Update:
BuzzFeed News has published “19 Heartbreaking Pictures That Will Make World Refugee Day Hit Home”
Original Post:
The headlines on the plight of refugees all over the world are frightening.
Just today we read about how Turkish border guards shot dead at least 11 Syrians, mostly from one family and four of them children, as they tried to find a safe haven in Turkey from the killing fields of Syria.
How Iraqi refugee camps already overflowing with refugees are overwhelmed as people flee Falluja, past ISIL snipers and “past minefields in sweltering heat to find there was not even shade.”
How in nearby Pakistan, at least 1.5 million documented Afghan refugees are threatened with deportation back to Afghanistan by the end of June as part of a “spat” involving Afghanistan, Pakistan and the U.S. which threatens to lead to “a humanitarian disaster in what would be one of the biggest forced repatriations in decades.”
How, even in far away places as Hong Kong, asylum seekers from Asian nations “such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Vietnam are flocking to Hong Kong, along with a sprinkling from Africa… [and where] claims from asylum seekers have more than tripled in the last two years, alarming residents and lawmakers… ”
Fortunately, at least today, albeit the day is still young, there has been no tragic news about more refugees joining those thousands who have already lost their lives crossing the perilous Mediterranean desperately trying to escape war, murder, rape, starvation and tyranny.
All this during “World Refugee Day,” a day in which we are supposed to “honor refugees’ resilience and courage,” as Secretary of State John Kerry says in a World Refugee Day statement, but also a day that comes at a time “when brutal conflicts are forcing record numbers of innocent people to flee, and challenging the world to find better ways to protect them. The war in Syria alone has displaced more than 11 million people – half of that nation’s pre-war population. Millions more have fled Daesh’s atrocities in Iraq, civil wars in Yemen and South Sudan, political violence in Burundi, and Boko Haram’s rampages through Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad.”
And, yes, here is another headline, “Refugees at highest ever level, reaching 65 [million], says UN.”
According to the BBC, “[The UN] estimates that 65.3 [million] people were either refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced at the end of 2015, an increase of 5 [million] in a year.”
Putting that number in a more stark light — one that we hopefully all can see, “This represents one in every 113 people on the planet…”
Or even starker, “If the 65.3 million people were a single population, it would be the world’s 21st largest.”
In his statement, Kerry recalls how “World War II, another era of mass displacement, taught us indelible lessons about our collective duty to aid victims of conflict and persecution,” but emphasizes how all our good work cannot keep pace with today’s unprecedented needs, because “there are so many refugees, because they are staying in exile longer, and because countries hosting them are overwhelmed. More than eight in ten who flee across borders take refuge in poor or middle income countries, often in countries struggling to provide even their own citizens with basic necessities like health care, education, and clean water.”
He concludes,
The refugees we welcome to the United States will join previous generations who have come to this country to escape violence and persecution – threats to human life and dignity that remain all too real today.
History celebrates such moments when we have overcome bias and fear, and opened our doors. Those who have walked through them have made immeasurable contributions to our community of citizens and enriched our lives. Their achievements are a testament to the potential all humans have to heal, to overcome loss, to start over, and to the obligation we share, to give future generations that chance.
Having assisted with the reception and resettlement of hundreds of Vietnamese refugees after the Vietnam War, having seen the character of our nation reflected in the faces of other volunteers and having followed up with the successes and loyalty of the refugees, I can attest to that.
I just hope that the Republican presidential nominee can also look back at what our nation has done for hundreds of thousands of refugees throughout our history, look back at what these refugees have done for themselves and for our country and stop his bigoted, xenophobic hysteria.
Lead photo: Refugees wait in line to register and receive their initial bundle of supplies at the Dagahaley refugee camp, in Dadaab, Kenya, Aug. 8, 2011. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
