[eesmith]

"Why Don’t Refugees Stay in the First Safe Country?" - https://care4calais.org/the-refugee-crisis/why-dont-refugees...

> ... many times more refugees do stay in the first country they arrive in rather than continue their journey onwards. However, we also see cases where people first arrive in a country such as Greece, Italy or Hungary and initially do try to settle there, but, if that country has economic problems like acute unemployment or food shortages it becomes impossible for them to survive and they end up destitute in the street. Some therefore decide to move on to France, or further, due to a desire to become independent and contribute to society. In the long term this will benefit both the refugee and the host country. ...

> Refugees who have lost everything due to war or persecution face a daunting task in trying to rebuild their lives. Ask yourself, “If I had to suddenly leave home and everything behind me tomorrow, arriving to a new country without shelter and without work, which country would I go to and why?”

If I were a refugee and spoke good English and no Spanish, I would prefer to live in the US where it's much more likely I can support myself, and where the language barrier is much smaller.