Refugees: A Human Concern

People living peacefully in their native land everywhere in the world fondly call it as their motherlands. They love their land, rivers, hills, deserts, streams, lakes, animals and birds, flowers and crops and hold them close to their heart. The emotional attachment with the land of their ancestors and parents is unfathomable. We love the culture and customs of our land, our folklore and our mother tongue. But how would we feel if in one stroke of a dreadful event we are forcibly evicted from our motherland. It is a biggest crime against humanity when people are forced out of their motherland by the rulers leaving everything behind. Unfortunately, this is happening in the world till date. The latest report of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has given the figures of forcibly displaced persons in the world as 68.5 million out of which 25.4 million are refugees. Children and adolescents under the age of 18 years are almost half of that figure.

UNHCR revealed that the Syrian refugees had to walk more than 240 km to reach Turkey to escape persecution, similar was the fate of South Sudanese and Rohingya refugees. While escaping from their native lands, they are confronted with harsh and unforgiving situations. Many die during the journey and many are killed on the way by the hostile interceptors. Hatred and falsehoods are spread against the innocent refugees. This makes their journey dreadful. UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, cautioned the world about misinformation spread by vested interests and stated that

“There are many falsehoods about the world’s migrants. But we must not succumb to fear or false narratives. We must move from myth to reality.”  Of course there are countries and people who are helping the refugees within their capabilities. Efforts are pouring in to improve the life of refugees. But the problem is very huge and to tackle this situation there is a need of large scale efforts.