World Refugee Day Click an illustration to highlight it. Blue text = a link.Monday this past week was World Refugee Day. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says: "World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.' Celebration?The day 'celebrates the strength and courage of the people who have been forced to flee'. I have never before thought of the day as a celebration. I've thought of it as arouser of horror. But I see the point. Strength, courage and resilience are worth celebrating and admiring even when they are forced upon those who live the qualities. Thinking that way does show refugees in a rather different light – an admiring light. And there are many of them. To get an idea of the scale of the refugee diaspora please have a look at this video. Click the arrow to start. At the end don't try to reset. Just proceed down the text. Are the numbers impressive? Frightening? Shameful? Whatever they are, they are not just numbers. They also represent personal and relationship agony of the highest order, don't they? Quandry for Rohingya refugees in BangladeshThe world's largest refugee colony is Kutuapalong in the Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh. Fortunately, this area, in the very south of the country, has been spared the June 21-22 terrible floods that have caused destruction and disarray in the north east. About a million Rohingya refugees, who fled from Myanmar progressively over some years, live in 34 pretty horrible camps around Cox’s Bazar city. There is little education and no work. Sanitation is poor and the houses are mostly bamboo framed, tarpaulin covered shacks which are hopelessly inadequate in the monsoon rains or in the hurricanes which storm in from the Bay of Bengal. But this World Refugee Day, exiles living in these camps gained government permission to hold demonstrations. '“We don’t want to stay in the camps. Being refugees is not easy. It’s hell. Enough is enough. Let’s go home,” Rohingya community leader Sayed Ullah said in a speech at one rally.' 'A widow who lives in a Rohingya camp in Ukhia, who identified herself as Rabeya, said her community was grateful to Bangladesh for its hospitality. “But we want to go back to our homeland. We want to return to our birthplace as soon as possible,” she said.' Voluntarily in safety and dignityUNHCR spokesperson Regina De La Portilla said most Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh say they want nothing more than to return to Myanmar. ... “Rohingya refugees want to return, when they can do so voluntarily, in safety and dignity. This means when their rights are ensured. Currently, the situation in Myanmar is still fluid and conditions for a safe and sustainable return are not ensured,” she said. “We must all work together, including UN agencies and the international community, to enhance our efforts to make that possible.” Afghanistan demands our attentionAccording to our little video, Syria has the second highest number of refugees, then Palestine, then Afganistan – mostly refugees by internal displacement. Afghanistan draws our attention because the news channels around the world have been featuring the 5.9 earthquake (some say 6.1) that shook the isolated mountainous area near the border of Pakistan, known as Paktika – see photo below. Massive need
At the scene'Speaking to Reuters news agency, locals described horrific scenes of death and destruction in the aftermath of the late-night earthquake. "The kids and I screamed," said Fatima. "One of our rooms was destroyed. Our neighbours screamed and we saw everyone's rooms." "It destroyed the houses of our neighbours," Faisal said. "When we arrived there were many dead and wounded. They sent us to the hospital. I also saw many dead bodies."' Relief agencies respondUNICEF New Zealand is immediately appealing for help to assist children caught up in the disaster. 'UNICEF is already on the ground and has now dispatched several mobile health and nutrition teams to provide first aid to those who are injured. We're also distributing critical aid, including hygiene supplies like soap, detergent, towels, sanitary pads and water buckets, warm clothes, shoes and blankets, as well as tents and tarpaulins.' And UNICEF is only one of many international groups reponding to the Taliband's call for help. Build empathy and understandingYes we can build empathy and understanding by being aware of what other people are having to endure. And we can admire their courage. We may be moved to donate money. For instance just click the UNICEF link above. But bigger entities than individuals need to act. Refugee policies need continual review. Ruling parties and countries need to act and whenever we can we need to push them to do so. Act not just to help the displaced but act fundamentally on religious persecution, (Myanmar) faction war (Afghanistan) and climate change. □ I wish all readers Happy Maori New Year – Manawatia a Matariki. I hope the pain of noticing those who are not now here is bearable. I hope you have a pleasurable weekend and I hope your plans for the next year are exciting to you. John McInnes Friday 24 June 2022 Postscript
To read other Rohingya posts from this blog just type "Rohingya" into the search bar.
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