this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2025
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Since people from war-torn nations often flee to Europe where they tend to get all kinds of help and support, I wonder what countries Europeans would/could flee to - and be welcomed by - if there were to be a war engulfing most of Europe?

Any thoughts?

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[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 hours ago (3 children)

Since people from war-torn nations often flee to Europe where they tend to get all kinds of help and support

They don't do that at all. That's a deceitful right-wing talking point meant to create xenophobic reactions.

People from war torn nations move to non-war torn parts of their own county, or their direct neighbors. Only a tiny fraction go further, and only a fraction of those go all the way to Europe.

[–] Perspectivist@feddit.uk 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

They don’t do that at all.

One side exaggerates things and the other downplays them. Neither are being honest. This is the information landscape we live in now and then we wonder why nobody believes the same set of facts.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 1 points 21 minutes ago

Fair. I guess you could read my reply as "they don't flee to Europe at all", but I intended it as "they don't flee to Europe all that often".

I guess I could have been more clear there, but in my defense, I did elaborate.

[–] rikudou@lemmings.world -2 points 2 hours ago

Sure, pal. That's why there were so many of them in Europe. And I don't mean it in a bad way, it's pretty fucking normal to flee to a different country when there's war.

You people who need to debunk the right wing conspiracies so much that you create your own are a pretty wild breed.

[–] Framptonian@lemmy.world -5 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

I am not interested in a political discussion nor in the overly-common mud-slinging that desperately attempts to label everyone either a hateful nazi or a moronic lefty. I simply wonder where Europeans would flee to, if there were a war that engulfs all of Europe.

Alas, since you seem to be more interested in other discussions: Saying people don't flee from war to Europe seems highly deceitful in itself. I just looked at the statistics from Germany (which brought me to my question): By mid-2024, there were roughly 3.5 Million refugees in Germany. Over one million of them were from Ukraine. For the whole of the EU, there appear to be almost 7 million refugees from war-torn areas and a total of 13 million refugees in total (includes internally displaced people), and 1.7 million asylum applicants. Those appear to be official numbers and not right-wing talking points. I suppose in your mind, that means that people don't flee to Europe?

https://www.unhcr.org/europe/europe-figures-glance-2023 https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/zahl-gefluechtete-deutschland-100.html

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

I am not interested in a political discussion nor in the overly-common mud-slinging that desperately attempts to label everyone either a hateful nazi or a moronic lefty.

Aren't you in luck then, because I did neither. Your reaction is pretty over the top though.

Also, seeing how Ukraine is already in Europe, it would take a lot of effort for them not to flee to (elsewhere in) Europe.

[–] Wolf314159@startrek.website 6 points 2 hours ago

This account is only 6 days old and already you're starting in with the Xenophobic political rhetoric. That hardly seems like a coincidence. Who are you really and what got your previous account banned?

[–] P13@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 5 hours ago

Europeans would (will?) flee westward, away from Russian aggression.

Even if most of Europe is party to war, there will still be a front line and limited deep strikes. You don’t just have continent wide war with no place to flee to.

If Russia starts dropping nukes then it won’t be a Europe-problem anyways….

[–] jimmy90@lemmy.world 5 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

we will colonise the arctic and make New Skyrim

[–] hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Hell nah, seasonal depression is already bad enough.

[–] ReiRose@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

Dont worry! Climate change will fix that!

[–] mech@feddit.org 92 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

The vast majority of people fleeing from war-torn countries today do not flee to Europe. They flee to safer areas within their own countries, then to neighboring countries, then to other culturally similar countries. The number of people who try to make it all the way to Europe and then succeed pales in comparison.
The narrative that there's a huge migration wave from unstable third world countries to Europe is a lie perpetuated by the right wing.

[–] Framptonian@lemmy.world -1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

They don't! And that's why I made no such statement!

I repeat what I stated in response to somebody else:

I am not interested in a political discussion nor in the overly-common mud-slinging that desperately attempts to label everyone either a hateful nazi or a moronic lefty. I simply wonder where Europeans would flee to, if there were a war that engulfs all of Europe.

Alas, since you seem to be more interested in other discussions: Saying people don’t flee from war to Europe seems highly deceitful in itself. I just looked at the statistics from Germany (which brought me to my question): By mid-2024, there were roughly 3.5 Million refugees in Germany. Over one million of them were from Ukraine. For the whole of the EU, there appear to be almost 7 million refugees from war-torn areas and a total of 13 million refugees in total (includes internally displaced people), and 1.7 million asylum applicants. Those appear to be official numbers and not right-wing talking points. I suppose in your mind, that means that people don’t flee to Europe?

https://www.unhcr.org/europe/europe-figures-glance-2023

https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/zahl-gefluechtete-deutschland-100.html

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 34 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Other European countries, other western countries like Canada, Australia, or New Zealand

[–] ABCatMom@lemmy.ca 23 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

Canadian here, we'll be there again if you all need us ❤️

[–] MooseWinooski@lemmy.ca 15 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Our federal government is making it much harder to immigrate here and many people are being forced to leave the country since they can't become a permanent resident anymore.

I agree with your sentiment, but our government and the average Canadian is far more anti-immigrant than 10 years ago.

[–] can@sh.itjust.works 6 points 9 hours ago

Housing crisis really put a damper on things.

[–] shawn1122@sh.itjust.works 6 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (2 children)

In an asylum scenario definitely can be considered but for migration in general we need to stabilize the housing and cost of living situation before we start inviting people over in my opinion. The population is also skewing more elderly (with immigration there being the only balancing factor) there and here so need go make sure our healthcare system is ready for such a migration without causing any institutional shocks.

[–] fizzle@quokk.au 3 points 8 hours ago

These concerns have been raised by clans, tribes, cities, and countries in receipt of migrants since the dawn of time.

You're correct that migration needs to be balanced against the ability of the services and existing resources to support migrants, while acknowledging that migrants bring with them needed skills and investment.

You're probably also correct regarding the stability of housing and cost of living. That's how things are in Australia at present in any case.

However, asylum is a special class of migration. You're not accepting migrants because you want them, but because they will face persecution if you don't. If a stream of Europeans arrived on Canada's shores by boat, and they faced imprisonment on undue punishment if you returned them, would you provide them shelter?

[–] deHaga@feddit.uk 1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

It only you had massive amounts of land available

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io 4 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

That's the least important consideration. When people arrive in the country they don't just get told "here's some land!" And dumped in an open field to make do. The resources needed for them are houses, jobs, health care, and so forth. We don't have vast amounts of that lying around unused.

[–] prex@aussie.zone 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

It works both ways too: more immigration means more people to build roads/houses, staff hospitals etc.

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io 3 points 6 hours ago

Sure, but it takes time. There's no way we could handle a Europe's worth of refugees pouring in at once.

[–] sam@piefed.ca 8 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

dumped in an open field to make do.

Literally how Manitoba came to be. 🤣

[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 16 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

I live pretty much in the middle of nowhere that is between three mountains and a Scandinavian fjord. I don't see any safer alternatives to where I'm already at.

[–] gjoel@programming.dev 1 points 5 hours ago

I will flee to neidu3.

[–] SkaraBrae@lemmy.world 9 points 11 hours ago (1 children)
[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 6 points 11 hours ago

My basement. But it's full of wood debris pending a rebuild. Clean it out, and it's yours. Don't tell anyone, though, as I doubt it's legal to live there.

[–] Vinylraupe@lemmy.zip 4 points 11 hours ago

They flee to Switzerland aka Supereurope. After that you pray to the heavens.

[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 7 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Historically, Argentina and the USA.

[–] Lemming421@lemmy.world 22 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, but the non-Nazis need somewhere to go as well…

[–] MooseWinooski@lemmy.ca 5 points 12 hours ago

This person histories lol

[–] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 13 hours ago (4 children)

(Random thoughts, I'm clueless about this subject, it's safer to assume I'm wrong about everything)

USA is an obvious first choice for many. I imagine other developed countries in the Americas will be hotspots too. The big question is which countries would accept mass influxes of European refugees.

I wonder if enough could flee to Africa, and bring some substantial wealth with them... Would that actually help Africa catch up to the developed world? Or would it instead just be new colonialism?

Of course Africa is huge, diverse and messy, so that's a very vague answer/question.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 5 points 8 hours ago

The USA is the exact opposite of safe. A record number of people are currently trying to leave or have left (I'm one of those)

I don't think it will help that much. There's already a lot of rich people in Africa. If anything this would bring about gentrification in a lot of the parts.

But that isn't to say it will be a completely bad thing. (The people moving to African countries, not the gentrification). Maybe some parts of the economy will be stimulated.

[–] ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org 15 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

So, this might change in the future and is not representative of every person here, but as an European, the USA would be one of the last places on my list to flee to if I had to. The current administration has made it more than clear that Europeans are not welcome (that doesn't speak for all US Americans, of course, but still).

Canada or a South American country like Brazil would be a much better choice.

If not America, there's North Africa (Tunisia, Egypt), Turkey (which is arguably part of Europe in certain ways) and maybe even a Caucasus state, depending on what kind of war I'm fleeing from.

Some of those might be better suited for a longer stay than others.

[–] MooseWinooski@lemmy.ca 4 points 12 hours ago

Odds are the USA will be on the wrong side of any major conflict and Canada would also be looking to Europe for support.

[–] fizzle@quokk.au 17 points 8 hours ago

USA is an obvious first choice for many.

I don't really think that this is true at all.

In the past the USA might have been appealing because there was real opportunity. If you show up, and work hard, there's a good life in a stable environment for your kids and their kids. Those financial opportunities don't seem to exist anymore, and the political and social environment seems... undesirable for migrants.

Presently the USA might be desirable for people already in the Americas because you can get there, and the currency exchange is favorable.

I wouldn't want to make generalisations about Africa. There might be some locations on the continent that would be suitable, but IDK about that. You certainly wouldn't want to be wealthier than the local population, because that dynamic wouldn't continue very long.

I don't think there's a sensible answer to OP's question. I imagine that only a minority group from Europe could really require 'asylum' (like Jewish people during WWII), and the answer depends on the nature of whichever group is seeking asylum.

[–] lath@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago

Well, anyone who could flee my country already has, so probably nowhere.

[–] Strider@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago

South Africa, because I can.