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On September 9, 2015, Ali Ahmida, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Political Science, was a guest on MPBN’s “Maine Calling” program to discuss the issue of the recent refugee crisis.

With thousands of refugees entering Europe from the Middle East, the European Union is struggling to handle the influx. Ahmida discussed his belief that the problem should be looked at with a global perspective. “This is a very, very tragic problem that is becoming a global problem, and it helps to look at it in a global way—not in a local way or [as] a problem that has nothing to do with Europe or the United States,” he said.

He expressed that “understanding the roots of the problem is very crucial,” and that “for moral and strategic reasons, we need to pay attention; we need to also understand the causes; and we need to also recognize that these refugees are the victims of failed states and failed policies.”

“We are not bystanders,” he stated, adding that other countries’ lack of intervention is partly to blame for the tragedies of the refugee population.