the refugees should “only be accommodated temporarily,” explaining that the goal should be for them to return to their home countries, reports NBC News.

The Dalai Lama is not the only religious leader to comment on Europe’s migrant crisis.

Earlier in 2016, Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, addressed the issue.

“The present wave of migration seems to be undermining the foundations of that ‘humanistic spirit’ which Europe has always loved and defended,” Pope Francis said in his annual address from the Vatican, reports The Guardian. He added that Europe should find “the right balance between its two-fold moral responsibility to protect the rights of its citizens and to ensure assistance and acceptance to migrants.”

He called for an international dialogue “so that with greater boldness and creativity, new and sustainable solutions can be sought.”

Germany, a nation of 80 million people, has so far accepted over 1 million refugees, reports the Washington Post.

But the Dalai Lama was not without compassion for the refugees.

“When we look into the face of every single refugee, especially the children and women, we can feel their suffering,” he said, according to the Washington Post. “The goal should be that they return and help rebuild their countries.” 

Sources: NBC News, The Guardian, Washington Post / Photo Credit: Dalai Lama/Instagram