Refugee Definition (P1)

Jaser Alsharhan
03-25-13
P1

What does it mean to be a refugee?

It means “Being a little more thankful for immutability”….

For several years, the term “refugee” has built up a myriad of different connotations because of the historical, economic, and social implications of those displaced from their own country. The denotation of the term does not fully capture the societal perspective of the term.  As for the English definition, refugees could be defined as those needing "refuge." They are people. They need saving. Ismail Haniyeh, a refugee himself, once said, “Doesn't the world see the suffering of millions of Palestinians who have been living in exile around the world or in refugee camps for the past 60 years? No state, no home, no identity, no right to work. Doesn't the world see this injustice?” From this single quote, it is easy to see that a refugee status comes with a wish—a wish to make things better, to disseminate the truth about displacement, a wish to allow the once called “home” to desist in its struggle.

I personally never use the term refugee—I would replace this diction with the more formal "immigrant" or "emigrant" identifier, respectively. For me, the term refugee evokes some sort of pity, some sort of internal grieving and empathy for whoever is being labeled with such a term. Unfortunately, the United States (and other wealthy countries for that matter…) are looked upon as the frontier of practical living, employment opportunities, and financial prosperity. It is from the juxtaposition of the United States and other countries (of poorer standards of living, civil war eruption, GDP per capita, and the like) that stems a necessity to label those of poorer standard of living as a refugee, displaced from the depths of oppression, discrimination, apartheid, communities of deprived resources, and war. 

When someone is a refugee, it means that they have experienced something which has led them to flee his or her previous homestead. It is not that their previous experiences have defined them; rather, it means that they are searching for a better tomorrow, away from the depraved nature of their original MO. It is only from a vision of what could be “better” that a refugee is labeled as such. In short, being a refugee is a symbol for the amalgamation of a subsequent desire for survival and self-betterment in the face of hindrances and deplorable circumstance.

It is only through definitive courage and bravery that a refugee is epitomized as the true definition of strength. When a refugee capitulates to fear, self-loathing, and self-violence, it is then that the refugee becomes the next headliner drenched in tears. It is from survival and an intangible notion of personal sovereignty that the “outsider” can really feel pity for the sake of inspiration, motivation, and divine perspective. Because an outsider can never feel what it means to be “internally displaced,” a paradigmatic shift becomes the only product of the outsider’s looking-glass approach to the “refugee.”

Many things come to mind when thinking about refugees and what it means to become one. For me, refugee is a synecdoche for those without a home, for those forced to leave their homeland, for those seeking “refuge” in the classic definition of the word. With these certain individuals, the role of the “outsider” becomes cemented. Without the refugee, there is no outsider, no paradigmatic shift. There is no such change in the minds of others (of “outsiders”) to be a little more thankful for the plate of food they have and the immutability of the place they call "home."


What does it mean to be a refugee?

It means “Being a little more thankful for immutability”….
 

Peace and Blessings!
Jaser