On Refugees and Displacement: Student Perspectives: The Label Game

In today’s community, I feel that there is a massive misunderstanding when it comes to refugees and displaced people. There is too much unsettling tension when the word refugee is spoken. It does not help when there are certain members of Congress and world leaders who spread more xenophobic thoughts and misconceptions unto the masses. Furthermore, I feel that the human condition to compartmentalize everything into categories is the flaw that brings us down as a society. By labeling a group of people or an individual with a title, you dehumanize them. Using the terms of “refugee”, “displaced person”, “asylum seeker”, “illegal alien”, and “migrant” are the most common “legal” terms that are used to describe those who have fled or have been displaced from their home. I myself cannot imagine using any of the terms above to describe someone who is a victim in their own right. Have you ever noticed that when labels are thrown out there it just causes more confusion and misunderstanding? For instance, remember the years of grade school and middle school and the term “cooties”? When someone was associated with the label, everyone was compelled to ostracize that individual or group of people; making them feel like outsiders instead of a fellow student. Is this not the same thing that we do to those who are displaced or who are in need of aid? By labeling them as “refugee”, we have placed a target on their proverbial back. Signaling them out to be the scapegoat for the next economical or global crisis. The video I have attached presents the Syrian refugees being placed on the Greek island of Kos, and the reaction that tourists had to their presence. The video shows the two sides that these victims are used as within society. They either were supportive of the survivors and wanted to help them through this traumatic time in their life or they saw them as “pests” that were ruining their holiday. The idea that someone can compare another human as inferior of living is astounding. It leaves me speechless every time I hear something like this come another human being’s mouth. It just shows how distanced some members of the community already are from the words of accusation and hate they spew. In a parallel comparison, when I saw this video I started to think of the controversy of refugees and veterans in the United States. The common misconception that the United States government is spending or going to use the funds meant for veteran care to fund the resettlement of refugees into U.S. territory. The other video that I will have attached is a bit crude at some points, but shares a keen insight into the political agenda when it comes to veteran spending and refugee funds.

https://youtu.be/xQzyKYo7ggo