(Photograph by William Miller)
June 20 is marked as World Refugee Day to honour and remember those who were forced to leave their home countries due to reasons associated with violence and other conflicts. On June 20th this year, the United Nations released a new report indicating that 59.5 million people were forced to move out from their countries; this is an alarming number if you consider the number from a decade ago which is 37.5 million. It almost seems like old political, religious, and racial problems continue to gain momentum, while new conflicts continuously appear. It is also important to consider that this day only refers to those who left their home country, but there are also those who were not able to leave their country but were forced to leave to another place in their own country. Internal displacement is recorded to be 33.3 million people. In total, those who were forcibly displaced from the place they considered as home is more than 70 million, and evidently it is not the entire number.
When it comes to the problem about refugees, many countries around the world are trying their best to welcome them into their own homes. Sometimes it looks like a contest between imperialistic countries to demonstrate their power. It may also seem like it’s a forced responsibility demanded by power and supremacy that the countries have on the global community. Naturally, there are also countries that are opening windows and new opportunities for those who are in need because they care about humanity and morality. Nevertheless, whatever the reason behind the helping hand is, this is a matter that has to be solved. Those who lost their homes are in great need of support, opportunities, and a roof that they can sleep under without fear. It could even be considered a responsibility as humans to care about these significant elements of life. No human should be under conditions such as those the refugees are facing.
Now, it is crucial to open the doors of our own countries and welcome these people. The refugees are unfortunately subjected to extreme discrimination in the counties that they were supposedly welcomed in. Perhaps this discrimination is just our ignorance mirrored in tragedies. The worst part of all is that the majority of the countries that are considered to be the top leaders of the global community have forgotten that these people should be welcomed to their countries, they have lost their home. This is only the reflection of the irresponsibility, immorality and inhumanity of those who are in power. It cannot be denied that it is necessary to welcome refugees into their own home, and educate their own people to comprehend the sorrow of others. However, it is also and possibly more important to focus on solving the conflicts and problems that caused these people to leave their home. It is indeed much easier said than done, but it has to be said and tried, and hopefully accomplished.
An important international law and human right, the Right to Return is important when the issue about refugees is debated and talked about. This right signifies that any human has the right to return to their own home no matter the reason for their departure. Those who were forced to leave their home without any possibility to return are not only obligated to forget about the landscapes and smell of their own home, but their memories and cultural identities are also locked away with refugee camps. These people have come from cultures and societies that were constructed with centuries of history. Some were lucky enough to have a roof over their head while watching their favourite television show. Nonetheless, it seems that these memories and cultures are less important than ours and there is no problem to lock these cultures away in other countries that they do not belong to.
It is clearly evident that opening doors of our own home is a duty as humans for those who were forced to leave their own, especially if it resulted as a consequence of those who we chose to represent us and gave power to. However, it is also important to remember that these forgotten homes, that are stained with blood and sorrow, are actually the symbol of history and culture. The act to take in those who cannot go to back to the roof they constructed with tears and hard work is extremely important. However, it is crucial to take some action to get rid of the reason why they had to leave in the first place. The economical status of any country does not matter when it comes to culture and home; each culture has been developed through centuries of human work. We have the responsibility as humans to help those who were forced to leave memories behind and regain their own home, because there is no place like home.
(All opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own; they do not reflect the views of HC Waseda)