Darfurian refugees fleeing Sudan into Chad:
Following my WE'RE ALL IMMIGRANTS blog post, which attracted a lot of comment and sometimes quite unsavoury and even downright racist comment, this is a follow-up post on asylum-seekers and refugees. I promise this blog post won't be as long!
It's argued that people's attitudes towards migrants generally and refugees and asylum-seekers specifically changes for the positive when people have got to know a migrant, a refugee or an asylum-seeker. This post details my experiences of befriending an asylum-seeker and now a refugee. An asylum-seeker is someone seeking protection in another country and, if their application is accepted, they become a refugee in that country.
The United Nations refugee agency, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) based in the Swiss city of Geneva, calculated that 117.3 million people worldwide have fled their homes because of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, etc. This number is made up of 42.5 million refugees and nearly 8.5 million asylum-seekers, plus there are well over 67 million internally displaced persons (that's people who have fled their homes but remain in their country). On top of thee numbers are nearly 4.5 million stateless people who have been denied citizenship of any state and who consequently are have very limited access access to education, employment and health care.
According to UNHCR figures, the number of asylum-seekers and refugees, plus internally displaced persons, has significantly increased over the last two decades. Over 70 per cent of all refugees settle in low- and middle-income countries, with less than 30 per cent settling in high-income countries. Nearly 70 per cent of all refugees settle in countries neighbouring their country of origin. It's one big fat myth that poor refugees are flocking and travelling long distances to live in rich countries. (Another common myth is that asylum-seekers are required to claim asylum in the first 'safe' country they set foot in. Asylum-seekers crossing the English Channel to Britain aren't required to claim asylum in France.)
As mentioned, to become a refugee, a person has to claim asylum in another country. That country’s government needs to investigate each case, which takes time because people seeking asylum do not always flee with their passports as they are not safe fleeing with such identity documentation. Asylum-seekers are ‘in limbo’ until their status is ascertained. For example, in the UK, asylum-seekers cannot work and in Australia, many are locked up on a remote island. If granted refugee status, they then often face problems of learning a new language, adapting to life in an alien country, securing accommodation, finding a job and getting reconciled with their family.
A few years ago, I was a volunteer mentor to a refugee from Darfur in Sudan; we met up every week for about an hour at a time to discuss things whether it was about his situation or life in general.
On arrival in Britain, my mentee was settled in Donacaster bur he didn't find that small northern city to be a friendly place for 'non-white' faces so he moved to Nottingham, a large multicultural city.
My mentee was a leading member of the Darfurian resistance movement, who was imprisoned and tortured in a Sudanese jail. He was not killed because he was an officer in the resistance army so he was useful alive to be tortured for any information he may reveal. He escaped jail and fled in a lorry full of sheep. After paying monies, he managed to negotiate a route to Europe not knowing what country he would end up in. While an asylum-seeker in the UK, he enrolled on English language classes as he was not allowed to work. But he was not left alone by the Sudanese authorities while in the UK. He was once arrested by the police and charged with assault. It turned out that someone from the Sudanese embassy provoked a fight with him in the street and reported him to the police for assault hoping that he would get convicted in court and therefore deported back to Sudan to face almost certain death. I had to fight hard to get him released from the police charge.
I attended a training workshop before I officially became a mentor. That workshop was fascinating. I learnt that asylum seekers are only given a proportion of benefits that unemployed persons get. At present, each asylum seeker receives about £50 (about $65 or €57) a week to live on, though they are allocated rent-free accommodation by local authorities. If an asylum seeker lives in accommodation in which meals are provided, they are only entitled to less than £9 (about $12 or €10) a week to get by. As well as housing, asylum-seekers have free access to health care and education (if they have dependent children). The countries of origin of asylum-seekers largely reflect the 'trouble-spots' of the world (eg Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine).
Also in the training workshop, we were asked to suggest ways in which an asylum-seeker can make the best of things in Britain. We all strongly recommended that they learn the English language to help them assimilate in the country, but we also suggested they hang out with asylum-seekers and refugees from their country of origin. It soon dawned on us that our suggestions were slightly contradictory, one encouraged assimilation and the other encouraged non-assimilation!
Also we were strongly advised not to talk about politics to our mentees for fear of them re-living any trauma. I and my mentee totally failed to heed this advice. I was a political scientist and my mentee was a political activist. We were both committed political animals, how could we possibly follow that advice?
On getting refugee status, he worked by recycling rubbish on night shifts. He also had to fight to get his wife to come over from Sudan to join him in the UK. He won that fight and he now has three children and is a taxi driver, though he still requires medical treatment for the torture inflicted on him.
Once he was given refugee status, I officially stopped being his mentor, but we carried on seeing each other for a few years because we were now friends who would often meet up for a pizza or an ice hockey game, and sometimes both together..
Being his mentor is one of the best things I’ve ever done; he taught me lots about the how world works. I only stopped being a mentor when the Conservative Government decided to privatise the scheme; I refused to work for a company wanting to make profit out of asylum-seekers and refugees.
Surveys regularly find that people aren't sympathetic to asylum-seekers and refugees until they hear their stories. This is my story of an asylum-seeker-cum-refugee.
Does your family history reveal a refugee past?
My family history contains no refugee past. Quite the reverse, I’m more likely to be descended from Saxon or Norman invaders!
PS. The situation in Darfur is still very bad, genocidal even. Sudan is in the midst of civil war making it difficult for aid to reach the civilian population, and Darfur is a key frontline in the civil war.
United Nations-African Union peacekeepers policing a protest in Darfur, Sudan:
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20 comments
I would disagree that Sudan is in a civil war. More like a proxy war and other nations have their reputation bloodied by their collusion.
My mother's family - that is, my grandparents - came from then-Constantinople to mainland Greece as refugees forced into exile, during the Asia Minor "catastrophe" as we call it here.
The mainlanders didn't exactly welcome their fellow Greeks coming from the east. There were many slurs used against them, and my uncles were not considered worthy to be married by the mainlander women, resulting in several uncles remaining bachelors.
The population exchange brought social upheaval, with tent cities and shantytowns springing up on the outskirts of Athens, which eventually turned into proper communities. The population influx also resulted in an eventual enrichment to mainland Greek culture, especially in the field of music.
Up until then the cafés of Athens offering live music promoted European trends from Paris, Berlin, Rome, etc at establishments known as 'cafés chantant.' The Asia Minor refugees brought their own genre, rebetiko, which was popularized at the rival 'cafés aman.' "Aman" refers to the exclamation of despair brought on by misfortune. Here is an example of an "aman" lamentation.
My mother's family included refugee musicians from Constantinople, whose tradition now survives into the third generation of distinguished performers. What came to Greece as an underground and even outlawed genre has now become mainstream, and was even featured as the first musical piece in the 2004 Athens Olympics opening ceremony. I would have liked to share an example of my cousin's craft here, but to do so would out my identity.
I think nearly all civil wars are to a lesser or greater extent proxy wars.
Thanks for sharing information about your refugee heritage.
Another interesting read this morning my friend. No I don't believe my family has a refugee past. However we do have a long history of Native Indian past.
I hope you enjoy a very happy and sexy hump day..
Given your past, your must find what's happening in America bizarrely troubling.
Spending time with refugees and asylum seekers is a real eye-opener. We have no idea of the hardships that people are subjected to in other countries, and if we spend time with those people we'll quickly learn just how lucky we are, and also just how much other people want to give and how hard they're prepared to work to give it. We've become insular and very very selfish in this so-called first world.
There's a huge sudanese community in Edinburgh. I was privileged enough to be invited to the wedding of a friend I'd made after I went in to his english class to speak about my profession and encourage refugees to apply for work at whatever level depending on their experience. It continues to give me much joy and satisfaction, I often bump into students in the street who have since settled and are contributing on all fronts. Many of the refugees I worked with still volunteer in homeless shelters and food kitchens.
As for my own family history - travellers, universally persecuted, regarded with suspicion everywhere. That was a long time ago, but it has taught me to stop and think about the hardships other people experience on a daily basis.
What ever happened to compassion, when did it go out of fashion to want to be kind to other people?
Compassion is in short supply worldwide.
Sudan sounds a fascinating country to visit - it has twice the number of pyramids than Egypt. But the country is far from safe to visit.
@spunkycumfun
I had no idea how rich in history Sudan was until I met a few sudanese people.
The sudanis love dancing, and their food is deelish!!
@lindoboy100 My Sudanese friend made me and my now wife's family a meal - it was a banquet!
All true and interesting. Overall attitude in my country poor as to anyone coming to the US, unless of course a millionaire. Great thing that you have done. People need to be enlightened as to these situations. For a while Sudan cooled Down. In fact was thinking about a week long tourist trip there. Unfortunately situations there have worsened
Most WASP Americans came to the new country fleeing the old for numerous reasons. So to extent all of refugees
You'd be a brave (and foolish) man to go to Sudan now.
As you say, there was a glimmer of hope when the then Sudanese President stood down but the vicious civil war between two quite unsavoury factions has killed any hope of peace.
@spunkycumfun when in Northern Iraq Kurdistan encountered refugees that had been through harrowing experiences. Went to an ancient Monestary all Monk cells and some hallways overflowing. Just a few months before would not have been able to visit, as ISIS had recently been pushed to other side of river. Visited with the Yazidi( not shure of spelling) They had been traped on mountain till bombing campaign cleared path for escape. In village their spokesman ( who had appeared on most International News Media) told of harrowing stories of what ISIs did to women and children. Can't say as would violate TOS
@bignicktx The Yazidis were hit hard by ISIS. The Kurds in Iraq, I believe, still 'host' a lot of stateless citizens, citizens of countries (like Britain in the case of Shamima Begum, an ISIS bride) whose governments refuse to allow them back despite citizenship.
You've been to some very interesting places.
@bignicktx I guess there's still quite a few stateless citizen held by Americans in the Guantanamo Bay base.
My parents came to this country asylum-seekers. In fact, my father was going to be executed because he was a policeman under the previous administration and he refused to accept the communist take over. He had to leave my mom, due to the fact that she was pregnant with my second brother.
Once he came to the US, with not much help at the time and not knowing the language, he took whatever job and got my mom out of their country with my two brothers.
Eventually both of my parents became American citizens and and my sister an I were born in the states. So I lived seeing how that political arena can affect families and people.
That's one very interesting story you've told.
One of my husband’s grandfathers was an anarchist who fought on the Republican side during the Civil War in Spain, from 1936 to 1939. When the Republicans lost, he fled to France. However, despite being an anarchist, he had sheltered a priest in his home: a man who would have been executed had the Republicans caught him, and that priest later interceded with Franco’s government, explaining how he had been helped. Thanks to that, my husband’s grandfather was allowed to return to Spain without being imprisoned. He narrowly escaped the German invasion of France, which would have forced him to join the French army and fight in yet another war.
The story has many more twists and anecdotes, and it was told to me personally by my husband’s grandfather… well, to be fair, he told it to everyone 😊
That's a fascinating story, and he had good reason to tell his tale to everyone.
You are an awesome man. May you be richly blessed for your kindness.
Thanks for your kind words.
My family history is busy. Immigrants, Native Americans on the Trail of Tears, slave owners and slaves. recent generations are boring, LOL.
I haven't traced my family history but I suspect it will be nearly all farmers with possibly Anglo-Saxon roots.
So much to overcome in Sudan and in other places in the world.
What's happening in Sudan isn't unfortunately widely reported. the media focus is on Gaza and Ukraine.
The general talk I heard from all the farmers around me was "We gotta get rid of them illegals". Followed by "Except for my guy Jose, He's a great guy, works harder than anyone I know. I don't know how I'd keep the farm going without him. He does twice the work of anyone local. And, he's putting his brothers through college, and paying for his kids education. He's supporting his family back home so they can have a better life. He's the type of immigrant we need".
It's the common refrain, all immigrants are bad, except for the ones I know personally.
As you suggest, a lot of people's views on immigrants isn't based on experience but on what they've heard or read often from unreliable and partisan sources.
Very true
Does your family history reveal a refugee past? - Based on the definition in your second paragraph, no. But some parts of my family history go back to before America was even a country.
You can't live in South Florida and not be surrounded by people that recently fled something or another in many other countries. They all seemed nice enough, but not really inclined to talk about what they'd fled, and vastly more interested in building a new life in a better place.
I can understand why migrants may not want to talk about their past.
Neither refugee nor invader here - though my great-grandfather left Germany ... with his entire adult family ... seeking religious freedom.
I worked in a teaching hospital for many years and met medical residents from several different countries. One young doctor was from Yugoslavia during the break-up of that country. Another called himself Persian because he didn't want to admit being from Iraq. It was 2 Syrians that introduced me to my husband. While none of them were asylum-seekers, most of them did not want to return home. It broadened my mind and enriched my life knowing them all.
I've learnt such a lot from talking to people from different countries and different cultures.
@SiteSupport This post seems to have slipped into review purdah. Many posts submitted after this one have been approved. I hope it'll get approved soon. Thanks.
I was starting to wonder if you were at a loss for words. 🤣
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