Was so inspired by this talk on refugees. Cant agree more that we should Invest in refugees. And not just to survive — but to thrive. Because How we treat the uprooted will change the future of our world.: Refugees have a lot of time to prepare for their return. You might imagine that being a refugee is just a temporary state. With wars going on and on, the average time a refugee will spend in exile is 17 years...Americans and Europeans have the impression that proportionally huge numbers of refugees are coming to their country, but the reality is that 86 percent, the vast majority of refugees, are living in the developing world, in countries struggling with their own insecurity, with their own issues of helping their own populations and poverty. So wealthy countries in the world should recognize the humanity and the generosity of the countries that are hosting so many refugees. And all countries should make sure that no one fleeing war and persecution arrives at a closed border... But there is something more that we can do than just simply helping refugees survive. We can help them thrive. We should think of refugee camps and communities as more than just temporary population centers where people languish waiting for the war to end. Rather, as centers of excellence, where refugees can triumph over their trauma and train for the day that they can go home as agents of positive change and social transformation...Not investing in refugees is a huge missed opportunity. Leave them abandoned, and they risk exploitation and abuse, and leave them unskilled and uneducated, and delay by years the return to peace and prosperity in their countries. I believe how we treat the uprooted will shape the future of our world. The victims of war can hold the keys to lasting peace, and its the refugees who can stop the cycle of violence.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 21:24:42 +0000
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