A Refugee's Ache for Home Lives in Us All

Can you imagine living your life every day in fear and desolation, with no sense of home, but a constant sense of being trapped? Such is the plight of tens and thousands of people living across the Middle East and in countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Columbia, Myanmar, Jordon, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Hungary.

Confusion and disorder are just a few of the many problems that are faced by such people. As our world progresses in many avenues, there are yet people who are forced to leave their homes because it’s no longer safe for them to live.

They are pushed out of their homes for reasons such as their race, religion, nationality; belonging to a particular social group or for even having a particular political opinion.

Where is the freedom of speech or the basic freedom of human dignity? Silence! No questions can be asked! As we bicker and crib over the little things in life, there are refugees – adult and child who are not even given the liberty to even think otherwise. These people are most often not able to even return home or are even afraid to do so.

Some of the main reasons to flee their countries are because of war and ethnic, tribal and religious violence. Currently, over 5 million people have fled the conflict in Syria and till date there is yet no end to this crisis. As per the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2017, 65.6 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide either because of persecution, violence, conflict or even human rights violation alone.

 This is inclusive of internally displaced people and even asylum seekers. Internally displaced people (IDP) are those people who have been forced to flee their homes for the same reasons as refugees but remain in their own country and have not crossed any international boundary. These people do not get protected under any international law or are eligible to receive any form of aid.

For instance such has been the case in South Sudan –where a humanitarian crisis has gripped the country and in Yemen where over 2.5 million people have been displaced by ongoing violence.

Asylum seekers are those people who flee their own country and seek sanctuary in another country, i.e. they apply for asylum. This is a right to be recognised as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance. The asylum seeker has to clearly demonstrate his/her fear of persecution in his/her home country. Edward Snowden is currently a famous case of an asylum seeker for espionage and leaking of classified information.   

How much of our lives gets affected though? Not much and we continue to live trudging along with life. What can we really do, though some may wonder? Families struggle to survive, others risk their lives on their way to Europe hoping to find opportunity and acceptance.

However, there are many obstacles and harsh weather makes life even more difficult for refugees. What if that refugee was you? Wouldn't you want someone to turn to, some form of help?  While our lives are cocooned in the safety net of ‘urban life’ the magnitude of problems being faced by refugees are mind-boggling.

These people are forced to flee their country and walk for miles and miles, even through the night just to escape bombed neighborhoods or being shot by snipers. A refugee has to face steep challenges and challenges that you and I can perhaps not even imagine. This is just a picture of how the global refugee crisis looks like.

The Syrian Refugee Crisis has led to a displacement of over 12 million Syrians because of conflict, leaving 7.6 million people internally displaced. Syria is a country known for its fertile lands, deserts and high mountains. It is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups including Greeks, Syrian Arabs, Turks, Armenians, Kurds, Mandeans and Circassians. Some of the religious groups that live here include Sunnis, Shiites, Christains, Jews, Druze, Yazidis, Salifis and Alawites.

The Syrian Crisis began as a conflict going on in Syria between the government of Bashar al-Assad and other forces in the spring of 2011 and continues till date. It has been reported that 470,00 people have alone been killed because of the war in Syria, 4.8 million refugees seek safety in their neighbouring countries and approximately 13.5 million are yet in need of humanitarian assistance. This refugee situation has led to an enormous strain on its neighbouring countries and Syrians have fled to countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Jordon, Egypt and Turkey.

However, this is just a picture of what is going on in Syria. There is a lot of upheaval that has been caused in other countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Libya, Hungary, Columbia, Myanmor, Iraq, Uganda, Somalia and South Sudan, Nigeria, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Ukraine, Jordon and Afghanistan.

What can we learn from this refugee crisis - from Brexit Britain to Calais Jungle and anxiety over immigrant and refugee influxes?As thousands of immigrants and refugees begin their lives in new places, how are we contributing towards our society? We need to start looking at our lives from a much larger perspective, part of the human race. We need to explore the ideas that YOU & I can help those in need.