I didn’t take so many risks on this journey for this kind of treatment. I endured feeling like livestock on the back of that truck only for the chance of feeling like a human being again. I don’t need Germany’s money or shelter, I just want my humanity to be acknowledged – I am a living, breathing person, not a number or a statistic. I’m heading home not because Syria is safer than how I left it, but because despite the fear, I felt more human there than I do now. I may or may not live for much longer after I go back, but at least I will feel human for as long as I will live. I just wish Germany will start treating those who are staying at least the way dogs are treated in Germany. That would be a major leap forward.
Mustafa filed for a retraction of his asylum application soon after and signed up to return to war-torn Syria. That’s the last I heard from him. The 24-year-old engineer, fluent in Arabic, English, Japanese and German, felt so dehumanized by the process that he preferred to take his chances with Assad and the Islamic State.
How can we re-inject humanity into humanitarian aid, and how will humanization actually help? First, we must recognize that humanizing responses to the refugee crisis can be part of the solution to the crisis itself. Among refugees worldwide are millions of doctors and lawyers, teachers and engineers, entrepreneurs and agriculturalists – every profession under the sun, ready and willing help both their fellow refugees and their newfound host communities. Instead of harnessing this extraordinary talent, it too often goes unknown – squandered in idleness or red tape. Allowing refugees to use their skills would benefit them and their host countries immensely.
Second, humanizing the response to refugees invites the population of host countries to participate directly. If we could pair small groups of refugees with individuals from host countries (perhaps using an app similar to popular dating apps), it would humanize the refugee experience while simultaneously building intercultural and interfaith understanding among citizens of host countries.
Finally, incoming refugees who feel welcomed, cared for and fully humanized are more likely to integrate quickly into their host countries. This type of integration would soothe tensions and encourage refugees to become productive, taxpaying citizens of their new society. Integrated refugees would not be a burden; instead, investing in refugees would reap dividends both immediately and into the future.
Nobody wants to leave their home and everything they know and hold dear. But if we recognize the humanity of each and every refugee, we can offer real help to those who need it most, while paving the way for a better future for all of us.
Mohamed Abubakr, of Washington, D.C., is a Sudanese human rights activist and peacemaker with over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector.
Boise State and the Frank Church Institute will host the 34th annual Frank Church Conference on Monday. The conference will focus on refugees.
The conference is 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Union Building’s Simplot Ballroom and is open to students and the public. Speakers include Anne C. Richard, former assistant secretary of state; Jennifer Sime, senior vice president of the International Rescue Committee; and Steven Feldstein, the Frank and Bethine Church chair of public affairs. Info: Find a link at IdahoStatesman.com.
When Idaho human rights pioneer and icon Marilyn Shuler died in February, she left money to Boise State, which is using her gift to create an interdisciplinary effort to foster human rights education and advocacy.
So it was “lucky timing” that the fall Frank Church conference focusing on immigration and the Marilyn Shuler Human Rights Initiative’s kickoff came together. “We thought: Let’s see if we can leverage this into a full week of human rights education, unity and advocacy,” said history Professor Jim Gill, who directs the Shuler Initiative.
The inaugural Shuler Initiative events are Thursday, Oct. 26, in the Simplot Ballroom. They begin with a 9 a.m. showing of the Idaho Public Television 2011 documentary “Color of Conscience” on the Idaho response to the Aryan Nations, and a follow-up talk at 10:30 a.m. The focus is on students, but the public is welcome.
At 7 p.m., the public is invited to hear Tony Stewart and Norm Gissel, two founders of Coeur d’Alene’s Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, address “From Hate to Hope: How Idahoans Defeated White Nationalists — and How You Can Too.” Parking is free in the Lincoln garage.
At IdahoStatesman.com: Get details and find out more about programs and courses offered through the Shuler Initiative.