Since World War II, over 65 million people have been displaced from their native countries throughout the world for a variety of reason, such as famine, civil war, and climate change (Weiwei, Human Flow). This has created a problem where many of these refugees fall under desperate living conditions. For many refugees, finding their next meal or threats to their personal safety become everyday problems. For ethical reasons, there should be greater efforts made by wealthy nations to take in refugees.
In modern times, the majority of refugees come from countries in Africa, such as Kenya and Jordan; throughout the Middle East, such as Iraq, Gaza, and Syria; and in the Americas in countries such as Mexico. The reasons that many of them become refugees is due to a variety of reasons: in some instances, racial or ethnic discrimination has caused many individuals to become unfairly persecuted, so that they cannot reasonably provide for themselves in their own country, or even worse, potentially face genocide. Other refugees are forced to leave due to corrupt governments run by militias that seek to take their land and farms. Other nations face economic crises, so that there is no available food or means to work. In cases such as Syria, which currently has many refugees leaving their homeland, they are forced to leave due to civil wars. Even wars in the Middle East, such as the War in Iraq, forced many people to flee out of fear for their own personal safety.
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"Ethical Reasons to Support Refugees".
Because many of these people have no other means of surviving than fleeing their own country, there should be a concerted effort by countries who do not face these problems to accept refugees. This is not the same as open immigration, which is a system that simply allows anyone to enter; rather, refugee policies are designed to provide humanitarian shelter for people that have been persecuted or are otherwise unable to sustain themselves (Nyers 12). If countries remain opposed to allowing refugees, this can cause problems. Following the recent crises in the Middle East, many refugees sought to enter Greece, but Greece did not allow them in (Holmes 47). This saw many people trying to enter the country illegally, while others who did not try to enter needlessly suffered.
When considering the human rights violations that many of these people have endured, it becomes a humanitarian and ethical problem. Simply providing them resources, such as food and medicine, does not solve the problem. These people cannot live in their own country because they often face threats of violence, which food and medicine do not help with. Furthermore, many wealthier nations have the resources to provide for refugees. Refugees are not charity cases; in many instances, they are willing to work and support themselves, so once they enter a country, they can help contribute to the economy. Many refugees who are allowed entry into another country become grateful and loyal to the country that let them in. In many instances, refugees are also seeking temporary shelter, and not a permanent stay. When conditions improve in their native countries, they are willing to return. The worst thing that many countries can do is simply turn a blind eye to the situation. This does not resolve the problem, and it shows a considerable lack of ethics and morals regarding this humanitarian issue. The plight of refugees can also help us understand some of the issues facing many of these countries, and hopefully this will help us create future policies that can help us better deal with this problem. Therefore, accepting refugees is the morally correct thing to do, but it will also have benefits in helping the world community tackle larger political issues that cause many of these problems.
- Holmes, Colin. A Tolerant Country?: Immigrants, Refugees and Minorities. Routledge, 2015.
- Nyers, Peter. Rethinking refugees: Beyond state of emergency. Routledge, 2013.
- Weiwei, Ai. Human Flow. Amazon Studios, 2017.
