In actual fact, ISIS wasn't even the only extremist religious group in the area. Despite all being Muslim, ISIS fought them all. So it is quite understandable that civilians would in fact try to get out of the country. So next time you hear someone complain about the refugees, just imagine them running across a desert with a gang of black-attired, sharp kukri-wielding madmen chasing them, and see if they'd still consider it a point of view worth airing.
One country that is going above and beyond to help the refugees, setting an example for not just Europe, but the world, is Germany. The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, despite being criticised for her humanitarian stance has remained steadfast in her empathetic view towards the refugees. She recently said "If we now have to start apologising for showing a friendly face in response to emergency situations, then that is not my country". As I write this, Germany has taken in over half a million refugees, leading the European numbers by several hundreds of thousands. They even plan on taking in a total of 800,000, more than all of Europe combined in 2014. Germany is the golden boy of Europe right now, but other countries have taken a unempathetic and xenophobic approach. In 2014 Britain lobbied to stop a search and rescue operation called Mare Nostrum, which was designed to stop refugees drowning in the Mediterranean. Did they hope that the more that drowned, fewer would try the crossing? Not only did it have the opposite effect, as the desperation amongst refugees kept them coming. .
Another country guilty of terrible practices is Hungary. Many refugees need to go through Hungary on their way to Germany, but Hungary is, for some reason, making it difficult for them. Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights (also the first Muslim to hold the post), is highly critical of the Hungarian Governments treatment of the refugees.