Conclusions and Reflections

As this is my final blog, I thought it would be appropriate to share some reflections and conclusions that I have had while researching and writing this blog. Technically, I only needed to write eight blogs, but somehow I felt the need to have some sort of conclusion.

To begin, I was shocked at how little education actually exists on the subject. Many comments that I read online were about how people were learning about refugees on the internet for the first time. Clearly, as “There are currently some 43 million uprooted victims of conflict and persecution worldwide.” and “More than 15 million of them are refugees who have fled their countries, while another 27 million are people who remain displaced by conflict inside their own homelands -- so-called “internally displaced people.” (un.org, 2014), I think that this is an issue that deserves more recognition than it is given.

Another thing that I found very surprising was the amount of bragging on the Government of Canada website. The website tries to make it seem as though more are accepted than actually are. For example, the website reads “Refugees come from around the world and many make their claims in Canada. The number of people arriving varies from year to year. In 2011, more than 24,900 people came to Canada and made a refugee claim.” (Government of Canada, 2013), however, only 16,122 of these refugees were actually given refugee status and allowed to live in Canada, leaving over 8000 people stranded and without safety. The site is covered with stories of how refugees have been helped, with no indication of how many people are turned away.

Native Americans and European settlers meeting in Canada.

I was actually hesitant to post this subject, but it is, I think, important to address. What was the most disturbing to me was the blatant racism and ethnocentrism of people who do not support refugee acceptance. On YouTube videos about refugees, some of the comments were absolutely horrendous, writing narrow-minded, poorly written comments about how we should not accept any refugees, bringing in other cultures ruins Canada’s culture, etc… There were also many comments about Canada is the greatest country ever. I would just like to say- whether we are the greatest country in the world or not, our country is almost all immigrants. Apart from Aboriginal people, everyone in Canada is the descendant of someone who immigrated to

Canada, and part of what makes Canada interesting is the blend of cultures from all over the world. And, regarding refugees, there is always, in my opinion, room for more diversity. If we are truly the greatest country in the world, we should be open to diversity and be prepared to help others.

This concludes this assignment and my blog. Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed, and hopefully, I have convinced you, or at least made you see another point of view. :)  

As this is my final blog, I thought it would be appropriate to share some reflections and conclusions that I have had while researching and writing this blog. Technically, I only needed to write eight blogs, but somehow I felt the need to have some sort of conclusion.

To learn more about refugees, please visit the UNHCR's YouTube channel for more educational clips. This channel contains many stories of refugees, news clips and how you can help.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2ZDAoIMGP3m9tAgnniNEYw

Why Do Certain Countries Have So Many Refugees?

Maps demonstrating where refugees are
 from and where refugees typically go. 

Why do some countries have more refugees trying to escape than others? As I mentioned in a previous blog, the countries where the most refugees come from are Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, Columbia, Afghanistan, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, however, many other countries are home to refugees desiring asylum. Why is it that these particular countries have so many people applying for refugee status? All of the countries with very high rates of refugees tend to have little education, are not democratic and hold a poorer quality of life in some manner (such as poor medical care, lack of gender equity, etc…).

First of all, we all know that a lack of education means less job opportunity in the future. Less job opportunity and poor job options means continuing a family’s cycle of poverty. A lack of education creates poverty, which creates inequality (the ever growing gap between the rich and the poor). Poverty and inequality are two root causes of conflict and by increasing the amount of education given, we would both reduce conflict and poverty, as well as decrease the earth's population. The most common reason for refugees to attempt to see asylum is conflict, violence and/or war. By educating more people, the number of global refugees would decrease quite simply and the amount of violence would greatly reduce. The lack of education for most citizens in many refugee-prone countries plays a large part in the amount of conflict, which is a main reason for refugees fleeing to Canada.

Democracy would be a huge step in the right
direction for many in oppressed nations. 

Democracy is a huge factor in quality of life. Democracy reflects the desires of the people. The people elect the candidate that they feel will create the best life for them. As Abraham Lincoln said, “Elections belong to the people. It's their decision.” (1860). Without democracy, the people have no voice, no expression and no freedom. Everyone deserves to participate in their government and when the people are not permitted to participate in their government, their quality of life dips. Who the people elect represents what it is that the majority of the population want for their country. Very few countries with high numbers of refugees have a democratic government and denying people their right to participate in their government is a violation of their basic human rights, rights that we expect to have. It is too harsh for us to expect to live a democratic life and yet try to prevent others from doing so.

Gender Equality Needs to Happen Before We Can
Live in a Non-Violent and Prosperous World

Finally, there are quality of life indicators, 

one of which is gender equality. As I have touched upon in previous blogs, education privileges and gender equity go hand in hand- achieving education for all means making significant advancements in women’s rights. Approximately 50% of the population cannot be without education and employment opportunities without destroying their potential, the economy and their worth in the eyes of those around them. Unsurprisingly, as these countries are where many refugees are from, Pakistan, Columbia, and the majority of African countries stand out as treating their women the worst in the world. Canada is quite high on the list for high gender equality, however Sweden is ranked as the most gender equal country. “In many parts of the world rape is not considered a crime, goes unpunished and continues to be used as a tool of war. Female sexual slavery and forced prostitution are still terrible “facts of life” for poor, often very young, women. Genetic testing for defects of the unborn is used in some parts of the world to determine the sex of the foetus, so that females can be aborted, while in some countries, female infants are buried alive. Forced marriage and bride-burning are still prevalent in the Asian sub-continent. A pregnant woman in Africa is 180 times more likely to die of pregnancy complications than in western Europe. Women, mostly in rural areas, represent more than two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults.” (weforum.org, 2005) If 50% of the population in many countries where refugees are coming from, this will greatly decrease the basic quality of life. This further proves my point- refugees are treated too harshly upon arrival in Canada. Women should not be expected to live in such unequal societies and we are being far too harsh if we refuse to allow asylum to people who wish to escape such an abusive society. (For anyone interested in gender equality, this link is absolutely wonderful! I got the long quote from there and it is detailed, easy-to-understand and very informative! http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Global_Competitiveness_Reports/Reports/gender_gap.pdf)

These indicators prove yet again why I feel that we are far too harsh on refugees. All that refugees want are to improve their lives and give their family better opportunities for the future. There is absolutely nothing with desiring that. I think that uprooting your life to protect your family and improve your quality of life is an admirable sacrifice to make, not something that we should be criticizing. Why should we expect to have such a high quality of life but expect someone else to live without? Where is the reason in that?

With all of the talk about how we need to accept more refugees, I thought it would be a good idea to offer some suggestions/solutions as to how we can help and improve the refugee acceptance rate.

1. Establish Billeting Programs:

Often when travelling on an exchange or school trip, a family offers to host the traveller. What could work would be having host families to host a refugee, or even a refugee family until more permanent settlement can be found. Funds could be given to the host family for the extra food, toiletries, etc… required but the actual rent aspect would be removed from the refugee funding package. Not having to pay for shelter for all of the incoming refugees would greatly reduce the cost associated with refugees and allow more people to come to Canada, due to more funds being readily available for incoming refugees. This would also be a good experience for host families, as they would be able to learn about the culture of the refugees that they are hosting.

2. Increase Charities and Funds:

Adding boxes like these for refugees create a
substantial amount of increased funds.

When collecting funds in public places like schools, grocery stores, malls, etc.. you very rarely see collections for refugee aid. This should change- increasing the amount of money raised for refugee aid would yet again allow more people to come to Canada as they would be able to afford to put more people through the very costly process required to become a Canadian refugee, as well as increase the amount of money allotted to the programs for refugees after their arrival in Canada. I feel that people would give money to charities collecting for refugees and the charities that do offer assistance to refugees need to be made prevalent in everyday life.

3. Improve Awareness and Educate:

• How often do you see commercials advertising the plight of refugees? Or posters? Or anything, really, in everyday life? We constantly see advertisements for things like the food bank (rightfully so of course!)- why don’t we try to do the same for refugee conflicts? We should also make learning about the struggles to become a refugee more focused on it school. I did not even know what a refugee was until age 14, in grade nine geography class. I feel like learning about how desperate many situations actually are would create a lot more empathy and stem a greater desire to do something in many Canadian citizens.

• 

  Images showing the terrible conditions that refugees must
  live in would increase awareness and empathy.

  Another way to improve the minds of people towards refugees would be (as sad as this is) to explain how accepting refugees benefits Canadians. Our country has an aging population and the median birth rate is 1.6 children per woman. We actually need more people to come to Canada to work. Without increasing the population, the retirement age will increase dramatically, hours will go up and there will not be enough people for all of the required jobs. We can explain how accepting more refugees (as well as immigrants) will help the economy continue to be stimulated, which may help in decreasing some of the animosity and disapproval of Canadians towards refugees.
  
  

As indicated by the population pyramid, the majority of Canada's
population is middle age and will soon be retiring, leaving a
massive hold in the job sector- we need more people in Canada.

Images showing the terrible conditions that refugees must
live in would increase awareness and empathy.

4. Sponsor Refugees:

This idea involves almost like a “scholarship” of sorts for refugees to come to Canada. A person (or a group of people) could pay for someone to come to Canada under refugee status. There does actuallyexist a program through the government of Canada which allows you to financially assist refugees. “As a sponsor, you provide financial and emotional support for the refugees for the duration of the sponsorship. This includes help for housing, clothing and food.” (Government of Canada, 2014) Should you like to consider becoming a sponsor, please visit: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/sponsor/index.asp.

5. Encourage Education, Democracy, Peace, etc… In Other Nations:

As a developed nation, Canada has quite a bit of influence and could make a difference through something as simple as education. Democracy, peace, education for all and a decent standard of living and quality of life for all people in all nations must be encouraged, if not demanded, by Canadians. We should also educate others that it is their right to be involved in their government, to go to school, to have access to clean water, healthcare and sanitation, etc.. Increasing education will help people get better paying jobs and could be a very important factor in breaking their family’s cycle of poverty. We should continue to try and improve quality of life in other nations, ones with large amounts of refugee applicants. Refugees generally leave because of a low quality of life in their home country. If we help in increasing the quality of life in their nation, they will not have to endure leaving their family and home behind them and this costs less money for the Canadian government. Plus, sending teachers and staff to educate in other nations will help create jobs for Canada’s overabundance of teachers.

As all of these solutions are fairly basic, I find it again reinforced that Canada’s refugee policy is far too harsh. Because all of these solutions are fairly simple and easy to do, it shows that Canada is doing very little for refugees. All of these solutions are mainly about taking some of the financial pressure off of Canada, which is usually the main argument for why Canada accepts too many refugees. These solutions show that something as simple as finances and basic education are preventing people from obtaining their basic human rights such as democracy, health care and education. By preventing people from coming to Canada because of financial reasons demonstrates that Canada is far too harsh on incoming refugees.

In this video, Angelina Jolie asks visitors to visit the UNHCR 

website to learn more about refugees and how to help. 

“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”

-George Santayana

After the horrors of the Holocaust, as well as the atrocities that were committed during the Second World War, fifty one member states gathered to form the United Nations in hopes of preventing such a conflict from ever occurring again. This nation, found in 1945, now holds one hundred and ninety-three member states and main offices in Manhattan, Vienna, Geneva and Nairobi. On December 10, 1948, the UN adopted the still-standing Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled.” (un.org, 2014). In essence, this document proclaimed the human rights that all people are entitled to and that all people should expect to have. Many nations, including Canada, agreed to abide by the human rights stated in this declaration.

United Nation Logo

Despite agreeing to adopt the policies written in the Declaration, Canada does not, in full, live by these policies. The majority of Canadians do live with human rights, such as the freedom from torture, slavery and cruel and unusual punishment, all of which are illegal in Canada. Having so many rights is a rarity and shows how lucky we are to live in a country where we can live in peace and safety as so many around the world do not live in these same conditions. Turning away so many refugees is a direct violation of their human rights. Just because a person is not born in canada does not mean that they are not entitled to 100% of the same rights as those born in free countries and to deny people the basic rights that hey are entitled to causes Canada to become a facilitator. As so many refugees attempt to receive human rights and are then denied these rights by decisions made by the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Eleanor Roosevelt (a main contributor to the Declaration)
with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

How Denying Refugees Breaks Their Human Rights: (All citations come from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, published in 1948.)

• Article 4 says “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”, article 9 states that “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile”, article 2 explains that “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty” and article 11 parts 1 and 2 say that “(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence. (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.” In other words, all people have the right to not be cruelly and unusually treated, are equal in the law and should be awarded certain basic privileges upon arrest and detention, such as a fair trial, which is something awarded to Canadians. Many refugees coming to Canada were not awarded similar privileges. As newsweek.org explains, “Some common experiences of persecution include torture, beatings, rape, disappearance or killing of loved ones, imprisonment without trial, severe harassment by authorities, land confiscation, conflict-related injuries and months, years or even decades spent living in refugee camps or urban slums.” (newsweek.org, 2014). All of these monstrous experiences were against the rights that Canada has agreed to try and uphold, like preventing torture and protecting people’s legal rights.
• Article 14 (1) flat-out says that “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” According to the Declaration, we in fact have an obligation to accept refugees and help those who are being unjustifiably persecuted in other nations.
• Article 26 states that “(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” 70 million children around the world live without education. Every child has the right to go to school, to learn and to have a future. Preventing child refugees from coming to Canada is denying many of them the possibility of receiving an education which yet again breaks the Declaration.
• Finally, article 21 explains that “(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.” Basically, democracy is the right of the people. Again how refusing such a high number of refugees is a breach of human rights- we are preventing people from their basic right to partake in their own government, the government that controls much of their own life and how they are permitted to live. Denying people the right to come to Canada and be a part of their government denies them the basic rights that Canada agreed to try and protect.

So, to conclude, I absolutely believe that more refugees should be accepted into Canada because by forcing people to continue living in oppressive and unsafe nations, we are obstructing their rights that we are supposed to be prepared to protect. Many are forced to continue living poor conditions and without rights because our policy is too harsh on refugees and by maintaining this overly harsh policy, we deny people the rights that we preach.

This video is a visual explication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The following link is a link to 437 different translations of the Declaration- http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Introduction.aspx

This link reflects how poorly some refugee's rights are infringed upon: https://ccrweb.ca/refright.htm

What Canada Does

As I have mentioned what it takes to be eligible for refugee status in canada, I felt it was appropriate to explain what happens after your application has been submitted, as well as what happens to refugees whose claims are accepted.

The Immigration and Refugee Board (sometimes shortened to IRB) reviews all applications of refugee status. When you first claim refugee status and enter Canada, you must undergo a medical exam.

IRB Logo

If Your Claim is Accepted:

If you are accepted as a refugee to Canada, you are given the status of protected person. This status allows you to stay in Canada. It is expected that you will apply for permanent residence status in Canada. You can apply for permission to work and attend school even while still waiting for your claim to be reviewed. Children are automatically sent to school. (As we saw, this is a huge reason that people wish to immigrate to Canada.) When you are given refugee status, you are given what is called “resettlement assistance”. This consists of someone meeting the refugee at their arrival, orientation to Canadian life, receiving household needs, settling them temporarily, helping them find a permanent settlement and supporting the refugee for one year or, if this comes first, when the person can support themselves. Funds can also be given to cover the cost of travel, documents like passports and medical exams.

If Your Claim is Not Accepted:

If your claim is not accepted by the IRB, you must leave Canada. In some situations, your application may be allowed to be reassessed, however, it is highly unlikely that your request will be accepted if you have been previously denied access. There are also other alternatives- you can apply to both the federal Court of Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada for appeal. There are also instances where you can be allowed to stay in Canada based on humanitarian or compassionate grounds. This is where “sponsored spouses or partners must now live together in a legitimate relationship with their sponsor for two years from the day they receive permanent residence status in Canada.” (Government of Canada, 2012)

Government of Canada Logo

I was surprised at how many programs exist for refugees upon arrival to Canada. I knew that there were some assistance programs, but I didn’t realize that a refugee was supported for a full year. Although I still abhor the fact that so many innocent people are turned away unnecessarily, I do feel a bit better about the refugee policy knowing that if a refugee does get accepted to Canada, he or she receives a lot of aid. In my eyes, that offers some redemption to our policy. After reviewing this policy though, I do understand how expensive it must be to support a refugee and how some might begrudge such a massive expense when many are themselves struggling to pay their bills. I don’t necessarily like it, but I at least understand it a bit better.

If you would like to learn more about how refugees are accepted to canada, please visit http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/index.asp.

The top video is a Canadian lawyer explaining how tough the refugee policies in Canada really are, and advises refugees on how to apply for refugee status. The bottom video is a woman's story who became a Canadian refugee from Afghanistan. She explains how helpful the refugee integration program was upon her arrival to Canada. For more refugee and immigration stories, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50bi5fNoYQk11lWhfi3l4w

   

Seeing the Other Side

While I have made it quite clear that I believe that Canada should accept far more refugees than what actually happens, I also recognize that not all other share my point of view. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, right? Because of this philosophy, I have decided to explore the possibility that the Canadian refugee system is too lenient on refugees and why. When researching, I have found that the majority of the reasoning behind preventing more refugees from coming to Canada is economic.

People experienced lay-offs all over the world and few
opportunities were available otherwise.

To begin, Canada, along with much of the rest of the world, entered an economic recession in 2008, which “many called the Great Recession” (britannica.com, 2009) and continued for many years. (This nickname is a riff on The Great Depression, the worst recession in history, leaving most in extreme poverty and occurring throughout the 1930’s.) This recession had terrible effects on the economies of countries all over the world and affected almost all sectors of life- “it turned economic growth into contraction in many countries and slowed expansion practically everywhere else. The ripple effects of the financial crisis ranged far beyond the financial. Governments fell in Iceland and Latvia. The Chinese brushed aside pleas for more accommodating human rights and currency valuation policies. European political union was put under strain. Japan proposed only weak measures to combat climate change.” (britannica.com, 2009) As britannica.com indicated, the “Great Recession” had a massive impact all over the world and in many different ways. (If you would like to learn more about the causes and aftermaths of the 2008 recession, as well as economic crash in general, I highly recommend you read the article that the quotations in this paragraph are from, found at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1661642/The-Great-Recession-of-2008-09-Year-In-Review-2009.)

Map of Canada displaying the percentage of Canadians
unemplyed per province/territory in 2013.

Not only was this recession a global disaster but it very close to home for many Canadians as well. In 2011, CTV News reported that 428, 000 people lost their jobs during the recession. Canada has had an extreme comeback and the economy has greatly improved since, however, 7% of the population is unemployed as of April 2014. While this may sound good, the student unemployment rate is 13.40%, the retirement age continues to climb and though many are employed, many educated and skilled workers are stuck in jobs “below” their experience and education, or typical salary, or can only find part-time employment. In other words, many are still hurting financially and earning less money than they were pre-recession. With Canada’s economy still not in great form, many feel that refugees (and immigrants) are taking away jobs from Canadian-born citizens. Believing that those who were born in Canada are entitled to better jobs is, of course, a form of both racism and ethnocentrism, but I digress.

Another reason for some Canadians believing that the refugee policy is too lenient is because many of the refugees who come to Canada are both emotionally and physically damaged (rightfully so, I feel), rendering them unable to work, pay taxes and contribute to society. This can be a drain on the economy, as there are more people to pay services for and less people paying into Canadian services, like free health care and education. This can even increase taxes and fees that the average Canadian must pay, which, considering many Canadians are hurting financially, can cause a huge financial burden on citizens. Increasing the amount of allowed refugees would also create a need for more social programs such as ESL programs, shelters, etc… While increasing the amount of social programs would create jobs, it would also cost taxpayers money to create these programs, which many resent given their financial hardship.

As I explained above, the majority of reasons for Canadians believing that we allow too many refugees are mainly financial and economic- it is a very rough financial time for many Canadians. I did not, however, find enough reasonable problem to change my mind- I still believe that we are far too harsh on refugees and I do not think that the reasons that I explored above sufficiently proved otherwise. In my personal opinion, our financial crisis does not outweigh the horrors that many of the refugees attempting to come to Canada face.

(Please note that I do not support the ideas expressed in this blog- I feel it is important to explore both sides of the issue and the ideas that I have written are ones that I have learned about through research- they are not my views.)

Why Canada?

As Canadians, it’s hard to imagine what being a refugee would be like. Canada is obviously in no way a perfect country; however, it is, for the most part, a very safe and peaceful place. No, Canada is not free from violence. No, Canada is not free from discrimination. No, Canada is not free from many environmental issues. With faults, one might ask, why do refugees want to come to Canada? Canada is, however, free from war, holds a democratic government, boasts many great social programs (like free healthcare and education), practices (for the most part- definitely not completely yet!) equal rights and allows freedom of religion. While these policies may seem fairly obvious to those who have grown up in Canada, we are in the minority in being awarded these rights.

Pride Day in Toronto, Canada, celebrating equal rights
for the Canadian LGBTQ community.

A shocking list about human rights awarded around the world: (Statistics provided by the Youth for Human Rights Website, 2012)

• 890, 628, 784 undernourished people in the world
• 738, 327, 845 people live without access to clean drinking water
• Approx. 27 million people are enslaved today
• Approx. 300, 000 children are currently being forced into serving in some form of military
• 246 million children (or one in six) are currently working in child labor
• The average person lives on 11, 690$/year

Children serving in the military in the Great Lakes
region of Africa.

These statistics appalled me. Demographic indicators tell a huge amount about the quality of life in a nation and these statistics demonstrate how poor the quality of life is for many living in developing nations, especially when one considers how high many of the demographic indicators for Canada are and how high the quality of life is for the majority of Canadians.

Now, as I have said, Canada is in no way perfect. The way that Aboriginal people have been and are currently treated is atrocious. We are one of the worst countries in the world for environmental damage and pollution. Despite proclaiming equality, homophobia, sexism and racism exist everywhere, including Canada. As far as living standards, however, we are much better off than much of the rest of the world. The average Canadian makes 42, 690$/year, child labour is outlawed, we do not have a prevalent military presence and 94% of Canadians are happy with their quality of water, and 100% have access to some form of clean water. (prb.org, 2013)

Something that is often heard is “I came to Canada so that my children could have a better life.” Canada’s literacy rate is 99% in both male and females. Both genders have equal access to free, public education from age three or four to age seventeen or eighteen. The secondary school enrollment rate is 100% for both males and females, much higher than the world comparison of 72% for females and 73% for males. Post-secondary education (university, college, etc…) rates in Canada are 69% for women and 51% for men, again much higher than the world average of 31% for women and 28% for males. As we all know, education is a key factor in a high quality of life! The more education you have, the better paid you tend to be, and the more opportunity you have to work in whatever it is that you want to work in. It’s easy to understand why parents would want to give their children the opportunity to succeed academically, particularly when they are often not given the chance in many parts of the world, especially being a girl. Many young girls are not given equal career and education opportunities in developing countries. Globally, there are seventy girls enrolled in school for every one hundred boys. And, in addition to sexism in the education system, many parents cannot afford to send their children to school. In developing countries, 20% of people never even have the opportunity to complete primary school due to financial crisis. Not completing a basic primary school education means bleak job opportunities in the future, and a continued cycle of poverty. All children, male or female, rich or poor, should be able to go to school.

Children attending school- both boys and girls in the classroom.

Next on the list is politics. This is something that many could care less about, claiming that it’s boring, unchanging, preferring not to bother with it. The majority of people, however, live their life without any kind of political choice, constantly threatened and fearful of those in charge. Only 43% of the world lives with full political and democratic freedom. This equals about three billion people, or slightly less than half of the world. Many countries are subjected to harsh dictatorship (like North Korea, Bangladesh and Swaziland, for example) with little to no say so in any aspect of how their country operates. The allure of the ability to vote and to speak their opinion about what is going on in their country is something that is incredibly attractive to those living in oppressed nations. People should be given the right to vote and the right to be involved in their government and in politics- “The first duty of a man is to think for himself” (José Martí, 1881). They should not be afraid to express their opinion or express ideas that would better their lives for fear of persecution. As said Alan Moore, “People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” (V for Vendetta, 2006). Canada’s political ideologies are quite democratic, and we live a life free from fear of persecution for political reasons. Political ideologies are a cause for refugees to leave their country of origin, and the democratic policies of Canada can be very attractive, and seem very liberating to those being oppressed in their home nations.

The Canadian government system gives voters many
different choices regarding their 

Therefore, I think that this blog sums up why we are too harsh on refugees. How come we, as Canadians, expect to be given rights that we all (myself included) consider basic, obvious and required, yet we refuse to allow people to come to Canada desiring those same basic rights? All people should be allowed to live the way that we as Canadians consider typical. We should not be rejecting people who have done nothing save for try to secure a more safe, happy and healthy life for themselves and for their family, not when we, both as Canadians and as human beings desire the exact same thing.

Being a refugee is fairly unimaginable to those of us who have grown up in living in a safe and peaceful country. It is hard to even comprehend the kind of struggles and hardship that comes from being a refugee. Global Footprints, a website dedicated to issues like refugees, debt, migration and the environment, explains the struggle beautifully, describing refugees in the following manner: “Refugees leave their homes and their country because they have no other choice. They are forced out by factors such as war, persecution, natural disasters, environmental crises and poverty. They may also leave because their government will not or cannot protect them from serious human rights abuses or meet their needs. Whatever the reason, refugees leave their homes because they fear for their own life or safety, or that of their family. Many refugees leave their homes suddenly and are able to take very few if any of their possessions with them. Sometimes they face many days of travel, with little food and in fear of their lives.” (globalfootprints.org, 2009).

Not only do refugees face the horrors that forced them to leave their homeland, as well as the usually hard and dangerous journey away from the violence, but most end up living in terrible conditions in refugee camps, with not enough food to go around, a lack of sanitation, education, health care and supremely overcrowded conditions. “Fifty per cent of refugee dwellings are inadequate and hundreds of thousands struggle to pay their rent, according to the findings.” (UNHCR, 2014) Many must continue this lifestyle, however, as they have no other choice and no financial means to flee. The website http://www.uniteforsight.org/refugee-health/module3 shares terrible horror stories about the lifestyles and conditions in refugee camps, conditions that no human being should have to live with. It is inhumane that we allow people to live like this rather than accept their applications for coming to Canada.

Refugees being kept in horrible surroundings in Somalia.

Desolate living conditions in a refugee camp in Chad.

Congolese children in a refugee camp escaping from war. May 2014.

As mentioned in the quotation above, the majority of refugees leave their home country for the following reasons: (UN Refugee Agency, 2013)

• Persecution because of race, religion, sexuality, etc...
• War/Conflict
• Violence (ethnic, tribal and religious violence being the most common)

  

  2014 Civil War in Africa

The majority of the 15.2 million refugees in the world come from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Colombia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran and Sri Lanka. All of these countries are known for conflict and violence. Approximately 80% of the refugees are women and children and 46% of refugees are under the age of 18. Only 11% percent of the 15.2 million people who annually ask for safety receive what they as for. (All statistics provided by dosomething.org, 2012.)

Map Depicting Refugee Migration Across the Globe
(As shown, the majority come from Asia and Africa)

These statistics are ridiculously high. This is yet another reason that I believe that the Canadian refugee policies are far too harsh. People should not be forced to live in the conditions stated above and we in Canada have the resources to help. It is against every human being natural rights to force them to live in areas of conflict, violence and harsh persecution, as well as to live in conditions that are that desolate. We should be trying to help those people and the world has ample means to help much more than 11% of those who seek protection. In my opinion, we should be trying to help, not turning people away. Because of how many people who could be helped are turned away, and because we do have the capabilities to accept more people, Canada’s refugee policy is far too harsh, particularly considering how terribly many of these people must live and the fact that we are capable to help resolve a part of this issue.

This video shows the devastating journey that refugees 

must make to get to safety and the conditions and desolation

present in the refugee camps through shots of the refugees

and the camp.