This is not going to be an article with pure data and sheer facts. I am not going to write about the misery of tens of thousands of refugees who flee their country in order to look for a better future. I will not write on these issues since the facts are out there, the pictures already taken, the events covered. I am simply going to express the outrage, anger and shame that I feel about how Europeans have reacted to this situation.

Whenever I open any mainstream media outlet, or check my Facebook posts or read people’s comments, I am astonished and embarrassed by the deep-rooted xenophobia and racism that comes through in either the content or the comments. I have been closely following the events of the refugee crisis for the past few months. The mainstream opinions are harsh, bordering on frightening.

These voices constantly demonize the refugees. They see them as the enemy, the invader, the outsiders who want to disrupt the well-being of Europeans and take away what we have. They say that refugees inherently do not belong to a so-called Christian Europe because they are Muslims, come from a different culture and represent different values.

Opportunistic European governments have capitalized on these sentiments. The Hungarian government, the government that I do not recognize as my own, has added fuel to the fire. It has launched a propaganda campaign against refugees, painting them as nothing but an undisciplined swarm of opportunistic, economic migrants who want freebies and benefits at tax-payers’ expense.

The Hungarian government has put up large billboards declaring that, “If you come to Hungary, do not take the jobs of Hungarians.” As if anyone would ever want to stay in a country that the majority of refugees probably first heard of when they reached the border in Serbia.

The government has purposely raised a fence on the border of the country so that it doesn't have to deal with an influx of refugees. They have also sent out the army, commandos, riot police and anyone else who can shoot, just in case. If refugees cross the border legally, they will be sent back to Serbia in a quick procedure where their asylum requests are dismissed. And if they pass the border illegally, they can be jailed.

The Hungarian government has also used this issue to make itself look like the bastion of a so-called Christian Europe, invoking similarities between the current situation and historical periods, such as the 150 years of Ottoman occupation. Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, said that Hungary wishes to remain Christian and will not accept a single refugee on its land.

Even the Hungarian police told refugees in a camp, “Go away. Hungary, no money, Orbán Viktor.”

I still haven’t talked about the radical right-wing movements who were ready to jump on the occasion to shed some Muslim blood on the borders. Radicals, including our disciplined and civilized football fans, said they would take up arms to protect the country.

Others have criticized the refugees for leaving trash behind or sleeping on the street, claiming that they are uncivilized barbarians who do not belong to Europe, as if they've enacted some major crime against Hungarians. Not to mention the rumours that these refugees were actually disguised terrorists who would rise to the call and attack Europe at its heart.

I am tired. But my blood still boils when I hear these unenlightened, uneducated, selfish, xenophobic and racist voices. When will Europeans understand that it is their deep-rooted hatred of the Other that brings these opinions out? Can’t they see that underlying all these opinions is a repulsive refusal to accept people of color or poor people? Yes, I have to say it. We need a reality check. It is the prejudices and biases, these structural indoctrinations that society has fed us, that are shaping these opinions.

I wish to ask any white European: if they were to travel for three hours on a train, would they feel more comfortable seeing a white person sitting next to them or a person of color? Now, let me add another question: would they prefer to see a visibly poor person next to them or a rich person? And finally, would they want to sit next to a poor person of color at all?

It can be hard to make these statements out loud. Europe is xenophobic. Hungary is xenophobic. We don’t particularly like poor people either, because they are an inconvenience among our expectations for Europe.  So we put them somewhere where we can’t see them, under the rug.

We might agree on the basics of dealing with refugees and helping poor people in the abstract. If you ask a person whether war refugees should be helped, they will probably say yes. If you ask whether we should help poor people, in the abstract, they will say yes. However, when these things become reality, when we are expected to live up to the values and ideals we supposedly share, everything falls apart.

In reality, many Europeans don’t want to see these problems. We refuse to see that people live in extreme or relative poverty. We refuse to accept that those who look different than ourselves or people of different religions are our fellow human beings. We don’t want to see them on the street, in the grocery shop or living next to us.

What sickens me even more are opportunistic governments. These governments who are ready to shut the door to those in need of help. Up in their ivory towers, in their fancy suits, it is easy to spit bullshit and pretend that there is no other solution than to neglect global issues. In fact, these are the same governments that were ready to spend billions of dollars on bombing countries from which many refugees are fleeing.

I would like to believe that there is hope for Europe. NGOs and civilians alike have shown compassion towards the refugees and have immensely helped them in their journeys. Their behavior is in alignment with the supposedly European and Christian values that politicians often like to repeat. Governments like Germany and Sweden have shown exceptional leadership in times of crisis. The fact that states like Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and others have refused to take in any substantial number of refugees is beyond appalling.

Some of you might disagree with what I wrote here. You might think that my language is too harsh, my arguments too blunt and my thinking clouded. And you might be right. But before you come to conclusions, I’d like to ask you: am I completely wrong?

Fortress Europe will be built and high, razor-wired walls will be raised around those who fear that their rich and comfortable ways of life might be inconvenienced. Anaïs Mitchell's song explains why: "We build the walls to keep out the enemy, and the enemy is poverty, and we build the wall to keep us free."