They are on the run, fleeing wars, political and religious persecution, ethnic conflicts, racism and abject poverty, in search of a refuge and a peaceful existence. Some make it to their destination but many fade away in the struggle.
The story of refugees in the true sense is the story of the countries to which they belong. Their present state of being tells the whole story short. Their words, though broken, are full of pangs, suffering and anguish which they had gone through till the day they left their countries for good. For them, it was an escape from humiliation,
discrimination, neglect, harassment, fear of mental and physical torture and horrors of massacres.
Before becoming refugees, they were targets in the same place where they were born and lived for years just because they belonged to minority communities or they were against the archaic laws of the government. Discrimination and official apathy didn’t allow them to go up the ladder of progress in social as well as economic life. Leaving the native places with the knowledge that they would lose everything they had possessed so far in the life was exceedingly painful but it was an extreme bold step towards emancipation.
In desperation, refugees would embark on a long, hazardous journey sometimes along with family, including women and children, towards a faraway destination. They hope that the country of their destination is in favour of refugees and would accept their asylum requests.
Wealthy nations in Europe such as Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain etc. accept that it is their responsibility to offer asylum to refugees from the conflict zones mainly Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. At the same time, developing countries as part of the government policy do not welcome or legalise refugees as they no longer find it compelling. However, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka etc. are home to a large number of illegal immigrants.
Refugees are not like economic migrants who cross borders looking for better prospects in both professional and personal life. Whereas, refugees are on the run for their lives, fearing violence and witch- hunting and persecution by the bigots and the despotic rulers of their countries. Refugees desperately seek a safe place for
themselves and families and a livelihood.
The international community has differentiated refugees from migrants and established a regime for the protection of them. International Refugee Law provides a specific definition of refugee, safeguards the right to seek asylum and protects against being forcibly sent back to a country where one would face persecution.
It's a do or die situation for refugees as there is no easy, straight way to find a refuge and many countries often refuse to grant them asylum for domestic reasons. Despite limited resources, they have to pay hefty amounts for each service provided by traffickers at every point. Local traffickers would facilitate their travel, border crossing and stay in temporary camps till the time comes to resume the journey to the destination. If caught by security personnel while crossing the border, they will be either sent back to the country of
origin or sent to the prison.
Considered it a violation, yet many countries don’t respect international refugee laws and treat refugees as illegal immigrants. The primitive conditions of refugee camps are a fait accompli. Women and children have a hell of a time in the camps as there are no necessary amenities such as toilets, water, food except some makeshift shelters, that too could be removed by security personnel at intervals. Local charity organisations supply food packets and provide some winter clothes while the governments seem to have no obligation to these hapless people throughout their journey.
After escaping from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, refugees undertake a risky but inevitable journey of their lives. They pass through Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Belarus and Poland before reaching France, the last point to enter the UK which is the preferred destination now because refugees find that it is not that tough to have their asylum requests granted and their status regularised by it and also to land a job fast.
Mishaps occur very often, sometimes turning fatal. Incidents of boats capsizing at the sea are aplenty, especially in the Mediterranean. Overcrowded boats with men, women and children are susceptible to accidents at the rough sea owing to hostile weather or due to motor breakdown. Delayed or no rescue operations were found to
be the main cause of several deaths by drowning.
During the peak of Syrian refugee crisis, there had been frequent boat capsizes in the Mediterranean, claiming many lives. The picture of a dead child lying on a beach of Turkey had shocked the entire world. Then Europe woke up to the severity of the crisis. The drowning of 27 refugees in the English Channel last month is the
latest of a series of accidents that has again brought to light the struggle and misery of refugees seeking asylum in European countries.
Refugees from Iraq are mostly Kurds hailing from northern Iraq. Exodus from the Kurdistan region to Europe continues unabated. Young men, women and even families with children take extreme risk of travelling thousands of kilometres in extreme weather conditions. They cite economic hardships after Covid-19,
political disagreement with the central government and Kurd rebels’ fighting with Turkey and conflict with Islamic State as the main reasons for the current exodus.
Civilians in the border region get killed in the Turkey warplane raids on Kurd rebel positions inside Iraq. Hostility has escalated after Turkey Army stepped up attack against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for years. PKK has been designated as a terrorist organisation
by the US, UK and EU.
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The collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban takeover in August this year triggered another wave of refugees from the embattled nation. During the first stint of the Taliban in power, millions of Afghans had escaped to neighbouring countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and India and to Europe and the
US. This time too, thousands of Afghans fled to mainly Pakistan and Iran. Pakistan has had permanent refugee camps in its North West Frontier region along the Afghanistan border. It had been a transit point for many refugees who left for the US or Europe after being granted asylum.
Syrian civil war and ISIS campaign to establish an Islamic Caliphate and its animosity towards Kurds and Yazidi community in the region have thrown out millions of Syrians as refugees over the decade. Millions have also been internally displaced due to the conflicts. It is the biggest refugee crisis in the recent time. To escape violence and extreme poverty, men, women and children fled Syria en masse. Their houses, schools and hospitals were destroyed in bombings by rebels and government forces. Millions of refugees spilled over to
Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. Lakhs of refugees made it to Europe and thousands to the US.
Despite worries over starting life anew and difficulties like unfamiliar language, added professional requirements, religious as well as cultural difference, absence of familial ties and social disconnect in foreign nations, refugees never want to come back and settle down in their birth places.
BY: KS Rajagopal
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