Knowing About the Refugee Crisis Is Not Addressing the Refugee Crisis
Credit: UNICEF USA
When Mohammad turned 12, his family sold him to an older man as a “boy child entertainer”. He had to dance, sing, and sometimes participate in sexual activities with the man that owned him. Mohammad could not withstand this lifestyle and, even at his young age, escaped and traveled over 3,000 miles from Afghanistan to Europe where he ended up in an asylum center in the Balkans. Although he hoped he had evaded his previous lifestyle, other refugees figured out Mohammad’s past and groups of adult men gang raped him each night. He was one of the few that was rescued from that lifestyle by local government and humanitarian agencies and was moved to an unaccompanied refugee children camp. Albeit too late, Mohammad’s intervention came; many others are not in the same boat.
32,000 children in Greece, 13,400 children in Spain, 7,272 children in Italy, over 50 million children around the globe are considered refugees, either growing up or being displaced to a refugee camp from a young age - they are not home. Families are forced to flee brutal and violent conflict, extreme poverty, unsustainable political circumstances, or full blown war. Many other children are displaced due to deprivation of resources and systematic violence. During our lifetime, we, if we seek news, are familiar with the refugee crisis in Iraq, South Sudan, Bangladesh, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, and other places. Yet, recognizing that there is a refugee crisis and taking action are very distinct things.
Required resources and start points are vast and each will, in their own way, make progress. However, one of the core areas refugees often lose opportunities in is education. Whether academic or social, a child’s life is about learning. Ever since they are born, kids work to learn how to crawl, then walk, speak, learn more words, and the list continues until children are teenages, when their goals and methods may change, but the learning process stays strong. For refugees, education can be a commodity, and usually a challenging one. Lack of educational resources and opportunities is accompanied by different familial responsibilities that require everyone’s help and, whether consciously or subconsciously, place education on the back burner.
3.7 million children are out of school, according to a UNHCR report. As per the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, education is a basic human right. Yet, as a generation, we have failed countless children. Without this human right, the probability of children being recruited into armed groups, sexual exploitation, child labor, and child marriage increases dramatically. The consequences of uprooting a child’s life are tragic and numerous, they are vulnerable to poor developmental and academic resources, have little to no access to economic resources, and face the incredibly challenging task of finding themselves as they juggle their home language and culture with their new environment’s.
With that being said, the first step we can take as individuals with access to resources, education, and a home is to learn about the refugee crisis. We must understand that the most devastating and real stories do not make it to the news and it is our personal responsibility to learn about them. Once we understand a fraction of the current refugee crisis, it is vital to seek information on how we can influence or support local and international humanitarian agencies. United Nations organizations and nonprofits are working towards supporting children and families but they require volunteers, funds, resources, and other forms of support. In addition, governments can be a major player in aiding refugees or may be holding back aid that can impact lives. Learn about what your government is doing and how you can help or raise awareness about the lack of their word.
Read, learn, and take action - that is the least we can do for this global refugee crisis.
Sources
https://www.unicefusa.org/mission/emergencies/child-refugees-and-migrants
https://www.unicef.org/eca/emergencies/latest-statistics-and-graphics-refugee-and-migrant-children
https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/education.html