“Non – Refoulement 2.0

The Saga Continues…

Refugee synonyms
6 years ago I wrote an article about the refugee ” crisis” of Europe. My intention for that article was to shed light on the matter that we did not see in the media and within the political view. The war in Syria made millions of people flee and within a few weeks we were already discussing how to stop the “Tsunami of Refugee’s”. While these same refugees were losing their children in the attempt to cross a deadly ocean they were portraited by many as fortune seekers. Every politician was showing their concern and some made it even an election subject. Why was Europe so scared and why were these people not welcome?

6 Years later and I can copy paste my article called ” Non – Refoulement”. But before I copy paste that I want to shed some light on who are refugees, Where do they come from and why are they not welcome?

Foto door Markus Spiske op Pexels.com

The word REFUGEE is nowadays used as an allergy whenever spoken about it. Most people have a need to dehumanize a refugee by adding synonyms to the translation. But lets see what google calls a refugee?:

“A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries“

So to sum it up i see that a refugee is forced to flee (European Synonym: HAS A DESIRE TO), because of persecution, war or violence (European Synonym: the wish to SEEK FORTUNE) and most likely cannot return home (European Synonym: DONT WANT TO GO BACK).

My immediate thought after reading these to worldly separated meanings was: ” Is Europe using another search tool?” “Is the media not aware of the fact that google can translate almost anything really accurate?” “Or has the word refugee shifted in meaning while we shifted toward inhumanity?” Questions I wont get answers to. But I would like to tell you that 68% of the people displaced are refugees out of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, South Sudan and Myanmar. To understand why these people were forced ( had desire to) flee their country. Click on the name of the few countries i added and read a few facts about these countries. If you have read and watched the link you will come to recognize one pattern: ” The USA and Coalition parties ( Netherlands included) always equipped and supported the opposite party of Russia in order to maintain their power. Some say the cold war has ended but to be honest the cold war never ended and countries as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria were used for Geopolitical gain. So to ask the question directly: ” Who created these refugees?”. ” Who’s responsibility is their safety?” “Why is the hand of USA and Coalition parties never mentioned in articles, news, television shows or UN, European Union, Dutch Government? Who gained the most from these wars? a lots of questions some food for the ignorant mind!

Why are they not welcome?
Well lets leave this discussion about the true meaning of a refugee and how they were created and lets see why they are not welcome? I learned at a very early age the phrase ” sharing is caring”. I learned it at the primary school in Holland, where we say ” Samen spelen samen delen”. What a noble western thought one will think! Another life lesson I learned at the primary school was: ” If you make a mistake, you should take responsibility and admit your mistake.” But it seems that our politicians forgot these early age life lessons that they learned. So I guess our politicians and world leaders need a crash course humanity dont you think? Ok to get back on why refugees are NOT welcome here. For those speaking Dutch Watch this!

Welcome back, so to sum up the reasons why these people are not welcome here I have a few quotes for you:

“They are incompetent beasts”, “They are all terrorists”, ” They dress weird”, ” They are traitors” , ” They are fortune seekers”, “They are rapists with no morality or dignity.” “Their war is not our responsibility”, “They are all stupid”, “They are a danger for our freedom”. ” We didn’t flee during the WO II”, “They will destroy our country”. “They are all criminals”. “They are not thankful.”

These quotes are contradicted trough out my whole article. If you as a reader can connect these dots you will understand why writing about this subject and fighting ignorance and misinformation is so important in the refugee debate. So to get to the part where I sadly copy – paste my Non – Refoulment article after 6 years with this time “The Afghan” in a leading role , I wish people will come to understand that refugees are the victims and not perpetrators!

Copy paste: NON – Refoulement 1.0
After reading this you might ask yourself who my character “they” is. For a lot of Europeans they is the face of a terrorist seeking help in a rich continent which they will eventually exploit, use and ruin. For me “they”, are the children who left their friends behind, the mothers who saw their children die, the fathers who had nothing more to offer than despair in order to protect their family, a lover who saw the love of his life being raped and abducted to serve as a sex-slave, a friend who had to bury the one he grew up with, the teacher who counted fewer students every day the war continued, the doctor who had to tell multiple times a day to loved ones that they lost a life, a politician who saw his land get destroyed by barbaric men and artist that could do nothing more than capture pain in his eyes and in his future work

Amnesia of the European history
If we had not been in the same position as these people I would have maybe understood the ignorance of most people, but I guess we European people forgot where we came from. They say the present is incomplete if the history is forgotten. In this case our present is as incomplete as it can be. To go back down memory lane I will try to freshen things up for you guys. A short course of European history is what is needed to create humanity towards these refugees.

In 1938 the American president Roosevelt plead during the conference of Evian for a better support system towards refugees. At that time his plea was for the support of the Jewish community in Germany. Countries did not respond well on that plea. Europe and the world needed to face a holocaust before they agreed upon the rights of refugees. After the horror of the WO II the world agreed upon a principle in The convention of Geneva in 1951 .

They agreed upon the non-refoulement article. This article states that: “ a refugee can not be sent back to the country of origin if there are grounds to fear their prosecution” This was signed and supported by 145 countries. But still most of these countries would rather not want any refugees from Syria, Irak, Afghanistan or any other Islamic country. When the convention of Geneva was signed a quarter million Europeans were on their way to the US to seek asylum.

The dress code of the non-refoulement article
Hilarious is the fact that we now days use the law and its protection only for those who are worth protecting. How do we know when you fit the profile? Do you need to have a certain religion? Do you need to have a certain appearance? What is the dress code of the non-refoulement article? I am not that much of a fashion diva but I know that being Muslim, wearing a head scarf, growing a non fashionable beard and speaking a certain not western language are excluded from membership to this principle.

So is this how the bouncers of Europe (our governments) are trying to explain the dress code of the Non- Refoulement article? After having this said I wonder what part of International law we did not understand? 145 countries signed this treaty but most of them are excluded of their rights because some fancy western membership has more audacity.

Lets sail the sea of inhumanity towards Europe
People are denied humanity and are stuck on a railway station in Hungary. Freedom of movement of Individuals is one of the core grounds of the European union but not for these people.

When Europeans were crossing the sea towards America boats where waiting for them in Bremen and they could board like respected human beings to start a new life because they had suffered a lot. These poor people risk their lives, that of their wives and children in the hope to reach a coast that will understand their pain and sorrow. They lost lives in inhuman ways. Children drown, fathers sacrifice their own lives for others, mothers witness the death of sons and husbands and when reached the coast not nature but the nature of human kind starts to torture them.

So whenever you see a refugee don’t forget to realize that they shed sea’s of tears while crossing over to Europe, standing on the door of a continent that once also knocked on a door in hope for a life, safety and a future without pain, desperation or tears. “They” are just like your grandparents but less fortunate because they are unwanted.

I wish we will grow as humans and society so that there wont be need for the 3th edition of my article. And start to understand: ” Your enemy is not the refugee but the one who made the refugee!”!!