June 20 is World Refugee Day, a day to highlight the situation of millions of people and demand human rights.
“My name is Nadia Ghulam, I was born in Afghanistan and I have been living in Catalonia for 14 years. Like many others, I had to leave my country to escape the ravages of war. I am a refugee.
I am one of about 30 million refugeesThe most important more than half of them girls and boys under 18 years of age. Nor do I want to forget the millions of stateless people, who have been denied nationality and access to basic rights such as education, health care, employment and freedom of movement. Every day we receive more and more labels to identify ourselves: refugee, asylum seeker, internally displaced, externally displaced, stateless, repatriated…. Different names but one: human being.
If only it were not necessary to commemorate People’s Day…. What kind of world is this where people’s rights are violated again and again? The closing of borders and the erection of walls, both physical and mental, where are they taking us? Is this the world we want? Definitely NO. This is not the world of our dreams.
We must put a stop to the spread of xenophobic and racist speeches because they are the prelude to irreversible hatred. We build bridges to make the world a more welcoming place where everyone can live with dignity. Let us put ourselves for a moment in the shoes of so many migrants and refugees. who carry a lot of pain in their backpacks: the pain of not being able to return to their homes and families; the pain of all that has been taken from them, the anguish of violence, abuse and death all around them.
No more walls and isolation! Let’s start by undoing the walls we build between ourselves and others and use education as a tool for transformation. Let’s recognize the universal bond that unites us as a human species and let’s spread global justice, love and peace.”
Educational resources for World Refugee Day
Other resources:
- Cycle of talks City Council of El Prat de Llobregat and the Catalan Commission for Refugee Aid.
- Refugio en corto resource. This project is the result of the collaboration between the Mitjans Association. Red de Educadores y Comunicadores, SODEPAU (Solidarity, Development and Peace) and Edualter (Alternative Education). The project is supported by the Directorate of Global Justice and International Cooperation of the Barcelona City Council.
- “La maleta refugio” on the right of asylum and refugees of the Catalan Commission for Refugee Aid.