After reading the UNHC report on Protecting
Refugees my eyes have been opened much wider to what it means to be a
refugee. While before reading the article I really just looked at refugees as
people who had fled their home country from racial and religious tensions, and
in my first blog I explained this a little bit deeper, I now have come to know
and understand the plight of a refugee on a much deeper level. While the
definition crafted at the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees
stated “A refugee is someone who ‘owing to a well-founded fear of being
persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a
particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his
nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail
himself of the protection of that country…’” which is very similar to my initial
definition of a refugee, I was completely unaware of the many levels that one
can be a refugee.
While the status of “refugee” is most well known, I was most
surprised by finding out about other statuses such as “Asylum-Seeker”,
“Internally Displaced Person”, and “Stateless Person”. Much like Native
Americans that have been relocated from their native lands to “equal” lands in
Oklahoma and the Dakotas, those who are under the status of Internally
Displaced Persons (IDP) suffer the same fate. While they are still in their
same home country and are claimed to have the same rights as they had before, they
are essentially trapped in isolation. They were forced to leave their homes,
which in many cases on both sides were the homes of many generations of family,
and while given legally “equal” rights to those not under governmental or other
political control, it is clear that their rights are in fact quite limited, as
to not create further conflict.
In terms of the African Community Center, I
could not be more excited to begin working with the group. Already this year I
have volunteered once a week at the Somali Community Center of Colorado, which like
the ACC, helps refugees in their assimilation and new life in America. I assist
in the tutoring of students grades K-8 on their daily homework as well as longer-term
projects. In working with the Somali Center, I have come to have a deep respect
for those I work with, many of which who are first generation immigrants from
Somalia. I have learned about each of their diverse stories, and this is something
that I also look forward to doing at the ACC. Like working at the Somali
Center, I wish to help those who have come to this country in search of refuge
and as well as not only helping them, I wish to grow my own horizons by
learning about their own stories and knowledge, coming from such a different
background than my own.
