Being threatened, beaten, jailed, tortured – these are just some of the refugee cases that asylum officers hear and face each day. Being able to watch the movie Well-founded Fear by Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson, which tackled the asylum process in the United States of America, was a great eye-opener for me. Before watching the film, I have no idea what an asylum means and that my perception of refugees were only those people who escape from their country to keep themselves safe during the time of war. But through this movie, I realized that it was much more than that. There were a lot of things that I learned and a lot of emotions that I felt. This docudrama also presented the struggles of both the refugees and the asylum officers. Sympathy and sadness were the feelings that I felt the most I saw in the movie that this was the case for the refugees applying for asylum. Millions of people tried to apply for asylum in the US which made it harder for the officers to assess the cases. They will hear similar stories over and over again and there are times when it is hard to know whether people are telling the truth or not. Some of the cases are being fabricated just to be able to be recommended for asylum. In some of the cases, it was said that sometimes they could tell if the person is credible about his/her story. Good thing was that some NGOs did research about some of the cases which made the stories more credible. Also, the most important thing that they need to consider is that whether the applicants have a well-founded fear towards their country of origin, and I think this varies from one officer to another. Together with the officers, I also tried to assess if an applicant should be granted and asylum or not. With that, I realized that there will always be subjectivity on their decisions even though they try to be as objective as they
One of the more disconcerting aspects of Bill C-31 is the newly adopted Designated Country of Origin (DCO) legislation which has permanently labeled particular nations as “safe”. Consequently, individuals claiming refugee status who originate from these countries no longer have the same rights and privileges afforded to their refugee counterparts from other nations (“Overview of C-31,” 2013). In turn, this has led to a dichotomy between those who view this change as necessary in order to diminish the influx of embellished and falsified refugee claims and those who view this policy as discriminatory and prejudiced towards people originating from certain nations.
My essay focuses on discrimination as one of the main challenges that refugees face. I discuss some instances of discrimination that occurred in the book, whether based on race or culture,
14 million refugees, men, women, and children are forced to flee their homes, towns, and family. The refugees are scared to stay but have to leave (Gervet). Refugees have to face losing a loved one to losing a little thing like a doll both hurts them greatly. Like many refugees, Ha the main character in the book “Inside out & Back again” by Thanhha Lai, have to face the similar losses as other refugees.Many refugees, like Ha, face the feeling of turning “Inside out” when they mourn the losses of their loved ones and their precious belongings, then they are able to turn “back again” with acceptance and support from their communities and friends.
Smothers, Ronald. (1998, February 6). Asylum Seekers Testify on Abuse by Jail Guards. The New York Times, pp. 1A, 9A.
Empathy is not always easy to achieve. Currently as a nation we are debating whether or not we should allow the Syrian refugees into our country. After the attack on Paris and the ISIS threat against America next, it is easy to see why Americans would not want to let Syrian refugees into our country. It is a difficult decision to make, especially since most of the refugees are women and children. These refugees are trying to escape the terrors and wars that are going on in their home country. However, United States officials must remain cautious with who we are letting into our country at this time. Many citizens are nervous to let so many people into our country. The challenge that the United States officials face is if we
In The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky said, “…fear is simply the consequence of every lie.” Dostoevsky is stating how people are afraid of what will happen when their lie(s) is/are put out in the open. Fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined. This line suggests that people are afraid of the truth, which inevitably is the consequence of every lie. Even though this quote was written by a 19th century author it can still relate to texts that were made centuries prior. Both Sophocles and Shakespeare’s plays support Dostoevky because both plays deal with the act of lying and its consequences as a major motif.
Many people in the UK coupled with media stories, tend to portray asylum seekers as bogus individuals who are here purely for economic gains (Teater 2014). This has led organisations such as Refugee councils and Refugee Action
This illustrates the problem with the refugee program in the U.S. While refugees may be given an opportunity to do something, instead of just waiting to die in a refugee camp, it does not mean that the program is good or very respectful of human rights.
Illegal immigrants (asylum seekers) face being put into detention centers (prisons). In these centers, immigrants face the same persecution as before. Those running from pain, need not to feel it anymore. These detention centers allow immigrants very few privileges, if any at all. In an article by Washington Times titled “ Illegal Immigrant Detention Centers Rife With Abuses, U.S. Civil Rights Commission report finds” it claims, “Some detention facilities---both government -run and private ones operating on contracts ---don 't provide good medical care, deny illegal immigrants the chance to try to get lawyers to help them with their cases, look the other way when rape or sexual abuse occurs”(Dinan). Rather than treating immigrants as prisoners, These immigrants need to be provided with adequate care. Providing immigrants with this kind of shelter, kindness, food, and other necessities will push the immigrants towards the next step, staying here, finding a job, and expanding the
Refugees share similar experiences and emotions when they move to a new country. The book Inside Out and Back Again splits these feelings into two categories, “inside out” and “back again”. Refugees from around the world experience these feelings. For instance, it is easy for a refugee to feel “inside out” when learning a new language, or they can feel “back again” when they find a familiar object that reminds them of their past. Many refugees mainly struggle with learning a new language, but to make them feel more comfortable, they can find satisfaction in items from their home land.
The desired outcome would be to make sure that the refugees are able to become productive members of society. The in order to evaluate the progress of those being counseled, we would put the refugees through a screening in order to test the mental health of the refugees with guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is important that the screening show progress so that we do not lose our funding. If there is no progress we will have to implement new activities and do more research on how to effectively reduce mental health issues for refugees.
In the words of Bertrand Russell, “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Russell). Fear causes many problems in our lives. Fear influences many of a person’s actions and decisions. However, people usually regret the decisions or actions they made out of fear. Also, these actions and decisions can cause problems for those people in their future. Fear is a harmful emotion, for it clouds people’s judgement, disables them from taking action, and causes them to make decisions that they will regret later.
Smothers, Ronald. (1998, February 6). Asylum Seekers Testify on Abuse by Jail Guards. The New York Times, pp. 1A, 9A.
Another casual night: the air is sticky, and the water is scarce, all throughout the country, the sound of gunshots ringing through the air. For most people, this “casual” night is beyond their wildest imagination, but for Syrians, it is an ongoing nightmare. Faced with the trauma of a civil war, Syrian refugees seek protection and a more promising future than the life they currently live in their oppressive country. Many seek refuge in other Middle East countries like Turkey and Jordan, but others search for hope in the icon of freedom, the United States of America. However, in America, there is an ongoing debate about whether or not Syrian refugees should be accepted.
A tall man in a long black coat is seen walking past the window of an elementary school with a large brief case. That sentence is enough to make almost any American’s skin crawl for a moment. Change the word man to woman, and all of those uncomfortable feelings change to normal and nothing out of the ordinary. How can this be? Everyone has experienced that unpleasant sensation of fear creeping into their bodies at least one time in their life. Maybe it was watching a horror movie or walking through an unfamiliar part of town at night, but this sensation is unlike any other feeling that humans can produce. It can become the most important survival instinct that a person can rely on. Although, in our day and age, as Dr. Karl Albrecht states, "Fear seems to have gotten a bad rap amongst most human beings." Fear is certainly not the most popular feeling and emotion that occurs in humans. People today view fear as a nuisance, and it tends to be regarded as a quality of the weak and helpless. With the education of knowing that fear is essential, people would discover that fear can quickly become any human’s most valuable resource. An analysis of fear, and recognizing its importance, confirms why fear is still needed in humans for survival today.