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Refugees, a major world issue

by | 01-04-2016 04:39






The park near my house is full of tents. The same in the Victoria Square 500 meters further. There are hundreds of people, mostly men but also many women and children of every age.They sit awkwardly on the benches. Many lie down on blankets or sleeping bags.

They are refugees, mostly from Syria but also from many other Arabic countries, from Africa and Asia. Everyone brings a story, less or more tragic. A story that forced them to live their country, their people, and leave for a real or imaginary "promised land".

The 27 year old Rowan, because her religion was not accepted by the majority of her country and she was threatened by extremists. Hussein because his everyday life was a constant danger from the war. The family of the 6-year old Rima, to recover from the bullet the girl was hit by, in her stomach.

Many people are looking for a better future, but most leave out of desperation, from the war, the extremist violence, or absolute poverty in the hope of a peaceful life, a privilege that every society obliges to bring to its members.

I see many local people walking next to the refugees. I see contradictory feelings. Some offer them food: sandwiches, biscuits, chocolates, or ask them for what they need. Others look at them with curiosity while others aggressively. Many young people from NGO's talk with the refugees, explaining to them that they can find an organized shelter, away from the cold and the rain. They reveal to them their rights to claim the status of a political refugee and be given a passport to stay legally in some countries in Europe.

According to the UN High Commissioner Refugees in Greece, in 2015 860.000 people came by boat from Turkey to Greece. The first three months of 2016 another 145.000 people came. Based on the same data, 40% of people who came this year were men, 38% children and 22% women.

The majority of refugees in Greece is of Syrian nationality (48%), 26% are Afghans, 17% are Iraquis, 3% are Pakistani and 3% are Iranians.Talking about the protection of wildlife without giving the required importance to people who are suffering seems to me as a bit of a hypocrisy. The same kind of hypocrisy behind the grandiose declarations on human rights, which, during a crisis, are hidden under the carpet, while the fear of the foreign and the different becomes dominant.

Of course, things are not easy. The minority of extremists is the focus of attention, and it creates a negative image for the majority of people who only ask for a peaceful life for them and their families, to enjoy their lives in the context of their religious beliefs.

But if humanity cannot fight for the greatest good, peace, how is it possible to fight for the threatened fauna, flora and climate change?