World Refugee Day - 5 Things You Can Personally Do To Help

My grandmother was a refugee. A teenage girl all of 16 years of age, one night in mid 1947, she and her family faced a situation where they had to abandon their ancestral home in the Sindh province (now in Pakistan) and flee overnight to the Indian side a month before Partition of India was officially announced by the British. Layered with as many clothes she possibly could wear, with some jewelry in tow, she and her family members fled at night, avoiding the consequential brutality and rioting that ensued as a result of Partition in the months that followed. Property, wealth, friends and businesses, all had to be left behind. She recounted her time spent at a refugee camp where she learnt how to read and write in Hindi. Remember, this was a language foreign and unknown to Sindhis. Amidst everything else that they had to adapt to in their new environment, they also had to learn a new language where even the script was different and written from right to left. Sindhi families had to rebuild their lives from scratch. And my grandmother's is just one of the stories from the displacement of the 20 million Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims during the Partition - what is till today considered one of the largest mass migrations in human history. 

So why am I telling you this story? Because it puts into perspective that for so many people today, the refugee crisis hits close to home, and thus, each of us should care about this global human crisis. It is not just the problem of one country or one region, but the displacement of people is a shared problem. June 20 is recognized as World Refugee Day. But everyday with so many desperate adults and children alike escaping the problems posed by their home country - be it of an environmental, criminal or political nature - just doing our bit to raise awareness about the refugee diaspora for one single day is not going to be enough. 

Today, the UNHCR records the refugee population to be 70.8 million out of our total world population at 7 billion people. A few months back, I attended a local event which shed light on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda. Underpinned by the principle of 'Leave no one behind', the talk aimed to put into perspective where the refugees fit amidst the larger SDG agenda. Educational as the evening was, I came back dejected, still lacking direct answers, actual solutions and concrete actions that I can consider, in order to do my bit for the refugees. 

You and me are not celebrities or big influencers and we don't have the access these lot have on the field at refugee camps to make a direct impact. So what is it that we can at the very least do then? Here are some small ways that I have compiled, and even if we can tick one of these actions off, that's still something. 

1.      Support the work of refugees & immigrants. Read The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen (a refugee child turned Pulitzer Prize-winning author) and ‘This Land is our Land: An Immigrant's Manifesto’ by Suketu Mehta, a prominent thinker and writer. Watch Human Flow by artist and activist Ai Wei Wei; this is a visually compelling documentary following the stories of refugees in 23 countries. The first step to making change is to develop an understanding of the forces propelling people away from their homes, and this is a great starting point.

2.     Follow the country-level work of UNHCR, International Rescue Committee and other such agencies, attend awareness-driving events locally & if you can, make a small donation. If not financial contribution, there are other ways. The UAE, for instance, is implementing the global Step with Refugees campaign - participating in campaigns like these make it possible for you and me to get involved at the ground level. If you are a UAE resident, read more about the campaign here.

Picture courtesy: Hello Charlie, the creative agency behind UNHCR's global campaign

3.     Listen to podcasts like Refugees' Stories and UNHCR'S ‘Awake at Night’ hosted by spokesperson Melissa Fleming - you’ll hear firsthand from humanitarian workers on the front-lines helping refugees. Never before have I heard such personal accounts shared from the perspective of selfless field workers. The episode of Boris Cheshirkov in particular touched me.

Boris Cheshirkov (Image courtesy: UNHCR)

4.     You don't always have to wait for the HR team at your workplace to organize a CSR activity or event. Take the initiative to organize a clothes donation drive with your colleagues and give your collection to an NGO in your city that supports refugees. Example, ForSyria and Human Care Syria welcome your donations/collections. If you've done any innovative or effective events in your office, I'd love to hear about them, and replicate the same in mine.

Image courtesy: Human Care Syria

 5.   Follow & support refugees who have rebuilt their lives like Hassan Al Kontar, a Syrian refugee. I have been following Hassan's story from the time he spent months stranded at the Malaysian airport. Known as 'the man from the airport', his story drew stark comparisons to Spielberg's The Terminal. Until he was granted asylum in Canada. It's amazing to follow Hassan's journey on Instagram as he rebuilds his life in his new home. Speaking at events and lobbying for detainees, he has become the global voice for Syrians.

 

The Syrian refugee stranded at the airport // Image courtesy: VICE

These suggested actions certainly won’t push the needle too far at the very grassroots level, but at least when you and I care to be aware, we can then become better equipped to spread the stories of this unfolding crisis within our immediate network. If you have undertaken any action to volunteer your time for the sake of refugees, please share in the comment box below.