Bloggers Unite: Refugee Rights
I joined this group called Bloggers Unite: Blogging for hope a while back. The whole concept is to gather a group of bloggers to blog about one particular topic to be posted all in one day. I liked the idea of calling on bloggers to create awareness and that’s why I joined. Only to get stomped by mental block. So I’m posting this entry two days late.
I really did not know what to say about refugees. I don’t have a personal experience that can relate to the millions of displaced Jews during World War II. Nor do I personally know anyone who had to flee their country or the country they were in fear of prosecution based on religion, personal beliefs or war.
All I know is that EVERY PERSON has the right to feel secure and does not deserve to be judged based on religion, race, and beliefs. As I went through my research online, I came across something quite disturbing: Xenophobic violence in Johannesburg, South Africa last May.
Xenophobia is described as a fear of foreigners. I live in a third world country and I see poor people on a daily basis. Homeless, hungry, and poor. Beggars can be found in practically every traffic light, news of people who don’t have access to proper healthcare… news about thieves, burglars, hijackers… all very rampant on local channels. If anything, we, as Filipinos, have every reason to turn into mobs and steal as a collective… but that never happened.
Sure, we have isolated incidents of bad people stealing from tourists or simply jerking them around for a quick buck. We NEVER acted as a mob and targeted tourists in our own country. We have always treated visitors in our own home as family. So is the case with tourists. We are known for our hospitality and warmth especially foreign visitors to our land despite the bad people who take advantage of tourists. As a whole we are hospitable.
That’s why the reading about the xenophobic violence in Johannesburg came as a shock. A group of impoverished Africans actually gathered together and targeted tourists and expats. 50 people died and 20,000 others displaced. They didn’t just target foreigners in hostels but those who lived there as well. Horrifying. I can’t imagine what those people had gone through. Many of them were on vacation and I bet that was the very last thing they expected to experience.
The questions in my mind now are: What could have driven these men and women to such an act? What kind of culture do they possess that could have given them the idea that it is truly justified to enact revenge on these innocent people?
I believe that ignorance breeds contempt. Without proper knowledge, it’s easy to pass judgement and place blame.
I like to think that we all live in a modern world. Just the election of the first African-American US president is enough to say that we are gearing away from a world of prejudice. I had hoped that we have only a short distance to go before we all realize that we are not separate from each other. We never have been. We live in a world where we are all connected. I’d still like to hope that the day we’ll all realize that is coming soon. But certain acts like that xenophobic violence in South Africa caused doubt to seep in my heart.
