THE wars in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern, Asian and African countries in recent years have resulted in one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes, arguably unseen since World War II. Instead of developing a unified global strategy that makes the welfare of the refugees of these conflicts a top priority, many countries ignored them altogether, blamed them for their own misery and at times treated them as if they were criminals and outlaws.

But this is not always the case. At the start of the Syrian war, support for Syrian refugees was considered a moral calling, championed by countries across the world, from the Middle East to Europe and even beyond. Though often rhetoric was not matched by action, helping the refugees was seen, theoretically, as a political stance against the Syrian government.

Back then, Afghans did not factor in the Western political discourse on refugees. In fact, they were rarely seen as refugees. Why? Because, until August 15 — when the Taliban entered the capital, Kabul — most of those fleeing Afghanistan were seen according to a different classification: migrants, illegal immigrants, illegal aliens and so on. Worse, at times they were depicted as parasites taking advantage of international sympathy for refugees in general and Syrians in particular.