A human tide of migrants is moving from Syria and other conflict areas in the middle-east towards western Europe. Many observers have noted that a majority among them are males aged 15 to 40, a group most often associated with terrorist and other illegal activities.
Given the numbers and confusion resulting from vast waves of migrants, it would theoretically be possible to hide among them to get into Europe. Some suggest that terrorists have in fact slipped into the crowds.
A Canadian security expert feels the threat is being exaggerated. Michel Juneau-Katsuya is a former senior intelligence officer and manager with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and currently CEO of the Northgate Group, a security consultancy firm.
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Earlier this year, an advisor to the Libyan government told the BBC in an interview that militants with the group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria are hiding among refugees who, for a number of years, have been boarding boats in Libya destined for the Italian coast.
Abdul Basit Haroun said he gathered information from conversations he had with the smugglers themselves.
He said ISIS believes “European police don’t know who is from [Islamic State] and who is a normal refugee or not.”
Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond recently said that migrants sneaking into Britain were straining security services and leaving the country “unable to defende itself”.
Speaking during a visit to Singapore last month he said, ““So long as there are large numbers of pretty desperate migrants marauding around the area, there always will be a threat to the tunnel security. We’ve got to resolve this problem ultimately by being able to return those who are not entitled to claim asylum back to their countries of origin”
He was quickly criticized by opposition politicians in Britain for “scaremongering”
Officials from the agency Frontex, which manages EU borders, have previously warned that ISIS could be infiltrating the boats. However, they add there is no hard evidence supporting the claims.
Juneau-katsuya agrees. He feels the security issue has been overblown and that western countries have systems in place to adequately screen people.
In addition he says ISIS needs all the fighters it has just to hold on to the territory it now controls and so is unlikely to be “exporting” fighters. He also points out that, we have had many unfortunate and tragic incidents showing ISIS can recruit from people already in western countries.
He says Canada has dealt with an influx of migrants before and could do so again, but due to budget cuts, services have been greatly reduced so the capacity and knowledge of screening in processing has been simultaneously reduced.
He does note that there are likely a number of people among the tide who are not refugees fleeing from danger and threat, but rather merely economic migrants who do not qualify as refugees.
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