Xenophobia towards refugees

Through wars and economic crises, the lines of the modern world are being redrawn. Forced to leave homes either to save lives or due to economic necessity, migrants have created political uncertainty and raised tough questions in places that pride themselves on their diversity. The US now has a presidential candidate whose campaign has been built around raising fears about the influx of migrants and refugees. While these problems have only recently gained attention in the West, Pakistan has been tackling mass migration and myriad of associated issues for decades. The worrying aspect is that Pakistanis are now displaying the same xenophobic tendencies towards Afghan refugees that many in the West have started displaying towards refugees from the Middle East.

Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees over the last three decades, mainly in makeshift refugee camps, often in very poor conditions. In recent times, they have been blamed for draining our funds, for taking over jobs, for increase in crime and lately, for terrorism. The UN has now warned that Afghan refugees are at risk of becoming a “forgotten crisis”, ignored by the world and reviled by their place of refuge. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has also called on Pakistanis to stop terming Afghan refugees “terrorists”. There is clear and systemic discrimination against them, many of whom live in squalor and extreme poverty. Public sentiment regarding them is largely xenophobic and statements by political figures do not help either. The Balochistan home minister’s recent statement calling for them to either leave or be thrown out humiliated is a case in point. The situation is not helped by worsening relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Refugees are often blamed for everything wrong with the host country. Given our huge financial burdens, it is hard to deny that Afghan refugees need to be repatriated, however, this is something that must be done in a humane manner and on a voluntary basis. The xenophobia displayed towards them by the public and officials has no place in a civilised society.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2016.

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