Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama worries that "too many" Arabs are taking refuge in Europe, according to comments he made during an interview with reporters from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a German magazine.
While acknowledging the moral responsibility to take in refugees, the Dalai Lama rejected the idea of permanent settlement of millions of Syrian refugees in Europe.
"Europe, for example Germany, cannot become an Arab country," the Dalai Lama said, according to AFP . "Germany is Germany. There are so many that in practice it becomes difficult."
The Dalai Lama does acknowledge the hardships refugees are bearing, but thinks that "there are so many that in practice it becomes difficult."
"When we look into the face of every single refugee, especially the children and women, we can feel their suffering," the Dalai Lama also said .
He also said that taking refuge in Europe should only be a temporary measure, as it would be morally wrong to refuse the refugees from entering. He believes that the ultimate goal should be helping the refugees return home and helping to rebuild their countries.
When speaking about his own life as a refugee and a possible return to Tibet, he responded, "Maybe in a few years. If an opportunity for my return arises, or at least for a short visit, that would be a source of great joy."
With the ongoing Syrian war, many have been forced to flee their homes, risking their lives crossing the Mediterranean to get to Europe or taking difficult land routes through unfriendly territory.
The majority of Syrian refugees are in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. The number of refugees that have reached Germany is estimated to be around 484,000, which is not anywhere close to the number of registered refugees in Turkey (2,748,367), Lebanon (1,048,275) and Jordan (642,868).