“A boat carrying 500 refugees. The Story of two survivors” told by Melissa Fleming. This is a story of a young refugee women who wished to seek asylum in Europe. The boat she travelled on sank and she nearly died, but held onto a small life ring while carrying two babies. It took a few days for rescuers to find them and the majority of the refugees drowned before help could come. At the end of the story Fleming talks about the lack of aid for refugees and the refusal for countries to open their doors.
I chose this story because it tells about a young refugee who had who was one of the only survivor of a fatal accident that occurred when people were attempting to seek asylum in a safe country. From our guest speaker Sabine Lehr we learned that less than 1% of the worlds population is preparing to migrate and even less than that actually, but yet many 1st world countries are closing their borders and only letting a limited amount of people in. This story is important because it shows refugees as people who are just trying to find safety. All too often stories like this have occurred around the world because of the belief that there are too many refugees or migrants. There is a fear that refugees might “steal” our jobs, over crowed our streets,..ect. This story should be shared so people can learn more about the refugee experience.
URL/Link: https://youtu.be/B12syeJflbQ
Keywords: Refugee, Migration, Asylum
Pseudonym: Lily Kim
This story invoked plenty of feelings in me, such as feelings of shame and anger based on the West’s rejection of refugees, as well as sadness and sympathy for those individuals who struggle to reach asylum in other countries. Refugees are profoundly misunderstood in the West, with unwarranted fears of terrorism and threats to job security being perpetuated by the media and fear mongering politicians. Stories such as this, stories of strength and resilience in the face of such tremendous odds, help humanize refugees for those who unfortunately see them as perhaps less than human. Through the brave voices of refugees who share their stories of struggle, perhaps the West may begin to embrace refugees for what they are: people…