#refugies

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Nigerian refugees seek shelter in Diffa, Niger, in June 2016. © UNHCR/Ibrahim Abdou

Recent spike in violence in north-western parts of Nigeria has forced an estimated 20,000 people to seek safety and security in Niger since April.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is concerned about deteriorating security inside Nigeria, and is working closely with authorities in Niger to provide basic assistance and register the new arrivals. More than 18,000 people have already gone through the initial registration process so far.

The latest upsurge in violence is not linked to Boko Haram. People are reportedly fleeing due to multiple reasons, including clashes between farmers and herders of different ethnic groups, vigilantism, as well as kidnappings for ransom in Nigeria’s Sokoto and Zamfara States.

People leaving Nigeria, and arriving in Niger’s Maradi Region, speak of witnessing extreme violence unleashed against civilians, including machete attacks, kidnappings and sexual violence. The majority of the new arrivals are women and children.

The ongoing Boko Haram insurgency has already spilled over into Niger, where it has affected its Diffa region since 2015. The region currently hosts almost 250,000 displaced people – including refugees from Nigeria and locals being displaced inside their own country.

Niger continues to be a leading regional example in providing safety to refugees fleeing conflict and persecution in many countries. It has kept its borders open for refugees despite the ongoing violence in several regions bordering Nigeria, Mali and recently Burkina Faso.

Many of the newly arrived are located very close to the Nigerian border, where there remains a high risk of armed incursions. UNHCR with sister UN agencies and partners is discussing with the government the possibility of relocating them into local towns and villages further in land.

As well as providing aid to Nigerian new arrivals, UNHCR also plans to support host families, who despite lack of adequate resources and access to basic services, have always shown solidarity towards the displaced and welcomed people into their homes.

Since the beginning of 2018, violence within the Diffa region perpetrated by elements of Boko Haram has also significantly escalated with a record number of civilian casualties and unprecedented secondary movements within the region.

Niger is currently hosting over 380,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Mali and Nigeria as well as its own internally displaced population. The country has also provided refuge to some 2,782 asylum seekers airlifted from insecurity in Libya, while awaiting durable solutions.

 Dear Leaders of the planet Earth, as most of you might agree, we are all small parts of the same thing. We are the result of a phisycal, chemical, biological, cultural, philosophical and historic event. It does not matter if you believe in our creation by a single or many gods or if you have learned on school about the evolution theory by Darwin and give credit to it, or even, if you believe that both of options are true. The fact is that we are all living beens on this planet, we are not the owners of it, as you might know, we have not lived here for most of its existence and we are not going to live here forever since even Earth has its own expire date, just like our mother star, the sun. At least that’s what our science tell us. It also tell us what we are doing now and how it might effect the life of every living being on this rock planet until its very last day.

I want you to make a simple exercise, imagine your past generations, all of your ancestors, going back as many years as you can imagine, think “What most of my ancestors had in common?” if you say “Religion”, well, I bet there was a time when religion did not existed here, then there was a time when most of them had different religions. For example, I had at least few hundreds different brazilian native ancestors that I know for sure was Indians from different ethnic groups and had each their own visions of “holy” and “profane”. Those were completely different views from others ancestors of mine, like the ones who gave me my middle and last names “Gonçalves” and “Coutinho” these names most likely are originally from the europian Iberian region where cristianism has been the main base of religion for over two thousand years, but as you might know, even there, it was not always like this. You can learn about it visiting caves in Spain, Portugal, France... you name it. They are everywhere. The point where I wanted to get is simple, there was not a single way of seeing the world and I guess most likely there will never be, but if you think you have to respect the way your parents believe on the “holy” and on the “profane” so you should be able to jump to de conclusion that their parents and every parent of them, going back as long as you can imagine, deserve the same kind of respect as well, you are only alive now because of their efforts on surviving.

Philosophy comes from the greek “filo” wich means “friend” and “Sophy” wich means “wisdom”, as so, Philosophy althougt was not a Greek invention, has a epistemological meaning that anyone who is friendly to wisdom, any kind of wisdom, is a philosopher. Katiúscia Ribeiro, a Brazilian Philosopher, once said “Anyone who is capible of thought is a philosopher”. That been said, I have to consider the people from the caves the first philosophers that left any kind of wisdom to their descendents.

Long before Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha or any other holy figure been borned and transmited their thoghts to the world, wisdom was alredy transmited all around the world. There are paintings showing the ways of life of many different groups of human beings everywhere and we accure knowledge from they. If you look to the format of their hands painted on the walls of caves and you put your own hand above it, you’ll see, YOU ARE THE SAME. It does not matter if you are taller than him/her or if you now wear clothes and he/she did not. Those people whom painted their hands 40 thousand years ago in a wall of an Indonesian cave did not had a shoe or believed in Jesus or Mohammed or even knew hot to count untill 10, but they were humans just like you and me are in essence.

Conflits based on power, fear and differences of culture have been the main reasons of most of the wars that we have knowledge of. Right now we are in the middle of a global crises of refugies. There are millions of children, elders, women and men desparete to find a safety place to start over. Most of them did not left their home places only by willing of getting richer and enjoy the befefits of being an Amercian or an european citizen, as many people might think. Most of them left because of the conflits of power that treatened their lives and the lives of their loved ones. While there are many countries around the globe that keep pushing legislations to deny help for those people and even Jailed people who are trying to help someone who is in necessity. Yes, this shame is on you, Hungary.

Fear is the main factor of this equation. There is fear of lack of jobs and home for all althoug there is plenty of space for everybody and the capital that do exist is able to provide food and shelter for everyone, if at least you, the ones on power would think that it would be possible. There is fear of “miscigenation” as there would exist such thing like some kind of “pure race” wich is being overpowered by other inferior kind. Yes, I’m talking about you USA. Well some might say I am a communist, some might want to kill me for what I’m saying. I get it, If Jesus would be alive today most likely his words would be treated like communism or so and he would probably get killed again. That is the cost I am willing to pay if my voice could be heard. I only hope that if it does happen people do not creat new religions in my name and commit various horrors saying I would approve it. Yes, I am talking about you, Catholic Church and other churches that got rich by making poor people believe they would get to a better place after death by accepting their inferior position on society. But hey, It did not suppose to be a criticism to any kind of religion, but I said what I said. Agree or desagree with me as you pleased.

I believe that our species is very special and I also believe that the real power that come from us might be able to be access only on the very day we put all our differences apart and start building a world where not only every human been lives as an equal as we are by nature, but we also stop looking to ourselves as more important than all around us and recognize once for all that we are indeed parts of the same.

Human race, get a grip and fix yourselves!

By: just one more human been, you can call me Jonas, if you want to as long as you treat me with the respect I do believe I deserve.

un village de réfugiés Armeniens en Syrie (1946)

A village of Armenian refugees in Syria (1946)

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