Discussions
Would you welcome refugees to your country?
Posted by footiam • 11/09/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: Human, Mankind, refugees
How would you treat them?
User Comments
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Absolutely. I would love to see some of the endless money the US is spending on the pointless wars we choose to fight, going towards helping people who are truly in need.-
Many people would not. People don't welcome people who look and think differently from tehm.
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Great topic idea. Especially considering tomorrow's planned blog action. In my experience people often confuse refugee with economic migrant and have strong feelings about the later.
Personally I would welcome anyone in need just as I have been welcomed myself around the world (well aside from the occassional hostile attempt at my life, but that was kinda my fault too).
I also don't really consider any one place "my country", so I would prefer to say "my home".
I'll put the kettle on then.-
Many people as you say consider refugess as economic immigrants. As a result, many people don't welcome them.
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Treat them like treating your brother and sister ...-
some people don't treat their brother or sister too kind!
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I DO welcome them... I live in an ethnically diverse part of town and I wouldn't have it any other way.-
You are kind!
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the thing is that right now i will say, yes, i will welcome them with open arms. obviously if i think about it i will say yes, refugees will be welcomed by me in my country.
however, i cannot say how i will react if refugees flow in for a very long time and crowd the city, put strain on its infrastructure, take jobs causing local employment etc etc.
i am just being practical, speaking from the heart, i will welcome them but if it actually happens i may see my opinion changing. -
"them" is "us". There is no "other".
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see that is what i am saying, it is very easy to get caught up in the sentiment of things and say stuff like, its not 'them' its 'us.' all i am saying is that my reaction may change if my country really faces such a situation.
read 'The Refugee' by Pearl S Buck, you'll know what i am talking about. -
I sure would, I do not live there anymore...
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would you if you are still there?
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Yes,we hosts lots of Somali and Sudanese refugees here in Kenya.They are our neighbors and all they have known is war.We even went to school with some of them in my childhood!! -
I think countries should select their refugees for instance Estonia is very selective. I think an individual (adult immigrant) should have some skills to offer weather scientific, linguistic, artistic etc. I think way too many people think money grow on trees and then there is also all those people who perp on others....I am a political refugee. That's my two cents!!!-
Sounds sensible!
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I watched an interesting documentary about Sudanese refugees called God Grew Tired of Us. It pointed out how much differently these people's community worked than our own communities. Refugees from close knit communities can be lonely when they get to a country like the US and no longer share the same tight quarters and meals.
I work for social services and we had a case where the caseworker thought the family didn't have enough room, so she worked really hard to get a bigger place for this family. They moved in and fell apart because they no longer slept together. They moved back into a smaller place some months later and were fine.
I very much welcome refugees. People given a second chance like that tend to bring vigor and energy and hard work into a community. But I would caution for the cultural differences that can make life very hard.-
It would work if the government welcomes them
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i do feel very bad for the refugees and i would definitely welcome them if i could. but i dont think that would be good for our country. our country, Bangladesh, is already over crowded. it's the most densely populated country in the world. Bangladesh is of 147,570 sqr kms and there are about 150 million people living here already. though day by day my country is becoming more and more economically independent we are still a very long way away from clearing the international debts. there are lack of jobs, housing space, agricultural space in our country. so i dont think that welcoming the refugees would be such a good idea right now....but maybe later.-
That's sensible!
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With outstretched arms of love, they are all the most welcome to our country, and I would be the first to show them around.-
Any country that doesn't welcome refugees is a country that's being governed by fools. -
You are very kind!
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@ filosofia
I agree with you 101%. The right of human beings to live should have no borders. -
I suppose our world needs peoplelikeyou, filosofia and Onchong. It will be a better world.
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Yes. I live in a relatively well-off country, even though we are suffering from the recession as well - however, it is the duty of my country to help those less fortunate, and particularly those who are persecuted. Provided that the newcomers are willing to make a positive contribution while they stay, then I welcome them with open arms.
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Treat them just like any other compatriot*
*conditions apply -
I would welcome anyone who wants to contribute.
This may be a tangent, but it would be better to treat those in this country like they existed and their ideas matter. Several years ago, the city of Omaha, Nebraska divided their previously consolidated school district into three: one predominantly black, one predominantly Hispanic, one white. There is also the recent private pool closure to a group of black kids in Pennsylvania.
What a country. -
Definitely. I don't think anyone should be denied the right to live in one country because they happen to have been born in another.
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Nationality is just a lottery.. you should be allowed to buy another ticket
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I would welcome refugees to America. I would make arrangements to route them into becoming productive citizens rather than a burden. So, I would want to make sure they had access to health care, education (including language lessons if needed), housing, etc. In exchange I would expect them to get a job and pay taxes; if they could not find employment, I would expect them to take a volunteer position and invest their time and energy in their host country. I would also network among the refugees for them to meet each other's needs as much as possible, such as helping with childcare, again to minimize the burden.
Refugees only cause a problem if you foolishly pack them into a camp where they can't be productive and just soak up resources. Route them into society and they will require a reasonable amount of resources at first, followed by a big swell of contributions as they get back on their feet. America tends to muff refugee situations, as with Hurricane Katrina; we could do much better. -
Question: Would you welcome refugees to your country?
Answer: Certainly and my country, which is Canada, does welcome refugees.
- There is a close connection between refugee status and immigration. Here is some interesting backdated (2003) immigration stats for the USA.
* Census 2000 reported there were approximately 90,000 immigrants born in Iraq residing in the United States.
* More than one-third of Iraqis now living in the United States entered as refugees or were granted refugee status after entering.
* Iraqis comprise less than one percent of the total foreign-born population in the United States.
* Iraqi immigrants represent approximately 14 percent of all immigrants from Western Asia.
* The states with the largest Iraqi foreign-born populations are Michigan, California, and Illinois.
* The cities with the largest Iraqi immigrant populations are Detroit, Chicago, and San Diego.
* Between 1989 and 2001, just over 49,000 Iraqi foreign born immigrated to the United States.
* Between 1991 and 2001, over 25,000 immigrants born in Iraq became United States citizens.
www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?ID=113
There's also a strong connection between the negativity from locals directed towards refugees and immigrants from different cultural backgrounds in cities that have been forced to accept very large numbers of refugees and immigrants in a very short period of time. I believe a lot of the negativity could be reduced by decentralizing but I'm no expert. -
Yes, I would definitely welcome refugees and as stated above, I think we could have done much better with the Katrina (and other) fiascos.
The world definitely needs more compassion.-
The world needs people like you!
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No. People (myself included) are trying to get out of here!
Unless it's an exchange and the other country is nice. -
Of course! I live in Canada....it's what we do!-
- lol ... Some say it's what we do best.
I also forgot to answer the other question in the OP:
How would you treat them?
We treat refugees very well in Canada. We taxpayers carry the full financial tax burden of housing, food, medical treatment, ESL training, education and pre-employment training for years.
Some Canadians, primarily those from very low income and impoverished groups resent this mightily because they themselves, and their children are not entitled to receive the same benefits from our governments that refugees and immigrants do.
My prediction is that unless or until the provincial and federal governments stop locating massive numbers of refugees and immigrants in the same cities over and over again, and start investing in providing the same benefits to low income and impoverished Canadians, as well as to refugees and immigrants, the negative feedback will grow.
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that is the #1 reason I have high respect for Canada.
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Yes, they can come to our country. The church can take care of them; as long as their charity is not taken at gunpoint I am perfectly happy to let them in.-
It would be great if the church just helps without the intention of converting people.
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If you believe that those you do not convert will be hurt by not being converted, your mentality towards them changes. And anyways, wanting to convert somebody does not always take the form of handing out flyers and badgering them. For many Christians it means creating a friendship and really getting to know someone UNCONDITIONALLY, with the "conversion" conversation being well under the required tithe.
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Only the sexy ones. I'd treat them like they are supposed to be treated. -
Yep people in need are more than welcome to our lil Island of the UK. Although we do already accept many refugees from all over the world, my city has many from Somalia, Iran and Iraq to name a few and Ive made friends with some.
I do feel the majority need to integrate into society more, alot do seem to stick to fellow people from their own country....they would get alot more if they were more open to us!
The above is not all BTW, I have friends from Iran and Somalia who are refugees and even they will admit the same.-
The world will do with more nice people like you!
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BAHAHAHAHA!!! we do all the time, i has become so bad that for years now we have had to detain people from coming into the country illegally by the tens of thousands each year-
And the ones that you guys don't want you divert to us.
But really speaking i've made good friends with some refugees, I dont see any reason not to accept them if they're willing to contribute and be well behaved citizens
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Kirat92-that book was amazing! I specialy liked the part where the old man buys noodles for his grandson but saves most of the money. -
Yes I would welcome refugees and would hope that people would welcome me if i were ever in the same situation.-
Wonder how many people can return a good deed?
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I surely do but President Lula doesn't have good rules on this issue in Brazil. He put The Federal Police to chase two cubans who had asked the status of refugges and sent bot back to Cuba. Lula thinks Cuba is a paradise. It's not and I had been there and I got surprised how Brazilian media do not shows how things work in that dictadorship.
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People vote for the wrong man, as usual!
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i live in India.. the second populated country in the world.. here Indians don hav place to stay... how can we squeeze others too??? but as a human we should accept refugees... b role model and help the neighbors -
obviously yes...this world belongs to each and every creature created by GOD...countries and boundries are just made by the human beings...i wud defntly treat them as my brothers and sis... -
How come most of the refugees who come to the UK have passed thru plenty of safe countries ? They in the main part only come to the UK because we are a soft touch in regards to income support and providing homes. A refugee should only be able to seek asylum from the nearest friendly and peaceful country.
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We have far too many here already, except they are called 'asylum seekers', which really means economic migrant for the most part. It's causing real social friction. Britain is a small island. We simply can't take the misery of the world on our shoulders.
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