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Feature: Giving refugees back their homes and dignity

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  • Feature: Giving refugees back their homes and dignity

    Malay Mail, Malaysia
    July 3 2004

    Feature: Giving refugees back their homes and dignity
    Meera Murugesan


    IF a house is on fire, we don't send people back into it. Volker
    Turk, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for
    Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia, who said that, certainly has a point.

    There are about 17.1 million people around the world today whose
    `houses' are `on fire' but surprisingly, the overwhelming majority of
    them still nurse hopes of returning to these homes some day.

    It is a myth that refugees want to stay put in their host countries,
    said Turk, during a presentation at Wisma UN in Kuala Lumpur, in
    conjunction with World Refugee Day on June 20.

    `Very often, the most fervent wish of a refugee is to return home,
    but they are unable to do so until there is a change in the situation
    that drove them out in the first place,' he said.

    This statement is backed by UNHCR figures which, among others,
    indicated that three million Afghan refugees have made the move back
    home from places like Pakistan and Iran since the situation in
    Afghanistan started to improve towards the end of 2001.

    Refugees from countries like Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi,
    Liberia and Somalia have also decided to return in large numbers.
    Last year alone, some 1.1 million refugees around the world returned
    home.

    But the work of the UNHCR doesn't stop with `returnees' making their
    way home through voluntary repatriation programmes.

    The agency continues its work by monitoring the returnees and looking
    into human rights issues that affect them. It focuses on
    reconstruction and rehabilitation work as well, to ensure that the
    returnees can go home to conditions of safety and dignity.

    The UNHCR also assists in rebuilding homes and communities and in the
    reconstruction of important structures for living such as wells,
    schools, clinics and roads.

    Of the more than 21 million people worldwide under the care and
    protection of the UNHCR, more than half are children. Children
    naturally suffer the most when war breaks out, and some refugee
    children may sit in total silence all day, or rock back and forth
    endlessly, or throw uncontrollable tantrums.

    Their memories are full of terrifying nightmares and, whenever
    possible, the UNHCR provides medical and psychological treatment for
    these desperate children. Slowly, with loving care and a routine of
    lessons and play, many recover to lead normal lives again.

    While voluntary repatriation works for some refugees, there will
    always be those who can never return or are forced to remain in the
    host country for a long period.

    For such people, there is the challenge of finding a practical
    solution to their problem. Generally, there are two options, one
    being resettlement in a third country and the other, the possibility
    of integration into the host country itself.

    The better solution would be integration into the host community
    itself, said Turk, and over the years, the UNHCR has seen some
    positive examples of this.

    The Armenian Government, for example, has naturalised between 50,000
    and 60,000 refugees of Armenian origin who were originally from
    Azerbaijan. These people fled their country for Armenia when conflict
    broke out between the two countries in 1988.

    However, if a solution cannot be found in the host country, then
    placing refugees in a third country is usually the method undertaken.

    Last year, the UNHCR helped to resettle some 28,000 refugees
    worldwide in countries like the United States, Canada, Australia and
    a number of European countries.

    But for many people today, the image of a refugee is fast becoming
    one associated with criminals and illegal migrants, said Turk, and
    these perceptions have to be changed if refugees are to receive the
    help they deserve.

    `I think we have seen more public hostility towards refugees both in
    the media and among politicians worldwide,' he said.

    `It is unfortunate that the positive role that refugees can play in a
    country is rarely highlighted, nor the inspiring stories of these
    individuals. Very often, refugees are resourceful people who have
    demonstrated tremendous strength and courage in overcoming obstacles.
    What we need to hear are these stories because they help to create an
    awareness and an understanding of their plight.'

    Over the past five decades, the UNHCR has helped more than 50 million
    people uprooted by the turmoil of conflict to find a new home and
    start their lives over again.

    In honour of every refugee's dream to return home and live in dignity
    and security, this year's World Refugee Day had the theme: `A Place
    To Call Home'.
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