A young migrant, who drowned in a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos, lies on the shore in the Turkish coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, September 2, 2015. [Photo/China.org.cn]

In 1984, I had a brief conversation on a train in East Germany with a soldier. We spoke in philosophically coded language discussing borders and movement. "Birds have no borders so why should humans not be free as the birds?" he asked. Historical, political, economic and military justifications for borders can never answer this simple question.

At that time, the "Iron Curtain" prevented free movement to Western Europe. In 1989, however, economic stagnation and political crisis in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union produced a refugee crisis. Many thousands of East Germans made their way to Hungary in order to get into West Germany via Austria.

They were seen as the advanced guard for freedom and democracy. Using the threat of uncontrolled migration by millions of East Germans as a justification, however, West Germany annexed the eastern part state in the name of reunification of the German people – a move opposed by U.S., France and Britain fearing revival of German power.

As Eastern Europe opened its borders, this was hailed as a liberation of the human spirit. Over the next 15 years, East Europeans joined the European Union (EU) with millions moving to work and live in wealthier part. With the victory of capitalism in the former communist states, people were transformed into a huge pool of cheap labour.

The victory of the West was simultaneously a territorial conquest. It took the form of EU and NATO expansion, institutional and legal change, and the advance of capitalist financial power. Although the U.S. remained the dominant world power, the EU was now led by a resurgent Germany whose increasing influence reflected EU expansion and economic integration.

Containing German national ambitions, through a Franco-German alliance designed to maintain permanent peace, was the goal. This, however, was cast aside as German economic dominance became transformed into political dominance. This is confirmed by the fate of the recent Greek government, brought to heel by German diktat.

Four U.S.-led wars produced the overwhelming majority of today's European refugees: Kosovo 1998, Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003 and Libya 2011. The utter incompetence of U.S. policy in Iraq lies at the heart of the current crisis in Syria. The failure of the U.S.-backed Iraqi state and its army - is shown by the advance of the Islamic State across Iraq and Syria.

It was the desperate attempts by the U.S. to retain influence in the Middle East and North Africa, when popular Arab rebellions swept the region that brought about Western military intervention in Libya and entanglement in the Syrian civil war.

The West sided with the so-called popular opposition in both countries, leading to de-facto alliances with Islamic fundamentalist forces. Indeed, Jihadists from all over Europe, the United States, and the rest of the Western world reinforced these forces and they seized modern U.S. weaponry from a demoralized and utterly useless Iraqi army.

It is these military and political disasters that have produced the current wave of refugees in Europe. Turkey is already host to over a million Syrian refugees, a figure that is expected to reach 1.7 million this year. Naturally people prefer to live somewhere where they have a better future, which is why they are flocking towards.

As the UN High Commissioner for Refugees , António Guterres explains, "This is a primarily refugee crisis, not only a migration phenomenon. The vast majority of those arriving in Greece come from conflict zones like Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan and are simply running for their lives."

Can Europe cope? In 2004 EU expansion added 74 million people from new member states. This was an era of economic expansion so tens of millions of people could join the club at a stroke. In addition, in 2014, there were 33.5 million immigrants born in non-EU states living in the EU.

Apart from the need for the efficient processing and distribution of refugees in EU member states, the planning of development, and the opening of the world's borders can only produce balanced development when the fundamental patterns of global investment are structured to meet the needs of the people rather than their exploitation.

Germans and others in Europe are supporting the refugees from Syria after a heart-wrenching photograph of a drowned child affected popular consciousness. However, the temporarily repressed resentment at the numbers arriving will soon escalate into widespread violence and conflict.

If rapid economic growth had continued, tens of millions of people could be incorporated and integrated into Europe and this could help with demographic pressures of an aging population structure in key EU states like Germany. However, the opposite is true.

It would be possible to open borders and stop the deaths in the Mediterranean and in South Eastern Europe if there were a planned development strategy to serve the real needs of the people of the Eurasian landmass as well as Africa as a whole. However, such a plan does not exist. And, without it, we are doomed to be dragged into nationalist, ethnic, religious and racialist conflicts.

Heiko Khoo is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/heikokhoo.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn

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