Refugees

Imagine one night you wake up with the barrel of a gun pointed at you. It is the government police. They give you the option to either give your house and everything you own to the government and leave the country, never to return, or you and your family will be shot on sight. So many questions would be running through your head, "why is this happening?" "What have I done?” You begin to walk, not knowing where you will go. All you have been allowed to bring with you is a few changes of clothes and just a few mementos from past generations that you grabbed quickly. All you have known is this land; the same land that many generations before you had called home, possibly even the same house. All this is gone.

This story is not something of fiction, though I wish it were. This is happening everyday in countries like Nepal, Burma, Myanmar, and many others. In 2011, there was a recorded 10,549,686 refugees in the world according to the United Nations High Commissions for Refugees (UNHCR). Wait, what is a refugee exactly? As defined by UNHCR, a refugee is someone who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country". We still live in a world where being a certain race, something that isn't your fault and you can't change, can potentially have you displaced or killed.

So what happens to these people once they leave their country? Well, They go to places called Refugee camps. These are places that are set up either by the UN or by the country that it is located that refugees can go to for safety. Even these camps aren't safe though. Robbery, rape, murder, Blackmail and other horrible things go on in these camps. This is where the refugee will stay until they can gain a way into one of the few countries that allow refugees. This wait could take up to 5 years and some never make it out of the camps due to waiting.

If you are selected, you are assigned a country to go to. Some countries that house refugees are America, Australia, New Zealand, and others. This is difficult for the refugees; they must learn the languages customs and practices, and other things in order to live in the country. Life is very different. All hope of returning home someday, most never will.

I write this not to depress you, but to encourage you to help these refugees. They are all around! There is a great deal of them here in Springfield actually. If you wish to get connected to help with teaching them English, about money, or just to be a friend, a wonderful place to look would be at a Chinese church! There are a few of them here in town. Rather you like it or not, they are coming and all they want in the world is a place to belong and be loved. A place to be safe. I leave with a part from the poem "The New Colossus" (which is on the inside of the Statue of Liberty) by Emma Lazarus, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: 

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Work Cited:

-Sedghi, Ami, and Simon Rogers. "UNHCR 2011 Refugee Statistics: Full Data." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 20 June 2011. Web. 12 Sept. 2014.

-"Refugees." UNHCR News. Web. 12 Sept. 2014.

-Lazarus, Emma. "A Quote by Emma Lazarus." Goodreads. Web. 12 Sept. 2014.