Letter to CSM: Refugees, pub'd 23 dec 1987

the Christian Science Monitor
23 december 1987

Reaching out to refugees

I was very glad to see the article ``Plight of Sudan's `displaced' people: `illegal residents' in their own land,'' Nov. 24.

I'd like to point out that the phenomenon of ineligibility for refugee aid is not limited to those displaced within the borders of their own countries. I have met a sizable number of displaced Africans in the past year, and many who do ``flee across borders because they fear racial, religious, political, or social persecution'' are not considered refugees by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. Therefore, they are not eligible for food, medical care, and shelter from this agency or others.

The definition of ``refugee'' is very specific, and fleeing civil war and starvation does not automatically qualify one for refugee status. Without official refugee status, a person cannot obtain a visa for passage to another country. The choice thus remains to return to their country and possibly face worse persecution than before they left, or to remain illegally in an unwilling host country. This predicament is of course related to the quotas on immigrants imposed by developed countries.

Is there any hope in sight? Some will testify that there is. People living or traveling in places such as Egypt have been able to reach out to refugees, whether officially categorized as such or not. These people have had a significant impact on individual lives, albeit in a relatively small number of cases. I tend to think that it is lack of awareness rather than lack of concern that keeps these instances rare. Certainly more can be done.

For a start, if each traveler to Africa were to take in not only the sights, but also the signs of the times, and seek out even a small way to ameliorate the situation of refugees, perhaps we would eventually read a more hopeful headline. No effort is too small when human lives are at stake.

Annie C. Higgins River Forest, Ill.