Extended Essay 1 Draft (…still
coming up with a cool title)
By the end of 2011, “over 43.3
million people had been forcibly displaced due to conflict and persecution.”
(UNHCR 2012) Approximately 10.4 million of these people have been officially
entitled as “refugees”—that’s 24%. When examining the official definition of a
refugee and what it takes to be granted that title, it will become clear why
these numbers are astonishing. What’s more astonishing is the fact that each
one of these 43.3 million people have a story; a story of suffering, of pain,
and that ultimately expresses the strength of the human spirit. There are over 10.4 million refugee stories
in the world right now, and each one of them deserves to be shared. That poses
an important question: how? How do we, as fellow humans, go about making sure
these refugee stories are told in an uplifting way? To answer this question,
there are three aspects of refugee stories we must look at. First, we must
consider what defines a refugee and how that definition fits into his or her
story. Next, the role of the refugee within his own story will be considered; specifically
through the stories of Valentino Deng in What
is the What, Mawi Asgedom in Of
Beetles and Angels, and The Lost Boys of Sudan portrayed in the documentary
God Grew Tired of Us. Finally, the
role of the listener and our part within a refugee’s story will be contemplated.
The first mark of a refugee story we
must consider is what makes a refugee a refugee. There are multiple ways to
approach defining a refugee, one can look at “official definitions,” such as
those provided by the UNHCR or the government, one can look to outside academic
perspectives, or one can go to a refugee themselves and look at what defines
them to gain a proper understanding of what a refugee really is. The UNHCR (the
definition of a refugee most widely accepted) defines refugees as, “people who
are outside their country of nationality or habitual residence, and have a
well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” (UNHCR. 2012. p.
8) The key to this definition is that a refugee must leave his or her home
country because of some degree of persecution in order to seek refuge.
In addition to looking at official definitions of
what a refugee is, it is equally valuable to consider what a refugee is not in order to gain understanding of
who he or she is. Katrina Powell
discussed the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and its effect on those whose homes
had been blighted in her article “Rhetorics of Displacement: Constructing
Identities in Forced Relocations.” She approaches the definition of a refugee
by contemplating the general American reaction to the Katrina disaster, “it’s
likely that many Americans would define refugees’ as people of color who are
poor and need assistance.” (2012. p. 303) It is imperative to understand that
this is not what a refugee is. This ignorant assumption forces a specific
identity on disaster victims who are not at all refugees. Hurricane Katrina
victims were not fleeing their country of residence (they were simply moving
around internally) and they were not fleeing persecution (they were fleeing
uncontrollable environmental circumstances). There is a great deal of value in
recognizing that our culture, at least on the majority, has a poor
understanding of what a refugee truly is, and this, in part, is inhibiting our
nation’s ability to assist refugees to our full potential. America has the
capacity to help thousands of refugees gain a new life of hope and opportunity
each year, but that will not be attained if much of this country does not even
know the truth surrounding who refugees are, but instead gain their
understanding from the skewed and incorrect coverage of refugees in the media.
One of the most important aspects of a refugee’s
story is that it is entirely unique and entirely his or her own. Hearing the
story of refugee’s through his or her own perspective is the most effective way
of sharing their stories, and this method of telling their stories give
invaluable insight to their identity—or the identity of a refugee. Refugees
define themselves when they share their stories. The identity of a refugee is a
hybrid; as Powell discussed, “as displaced bodies move, the identities they
inhabit also move.” (2012. p. 300). This concept of “hybrid identities”
perfectly encompasses a refugee’s story, because they remained largely defined
by where they came from, their original culture and experiences, but they are
in the process of developing a new identity through this new culture and
unaccustomed way of life. I need
examples / connections to put here…
In God Grew
Tired of Us, Of Beetles and Angels, and What is the What, the the
protagonist is left to lead the audience through a story all their own, on
their own, and this is precisely what makes these stories so powerful. No third
party can share what refugees have gone through: how their identities have been
affected, how hard they have had to work, or how they have kept their spirits
alive through it all, quite like they can themselves. The most effective way to
tell a refugee story is undoubtedly to allow them to tell it on their own,
using whatever means or methods he or she see fit. In What is the What Deng tells of his long and tiresome wait to hear
if he would gain a spot to come to America and leave Kakuma for good. In order
to be considered for one of the spots, the refugees had to write out their
story, beginning to end, for the first time. Deng tells of the Lost Boys
exaggerating their stories in order to increase their likelihood of getting to
America. This should be a controversial issue—the fact that refugees often
exaggerate their stories to the point of potential falsehood; however, considering
it is their story, they have the right to tell it however they choose. Who can
tell a refugee that his story is untrue? They were the only ones there and they
are the only ones who have the slightest idea about what actually happened.
This is the value in having a refugee tell his or her own story.
Many additional values result from a first person
account of a refugee’s story. One is that it can help other refugees remember
and enable them to tell their own story. A problematic feature of many
refugees’ stories is that, due to the trauma experienced during their time of
flight, they often are literally unable to recall much of the detail from their
exodus. As Mawi explained in Of Beetles
and Angels, in order to learn what happened to him and his family when they
fled Ethiopia, he and his siblings would often eavesdrop on the adults sharing the
stories from that time over coffee. Imagine not being able to even remember the
most defining and traumatic event in your life. By listening to the stories of
other refugees, these individuals may begin to reshape their own story as
events begin to come back to them. Allowing refugees to share their stories may
cause a chain effect, and not only work to emotionally heal the original
storyteller, but eventually help more refugees experience that same sense of
acceptance and healing.
A final aspect of a refugee’s story to be
considered is the role we play, as the listeners. An initial approach we must
make concerns Powell’s discussion in her article. “We expect refugee’s stories
to…fulfill certain narrative expectations of othered-ness, victimization, and
dependence on the state,” (Powell. 2012. p. 308) although, oftentimes these
expectations are subconscious and unintentional. As I learned in one of my
volunteer experiences at Safari Thrift, when I mindlessly assumed three of my
fellow volunteers were refugees, however, they proved to simply be three
international students from DU. Not to say that there is any shame in realizing
these expectations or stereotypes exist—it is simply an opportunity to learn
and to grow through them. It is imperative when listening to refugees stories
to learn to have a mind that is completely open, clear of media-induced or
other preconceived stereotypes, so that we are able to hear the stories for
exactly what they are—no matter what that may prove to be, because ultimately
they are not our stories to tell, nor are they ours to judge. We are to simply
play the role of the listeners and supporters.
A mindset we can learn to go into refugee story experiences
with is one of an expectation of growth. Refugees can alter our perspectives
and shape our viewpoint from our “American bubble” to a compassionate and
accepting global viewpoint—the simple telling of their stories has as much to
offer us as we could ever offer them through our service or listening. A
refugee story is one that deserves, even demands, to be told, and we, as the
listeners, play a large part of that being realized.
Refugee stories are separate from any other
narratives. They are full of more suffering, hardship, and trauma than many of
us will ever experience, but that does not mean they are not connected to us.
Everyone has experienced struggle and pain at some point, and this is what
allows us to have compassion when hearing the reality of a refugee’s life, and
also what drives us to help generate change. Every single one of the 10.4
million refugees currently residing in our world deserve to have their stories
told, and each victim deserves an opportunity to heal form the injustices
performed against them. Justice can be furthered through the telling of these
stories.
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