No place to call home
It seems inappropriate to say that World Refugee Day is celebrated on June 20, since for the millions of refugees all over the world there’s nothing to celebrate. More aptly, this day is commemorated to raise awareness about the situation of refugees throughout the world. Recently, a cousin of mine visited the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya and her experience was an eye opener and for me, too, by proxy.
Refugees are among the most disadvantaged groups on our planet. They are forced to flee their homes or countries due to war, political instability, famine or some other conflict or violence. Once they are branded as refugees, their life is an uphill struggle for basic human rights. Children and women face the brunt of hardships in these human warehouses.
It has been over a year since the UAE funded refugee camp at Murijep Al Fhoud was set up in Jordan and it provides a ray of hope for the displaced Syrians by providing basic amenities as well as crucial medical services. With the Syrian crisis showing no sign of abatement, it is no wonder that the continued flight of men, women and children across the Syrian border has become one of the largest forced migrations since World War Two.
It is a hard task to motivate refugee children to attend school and attendance is typically low. But initiatives such as those supporting the ‘Big Heart Campaign’ launched by the UAE attempt to bring a semblance of normalcy in the lives of adults and children alike. The UAE’s attempt to provide them with humanitarian aid will no doubt play a role in healing both the physical and psychological damage faced by these refugees.
On this day that we honour the spirit and courage of millions of refugees worldwide, let us remember that as part of the international comunity we need to continue supporting refugee programs so that they can overcome lives of misery and hopelessness and dream once again.
From Ms Lisa Jacob
Dubai
On the rise
With wars and conflicts affecting various regions of the world, the problem of refugees has been on the rise. Whether it’s the war against terrorism in Afghanistan; strikes by the Pakistan army in Pakistan’s northern areas to wipe out militants; the invasion of the fighters belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIL) in Mosul; or the war in Syria, the refugees seek asylum in neighbouring countries or in adjoining cities, until the wars and conflicts subside.
In Myanmar’s Kachin state, residents are living in refugee camps for they were compelled to leave their areas in the wake of the Myanmar army and Kachin dispute. Similarly, the recent invasion by the ISIL militants in Mosul, Iraq’s city that has road links with Syria and Turkey, has led Iraqi residents to leave their homes and migrate towards Iraq’s northern region.
When refugees migrate to another city or country, there is no way of identifying if militants, disguised as refugees, are part of this population seeking refuge. Therefore, the refugee problem is not only a risky act for the country providing shelter to the refugees, it also puts a toll on the country or the city giving refuge, for it has to take care of these immigrants until they can return to their native areas.
From Mr Mohammad Omar Iftikhar
Karachi, Pakistan
Alarm for humanity
Over the past decade, society has changed drastically and both positive and negative change has been prevalent. The word ‘refugee,’ having a negative connotation has bought a negative effect on society. It’s disappointing and saddening, that we have to brand people as refugees in many parts of the world today. It’s shameful that people are thrown out of their houses, their ancestral grounds, their roots and just put somewhere else in a matter of days. Does humanity even figure in such situations?
All these refugees can only sit and wait. They wait along with other people, confronted by similar miseries, who have also lost their brothers, sisters, husbands and sons. One would think that now that they are in a camp, they will be treated fairly. Not at all and, in fact, it’s worse. It’s truly the survival of the fittest.
So having a World Refugee Day shouldn’t mean that for one day we pay attention to these people, it shouldn’t mean that we put more food or clothing in the donation box today. Rather, it should be a wake-up call to make governments, as more people are starving, more girls are being tortured and more refugees are being created by the minute.
This call should act as a driving force to make sure that the refugees can go back home soon so that they can receive proper treatment and amenities. This day should be a catalyst in creating change that will benefit mankind and align us back onto the path for the future we want.
From Ms Simran Vedvyas
Dubai
Be grateful
In Iraq, militants have been ruthlessly seizing pieces of the country. In Myanmar, ethnic minorities struggle for acceptance and are rendered stateless. In Syria, with the civil war being mid way through its third year, the Jordanian authorities announced last May that the number of Syrian refugees in the country exceeded 591,000 since the start of its unrest three years ago.
Refugees rendered stateless, homeless and feeling hopeless, flock to refugee camps in a sheer act of desperation because they have been stripped bare of their livelihood.
The conditions that await them are horrific, but it is their only resort as they flee the clutches of enemy control.
But a small, strong ray of hope forces its way through the dark to help those who so desperately need it.
This is in the form of the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) and Knowledge Without Borders (KWB) opening of a library with 3,000 books in the Emirati Jordanian refugee camp in Jordan.
Many people living in areas free of conflict take for granted the fact that they are free of constant threat to their lives. Let us choose to be thankful for what we have while striving to ameliorate the condition of refugees around the world.
From Ms Aasha Eapen
UAE
Desperate need of attention
The refugee crisis worldwide has reached proportions unseen in many years. Even in the midst of the unprecedented increase in standard of living across the globe, this is one of the great inequalities in the modern world.
Today, almost every country in the world has to deal with the displacement of people - be it asylum seekers, environment, security or economic refugees. Even though the UNHCR is doing considerable work on the increased number of security refugees, the scale at which the global refugee crisis is exploding means that very soon the UN will be unable to deal with it.
In addition to the growing number of refugees, the threat of environment refugees - people who will be displaced due to the effects of global warming - looms large. Given that many major cities, including Dubai, New York, Mumbai and Hong Kong are vulnerable to the effects of global warming, a sudden change can lead to a vast number of refugees, not to mention unprecedented damage to the economy and security of most countries.
I believe this is something that is in desperate need of attention.
From Mr Reuben George
UAE
More parking needed
I don’t know why Dubai wants to increase fines (‘Device to fine people who park in handicapped parking with no permit,’ Gulf News, June 16). If people could find parking spaces, why would someone healthy park in spaces for the handicapped? Nobody wants to do that. The circumstances push a person to break a rule, and so I request that the authorities make our lives a little easier and focus on traffic congestion and limited parking spaces. These new fines will stress people out more.
From Mr Ali
Dubai
Website comment
Reduce fees
We need to build ample parking spaces and reduce parking fees.
There are lot of vacant sandy areas available, but the authorities have either restricted entry or allocated it to private parking companies that are charging huge parking fees.
From Mr Mir
Dubai Website comment
Rush hour parking
Instead of placing fines on everything, focus on increasing the parking spaces. There is a lot of difficulty in finding parking spaces - especially during rush hour.
I do not see considerable effort in increasing parking spaces. All residential and office buildings should have mandatory parking spaces inside. I never park in these areas, but when I see lots of empty spaces during rush hour, it makes me feel bad. I fully support parking for handicapped people, but please also think about others.
From Mr Salman J. Seddiqi
Abu Dhabi
Important awareness
This is a very good initiative. It would be great if parked school buses that have disabled cards were restricted to park if they are not transporting special children. Overnight parking of these buses in the handicap parking spots denies spaces for drivers who really need it.
I have noted that most of the school buses with disabled cards park in these designated parking spots, leaving special needs drivers unable to find parking.
From Mr Freddy
Dubai
Website
Complete disregard
This is good. It’s sad it has to come to this level. People should have the courtesy to find other spots. I have seen people leaving their shopping carts in the handicap parking areas as well.
People need to have some sense. How is one going to get down and remove the cart in order to park? It’s all these small behaviours that pile up and result in total disregard to people with special needs.
From Ms Mahnaaz Shaikh
UAE
Facebook comment
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