Why do people leave their own county? What is the intent behind their move? Are they fleeing war, famine, bombing, flying bullets, religious or political oppression (refugees), or are they looking for a better life, better opportunities, a better standard of living (immigrants)? Or both? Europe is now facing a massive migration, one caused by war and fuelled by the knowledge that there are societies where a person and his/her family can be safe and enjoy those basic human rights which all people have a right to expect as normal.
This massive influx of population is causing many problems. The West has largely washed its hands of the whole thing. But what happens anywhere in the world effects the rest of the world. It's that global thing.
So, how should these migrants be treated? Should they be welcomed, feared, sent back, ghettoized? Seems like all of these alternatives are either happening or being considered. We cannot be judgemental from our comfortable lives here in Canada, but we can have an opinion. And we can try to sway other people and our federal government to agree with our opinion. But, other than directly sponsoring an immigrant family ourselves, that's about all we can do.
I thought the Catholic Pope had a good idea - he said every Catholic Parish should sponsor a family. In Europe alone this would allow over 100,000 refugee families to immigrate. Expand that to Canada, the USA, and parishes of other Christian sects, Mosques and Synagogs and wow! Wouldn't that be something! Of course, sponsorship or not, each congregation would have to wind its way through the immigration process of their country which can be daunting. And each sponsor would have to recognize that they would be extending their charity to people who may not share their religious faith. Hmmm.
Some folks think we should be relaxing our immigration policies and welcoming a large number of these terror stricken individuals into our country. Some feel that these people would bring terror to our country with them. So, what sort of refugee do I think should come to Canada, or any other country for that matter? I think that refugees must also be immigrants. They must want to stay. They should be willing to learn a new language; willing to live within the laws of the society they are adopting; willing to teach their children to respect the history, values and traditions of the country they left while at the same time allowing them to fully integrate and adapt to their new country's values and traditions.
And what about those who are refugees only, the ones who love their country, who want to go back just as soon as the conflict they're fleeing from settles down, when it's possible again to carry on commerce, to work and feed their families, to practice their religion and carry on their traditions? It seems to me that immigrating these folks would be more or less a waste of time and resources. So what could be done for them, to help them?
I know this is naive and there's likely a thousand reasons why it's not possible, but some version of this idea could perhaps take place......
We could build a village. We could pull our troops from the countries that are in conflict and use the dollars not spent on bombs and bullets (also charitable donations) to lease a large parcel of land in order to provide temporary housing, food, and medical aid for these refugees. These people are traumatized, they need help and they certainly should not be sent back into the conflict zones. While waiting to return they need to be able to carry on commerce, worship, attend school, have dignity, have a decent place to live.
Our peacekeepers (Remember them - the peacekeepers, the troops Canada used to send overseas?), representatives from the refugee population, NGO's from all countries and officials from the host country could help to administer and keep order amongst the various factions within this temporary haven. Oversight should be provided to ensure that charitable donations are received by the refugees rather than some corrupt official. The host country should receive the greatest share of any monetary benefit arising from building and maintaining this haven. Their business suppliers and labourers should be used whenever possible. Hosting this village should be a win-win situation, not a detriment.
Conflicts are not settled overnight. This could turn out to be long term. But as long as there are refugees a place like this is desperately needed, not a ghetto with poor sanitation, poor housing, no hope. And, if the conflict continues indefinitely, if the refugees can never return, then each family, one by one, will have to recognize that the country they loved no longer exists and apply to immigrate to a country that reaches out a welcoming hand.
The disparity between the "haves and have nots" of the world needs to balance out. Religions, races, and people with differing cultural norms will have to learn to tolerate one another. If not we all must accept that there will be endless war, and an endless numbers of refugees.
No comments:
Post a Comment