Migration

Everyone is emotionally affected (i.e. touched, hurt, changed, angered, etc.) by political injustices on different levels. Some people are more affected by things on the international level, some on the state level, and some on the individual level. I personally have always had the most emotional connection to the individuals. Once it is clear to me how the issues that we face are hurting people, then I start to truly comprehend the problems.

When we were in Athens about a week ago, we met with this lady, Ms. Megaloudi, who explained the refugee crisis to us through her eyes. She works for the Red Cross and had traveled to a variety of refugee camps. Her stories were a little tear-jerking. The one that is most striking to me was when she was in a refugee camp and there was a deathly ill baby. She was holding this baby and she demanded that a doctor come and give the infant the necessary medical attention. This, however, did not happen. They couldn’t leave the camp and the on-site doctor had already finished his work day, so the baby had to suffer and, I believe, it had passed away that night. 

That’s just one story from a whole, for lack of a better term, messed up list of things that happen in these camps. Why couldn’t they just leave the camp to get some help, if they returned immediately after? What happened to equal access to medical care? What kind of people refuse an infant emergency medical attention? Who gave them the right to decide this baby’s fate? Really, what happened to humanity here? This story of hers, among others, made me think of these questions. Even though I initially was angry and sad, I am very grateful that we got to meet with Ms. Megaloudi because the refugee crisis was finally put into an individual perspective.

Previously, we only had an academic perspective on the issues with migration. It usually focused on the international or regional issue rather than telling individual stories and how the migrants themselves are affected. The lecturers had given us numbers and policies and issues with the laws of states, the EU, and other institutions that effect the crisis. All these things are very important in order to understand the complexities that come when trying to find a long-term solution to the problem. But I could not truly understand the issues without the personal story.

Even after hearing Ms. Megaloudi’s stories and processing the issues with migration, I felt bad about the fact that we would go to Greece, hear these stories, and then just go back to the United States and continue living the life that we had before. Yes, we know something now that we didn’t before, but I feared that we wouldn’t do anything about it. After thinking about this a little more thoroughly, I realized, yes, doing nothing is one option. The other option, however, is to go out and start making a conscious effort to be the change you want to see in the world (sorry for the cheesy cliché). This could be by working on better treatment of migrants. Or by starting to be more focused on domestic issues concerning, for example, the separation of the migrant families with their children or the opioid crisis. Or even a broader scope on something like climate change or food and water security. There are so many issues that the world faces, and it is up to its population to fix them through resilience, adaptation, and/or preventive action. 

When formulating how exactly to positively impact and hopefully fix serious issue, there are so many elements of the equation: political activism, writing policy, helping the individuals one at a time, providing any needed or necessary aid (housing, financial, medical, and education for example), etc. It is our responsibility to choose which we would like to focus on. On the other hand, some things that absolutely cannot exist in this equation are ignorance, fear of “the other,” hostility, segregation, and harassment. Sadly, I think that the policies concerning migration issue in the Eastern Mediterranean have all the previously mentioned detrimental qualities. And that is precisely why there needs to be a real change in how migration is being handled that will be beneficial to both parties: the migrants and Europe.

So, to make a long story short, I will conclude by stating that it is important to remain vigilant and attentive to what is going on in the world around you. This is true on all scales: individual, domestic, and international. There are many great things about the world that we have been accustomed to and constantly adapt to. There are also a lot of serious issues that need immediate attention in order to preserve the world and provide equal opportunity to those who are in need of, and seeking, some help and a chance to remove themselves from turmoil and conflict. Everyone deserves a chance in this world. So why not make an effort in giving it to them?