Armenian-French singer Charles Aznavour opened his new show in Paris with the song The Migrants on Tuesday, a strong show of support for the refugees hitting Europe in recent months, reports TeleSUR.
“The song was written thirty years ago, but it remains news,” said the singer. “What is happening with the refugees has affected me very much, I imagine my parents in this situation, when they left Armenia to come to France. This is why I will always take the side of the ones who knock the doors, not the ones who shut them.”
Aznavour also affirmed he was willing to welcome refugees in his secondary residence, where he could easily set up a mobile home for them. “I would sacrifice without any problem a couple of olive trees,” he jokingly told daily Le Parisien. He also called to remember what immigrants had brought to the French nation, mentionning the cases of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, the Egyptian composer Guy Beart, and the Romanian Emil Cioran. “This is an extraordinary opportunity for France. There may be among them future Aznavours, who knows?” he added.
The current migration crisis is reportedly the worst the continent has experienced since World War II. European countries continue to follow a police and military approach despite the recommendations of experts and international organizations. Many political elites and the mainstream media persist in calling the fleeing hordes “migrants” not “refugees” – a migrant is usually considered as moving for economic reasons, while a refugee runs away from a dangerous political situation, war, or persecution.