Statement by Ilona Asztalos on the Occasion of World Refugee Day
"No one puts their child in a boat unless the water is safer than the land." – Warsan Shire, Somali-British poet
In 2000, the UN declared June 20 as World Refugee Day. Our association has always considered global issues close to heart, and we always strive to get to know each situation up close, and then take the next step based on what we have personally seen and experienced. Among other things, this goal also guided me when I decided, in the summer of 2018, to take part in a volunteer project in a refugee camp in Greece.
First of all, it is important to be clear about a few terms. The reasons why people leave their homes and move to another country can be very complex, and different circumstances may lie behind them. Migration has always been present in the world. However, we distinguish between voluntary and forced migration. Migration is considered voluntary when, for example, someone decides to emigrate in search of better living conditions, due to the more favorable economic situation of the host country. In this case, the person usually has the possibility to consider their options and to create the necessary conditions.
In contrast, in the case of forced migration, the person is compelled to leave their home. The background to this may be persecution or war.
In such a case, the person may apply for asylum, based on which the given country should launch a procedure, at the end of which the asylum seeker may receive refugee status or subsidiary protection. Refugee status can be granted if someone is subject to personal threats or persecution (e.g. due to political or religious views, or nationality), or has a well-founded fear of such. Subsidiary protection can be granted if there is no specific personal threat, but there is a general war situation in their country, and their life or physical safety is at risk (for example, they may be shot on the street, their house may be bombed, etc.), and therefore, according to international law, they cannot simply be sent back.
Today, there are approximately 25 million refugees worldwide, more than half of whom are children. This is because, in most cases, families set out together, as every parent wants a safe future for their child. I volunteered in a small refugee camp in Greece, where we mostly worked with children aged 0–12. We played, did physical activities, held arts and crafts sessions and English classes.
Our volunteer team consisted of 10 people from almost every corner of the world (France, Argentina, England, Mexico, Spain, Norway, the United States). In the camp not far from Athens, most of the refugees are from Syria. On a relatively small area—which appears to be an abandoned factory building—about 200 people live. The conditions are far from favorable. The water is contaminated, and the factory yard surrounded by iron and wire fences—covered with crumbling concrete everywhere—is far from ideal as a playground for 60–80 lively children, which is evidenced by the fact that almost all of them have some sort of small or larger injury on their bodies.
The IOM (International Organization for Migration) in Greece provides an air-conditioned container for the camp, which functions as a playhouse and classroom. In the factory building itself, only one room is air-conditioned in the 40-degree summer heat. In the other rooms, families live together in crowded conditions, trying to create some privacy with blankets as dividers.
"I wish we could go back to school. We had to leave our home in Syria because an airstrike destroyed our house. I still remember the sound of the fighter jets—it was very scary," said 12-year-old twin girls who lived in the city of Deir ez-Zor. The girls speak basic English and are just like any other children their age around the world.
A little boy, around two years old—whose parents and siblings died in a bombing—was taken in by another family, and they set out on the journey together. Although at times it is noticeable that the children struggle with their situation, the effects of the events around them are not particularly visible on them, as they do not fully comprehend what is happening. They simply want to play and just be children.
Among the adults, the weight of despair and hopelessness is much more evident. One mother, who arrived in Greece with her two daughters, tearfully told us that her husband, two older children, and infant grandchild died when the second floor collapsed on them during a bombing. After this, they decided to leave Syria in the hope of a safer life. It was in the camp that they realized that, in fact, there is nothing for them in Greece either—and they are not welcome elsewhere either. This emotional state characterizes all adults in the camp. They are stuck—there is no way forward or back. Their future is uncertain and hopeless. Their belief in hope—that this situation will one day change—is fading more and more.
These people played no role in the war, yet they are the ones suffering its consequences. They had normal lives, and everything was taken from them. They have been deprived of their right to live in safety and dignity in their own country.
Fortunately, there are several organizations that are trying to help and find solutions to this crisis. Alongside the Norwegian organization—which organized my volunteer trip—I also had the opportunity to visit another refugee camp with the JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service) in Greece. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), founded by Albert Einstein in 1933, also operates in various parts of the world. Einstein himself was a refugee, as were many other well-known people such as Freddie Mercury, Jackie Chan, and Bob Marley.
What could be the solution to this crisis, while not setting aside our humanity and still considering the interests of our own country? Isolation, turning away from others, and indifference will not solve the problem—nor will admitting large groups without control. We could help our fellow human beings in an organized and regulated way. "Violence is not the way... we need walls, but let there be doors in them too." (Csaba Böjte).
We must work together—with experts, political, economic, religious, and civil society actors—to develop a solution. And then, we can achieve meaningful results.
Image sources: WMN | Hungarian Red Cross | EuroNews
