When I first arrived in Miami as a student, the reputation of Venezuela was that of a rich country with lots of its citizens owning prime real estate in Miami, a corrupt country where the rich stole and the poor remained poor, but they had petroleum.
Look at the situation now!
are going anywhere they can go, as living in Venezuela, a large country which has everything has become untenable. Who would have thought the little island of Trinidad, the site of MIGUEL STREET of the Nobel Prize winning VS Naipaul would end up having a refugee crisis?
Scenes like these are repeated in Boa Vista across from Santa Elena de Uiren in Venezuela.. Cucuta on the border with Colombia.. In Barranquilla, it was heartbreaking to see families walking along dragging their half broken suitcases..
Hundreds of thousands of Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans along with thousands of Africans are knocking on the door on the USA in its southern front..
They are fleeing violence in Cameroon and many other countries.
Add to it the economic refugees from every country in Latin America excluding Chile who can enter without a visa to the USA.. thousands of Cubans, Jamaicans and everyone in between..Argentines, Bolivians..
Whether Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Cameroon, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Afghanistan.. they are all fleeing violence and look to living in peace. Thousands of sub saharan africans are fleeing poverty, hoping for a better life in Europe.
When I am in Asia, I see refugees in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, some fleeing violence from Myanmar, some fleeing poverty. Even India which is already bulging at its seams have an illegal alien problem!
There are many failed states and vulnerable states ..and people have the right to expect a better life.
One thing is clear, much of the violence is man made much like Climate Change, in that people in power ignored problems while enriching themselves. I think we have to stop blaming Colonialism or Slavery but look squarely at the current political leaders and system that brings havoc that drives the people out.
the best example is Venezuela .. a rich country with all the resources being run into ground by the government it has.. No blaming the USA or Europe..
I feel hurt at the tragedies of these refugees whether they are Spanish speaking or Arabic speaking. It is stressful enough to migrate legally to another country, leaving your identity culture and family behind, the clandestine arrival must add several layers of stress.
When I was in Israel, a country which has successfully assimilated refugees from Arab Countries, Russia among others, I was frightened by the prediction that the next holocaust would be in Europe and it would be against the Muslim refugees and migrants. I would add the increasing violence against legal and illegal immigrants in UK USA Australia would morph into a societal pattern of discrimination which would further curb the dreams of the would be immigrant to integrate into the society.
To the millions of people, displaced internally and externally around the world, may the SPIRITS protect you and may you find contentment and a way forward..
Look at the situation now!
are going anywhere they can go, as living in Venezuela, a large country which has everything has become untenable. Who would have thought the little island of Trinidad, the site of MIGUEL STREET of the Nobel Prize winning VS Naipaul would end up having a refugee crisis?
Hundreds of thousands of Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans along with thousands of Africans are knocking on the door on the USA in its southern front..
They are fleeing violence in Cameroon and many other countries.
Add to it the economic refugees from every country in Latin America excluding Chile who can enter without a visa to the USA.. thousands of Cubans, Jamaicans and everyone in between..Argentines, Bolivians..
When I am in Asia, I see refugees in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, some fleeing violence from Myanmar, some fleeing poverty. Even India which is already bulging at its seams have an illegal alien problem!
There are many failed states and vulnerable states ..and people have the right to expect a better life.
One thing is clear, much of the violence is man made much like Climate Change, in that people in power ignored problems while enriching themselves. I think we have to stop blaming Colonialism or Slavery but look squarely at the current political leaders and system that brings havoc that drives the people out.
the best example is Venezuela .. a rich country with all the resources being run into ground by the government it has.. No blaming the USA or Europe..
I feel hurt at the tragedies of these refugees whether they are Spanish speaking or Arabic speaking. It is stressful enough to migrate legally to another country, leaving your identity culture and family behind, the clandestine arrival must add several layers of stress.
When I was in Israel, a country which has successfully assimilated refugees from Arab Countries, Russia among others, I was frightened by the prediction that the next holocaust would be in Europe and it would be against the Muslim refugees and migrants. I would add the increasing violence against legal and illegal immigrants in UK USA Australia would morph into a societal pattern of discrimination which would further curb the dreams of the would be immigrant to integrate into the society.
To the millions of people, displaced internally and externally around the world, may the SPIRITS protect you and may you find contentment and a way forward..
