September 4, 2005
STOP CALLING THEM REFUGEES!
I don't know about anyone else, but I for one am becoming increasingly disappointed that television, radio, and newspaper reporters are choosing to refer to New Orleans' displaced and evacuated citizens of as "refugees." By definition, a refugee is a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social or political group. International humanitarian law defines refugees more broadly; including displaced persons who have fled their homes during armed conflicts but have not left their homeland. Last time I checked, none of these definitions applied to the residents of New Orleans, who, as a result of a massive flood triggered by Hurricane Katrina, are evacuating--forced or otherwise--to other parts of the country.
If you think language is a small matter to be quibbling over, consider for a moment the plight of a group of 11-year-old boys and girls from New Orleans who have been evacuated to Houston, Texas. After spending a week-and-a-half cooped up in the Astrodome with no word yet on the status of some of their own relatives, they're finally enrolled in one of Houston's many inner-city grade schools. While all of the other 5th graders have homes--complete with their own rooms, beds, and toys--and they all know each one another (or have at least had a chance to interact with one another since school began two to three weeks ago), the kids from New Orleans--who the media are still referring to as 'refugees'--are completely overwhelmed by the prospect of starting school in a new city under these sorts of circumstances. Still dealing with the experience of being stuck in the Big Easy without food, water, shelter, and adequate space, they're now thrust into the position of having to assimilate into a completely new environment... an environment that, regardless of which part of the country you're in, is full of kids who can be cruel and unforgiving to newcomers, regardless of stern instructions they've received from their teachers beforehand telling them otherwise. I can just see it now... itís the first day of school in Houston for kids from New Orleans, and hereís what happens out on the playground during morning recess:
Houston 5th grader #1: "Hey, whoís the new kid?"
Houston 5th grader #2: "I dunno."
Houston 5th grader #3: "Oh, him... he's a refugee'"
Houston 5th grader #1: [shouting] ìHey, refugee!
While there's no denying that the images we're being shown on television resemble those often associated with refugees (such as this one from Borneo and these from the Sudan), it does a great disservice to our own citizens to refer to them as such. These people are our own people. They are U.S. citizens, taxpayers, and they deserve our respect.
STOP CALLING THEM REFUGEES!
Posted by Mikal at September 4, 2005 7:31 AM
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Thank you for posting this. I totally agree with you. These people are NOT REFUGEES! They are American citizens who have been displaced due to catastrophic events. I think the media just does this to pump up the drama and make the news sound more frightening than it already is. I hope all the people who have suffered and who are at a loss, find the help and support they need from fellow citizens in whatever state they end up relocating to.
Welllll...
My guess is that this started as the phrase "refugee from the hurricane" which has a slightly different shade of meaning in that it refers to someone who is seeking refuge from the natural disaster.
Then, it got shortened to "refugee" because, well, time is short. But, "refugee" alone does carry that political overtone. Or is it undertone?
In any case, I used the phrase "refugee from the hurricane" and I'm standing by it. So there. :-P
If you Google "refugee evacuee" there are several debates out there already.
And as far as snotty 5th graders go, believe you me, it doesn't matter whether they are using the words "refugee" or "evacuee" or "internally displaced person" or "stinkin' kid from N'awlins." If kids want to be cruel, they'll be cruel. I just wonder at their parents who taught them that "refugee" is a bad word in any event.
Although, really...don't most kids think the Fugees are all that?
eh well they are certainly fleeing a danger.
And in some cases there have been armed conflicts there.
I really don't see the distinction as been vast enough to worry about compared to situation itself.
It were me I sure would FEEL like a refugee.
I think the media is making this a big deal and now you're on the bandwagon too. Jesse Jackson is mad at the word refugee and the news channels publicized his anger about it. In the end, it's a word that isn't necessarily derogatory in the English language so the fuss is too great. If they were being called by known derogatory words, that's a different issue.
The fuss about the word takes away valuable time for fussing about the true issues - and Hurricane Katrina has proven just how valuable time really is.
you should be eating breakfast at 7:31am.
My hero Lou Dobbs (CNN) sums it up nicely:
"The president, Jackson and others apparently think that news organizations created the term refugee just to describe victims of Hurricane Katrina. Hardly. Even a cursory review of reporting of such disaster of Hurricane Andrew, the 1993 midwestern floods and wildfires through the west have all prompted the use of the term refugee by news organizations. I'm proud to tell you that this network has resisted others telling them how to use words. Rejecting, in fact, the United Nations suggestion that we use, instead of refugee, the expression internally displaced persons. I love that one.
We'll continue here to use the term on this broadcast where we think it is most descriptive. And unfortunately we realize that there are those who will try to establish their own bonifieds as politically correct and even racially sensitive in their view by conjuring up more nonsense about language when they should be focusing on reality and the concerns and care that all Americans have for our fellow citizens who need our help in New Orleans."
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/07/ldt.01.html
It seems to me that you chose a definition to suit your argument. The evacuees are seeking refuge. They are refugees.
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