Stop 'us vs them' narrative about refugees
Dadaab refugee camp in Garissa in July 2016. PHOTO | TONY KARUMBA | AFP
What you need to know:
Contributions refugees have made and can make in society have been overlooked.
It is imperative to remember that refugees are not migrants who have the privilege of leaving their country by choice; they are seeking refuge.
It is also doubtful anyone would hastily leave their good secure life with nothing, to make a long journey on foot for days, hoping against hope for food along the way.
Given the choice, refugees would happily be in their country contributing to its economic growth.
On June 20, 2017, the world observed World Refugee Day.
My earliest memory and understanding of refugees stemmed from watching thousands of Rwandese walk towards the Democratic Republic of Congo with children on their backs, and possessions they hurriedly gathered on their heads. In that moment, I did not need to ask what they were fleeing from, their faces told the story.
A refugee is defined by the 1951 Refugee Convention as someone facing persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and cannot be protected by their own country. Undoubtedly, as we have witnessed in the ongoing migrant crisis, refugees are vulnerable and have even been depicted as low tier human beings compared to citizens of the host nation. This is forgetting these are also citizens who have been forced to flee their country, leaving behind lives they have built for themselves.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
To make matters worse, fellow human beings have seen refugees as an economic opportunity to cash in, especially on young families, by charging them a fee to safely cross borders, with false promises of safely reaching the “promised land”. Yet, the families are unceremoniously loaded and packed like mere goods on unsafe boats or insufferable lorries, with the final destination being the sea, or a check point offering a view of the “promised land”.
In this negative rhetoric, contributions refugees have made and can make in society have being overlooked. We, therefore, continue to view refugees as “us vs them”, with no incentive to go above and beyond in solving the migrant crisis.
Nobel Prize laureate Albert Einstein is one of the most distinguished refugees. The father of physics fled Nazi Germany for the United States in 1933. Einstein, already a well-established scientist, had impeccable knowledge and skill, many of us pale in comparison. Clearly, refugees are vulnerable in their situation, but, not in their capabilities and state of mind. Closer to home, Luol Deng fled Sudan amid the civil war, and went on to become a professional basketball player in the US, currently playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.
FINANCIAL BURDEN
Another factor that has created the “us vs them” rhetoric is the narrative that refugees will only become a financial burden. Unfortunately, yes, refugees come to the host nation with absolutely nothing. Nonetheless, their mental will power and determination is like no other. Often they arrive in a new country where they battle the struggles of acclimatising to the new culture, the lingering fear of being sent back, and learning to speak the national language. Sir Ralph Kohn is one such man. Arriving in the United Kingdom in 1940 as a young boy, Ralph settled into the country and went to become a pioneer in the pharmaceutical industry, undoubtedly an invaluable asset rather than a liability.
The assumption that refugees will want to permanently reside in the host nation is further contributing to the “us v them” narrative. It is imperative to remember that refugees are not migrants who have the privilege of leaving their country by choice; they are seeking refuge. It is also doubtful anyone would hastily leave their good secure life with nothing, to make a long journey on foot for days, hoping against hope for food along the way. Given the choice, refugees would happily be in their country contributing to its economic growth. Furthermore, once the reasons that led to their fleeing are expunged, refugees have gone back to their countries to contribute in its restoration. Thabo Mbeki was in exile from 1962 to 1990 before becoming South Africa's president in 1999. Despite his grave circumstances, he spent this time contributing to a strategy to end Apartheid. Eventually he returned to South Africa and was elected President in 1999.
STUPENDOUS ACHIEVEMENTS
In terms of restoration, Rwanda puts countries that pride themselves in political stability to shame, given its stupendous achievements since the genocide in the country in 1994. Firstly, the country has transcended and achieved the Millennium Development Goal of promoting gender equality and empowering women, with an impressive 61.3 per cent of its MPs being women. Secondly, Rwanda’s capital Kigali has been ranked as Africa’s cleanest city. Lastly, maintaining political stability and discourse whilst achieving the above and more in little over 20 years is a standalone achievement in itself.
And so, the current migrant crisis brings with it a flow of Albert Einsteins, Luol Dengs, and Sir Ralph Kohns with diverse knowledge and skills who given the chance, can make long lasting contributions to the host nation worthy of a Nobel Prize.
Gladys Burini works with international businesses on commercial litigation.
