Minister invited to see refugee crisis first-hand
Dear Minister I hope this message finds you well. My name is Hester Moore. I graduated from the University of Canterbury’s School of Law in 2014 and have since been working in Cairo – initially, at an NGO specialising in refugee resettlement, and currently at UNHCR Egypt. As of August, I will be assuming a new role as UN expert on LGBTI refugees in Nairobi, Kenya.
I’d like to speak with you about a subject that, as a 25-year-old graduate, I have decided to commit my career towards.
I’ve been following the debate surrounding the refugee quota rather closely, and as you might infer from my position, I unreservedly support lifting the quota upon the Government’s review next year. I’m not going to regurgitate statistics and numbers here, however, as I’m sure we’re both familiar with them. Rather, I would like to make a more personal plea.
I amdeeply concerned about the plight of African refugees and the potential for selectivism to pervade our resettlement scheme. I applaud the Government’s humanitarian gesture in accepting 100 Syrian refugees. The reality is, however, that African refugees – which make up 50 per cent of the global refugee population – do not attract the same level of attention that has been placed on the Syrian crisis.
I work almost exclusively with Sudanese, South Sudanese, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somali refugees. These are countries with protracted, complex, and horrifically violent problems that have raged for decades. There is no chance that, in 10 years or so, a Sudanese single mother could return with her children to the Nuba Mountains.
I have met dozens of young Eritrean women who, while their families in Eritrea are being subjected to the doctrine of guilt by association, cannot go home to their parents. These forgotten conflicts will fracture Africa forever; despotic rulers will continue to savagely rule, and refugees will continue to flood across borders.
The Syrian crisis, whilst acute, differs. It is still too early to tell whether there may be an option of repatriation in the future – indeed, there may well be.
The most recent national number of resettled African refugees is dismal. With the added criterion of a family link to satisfy, our current policy is stripping the most vulnerable African refugees of any chance of resettlement.
Guilt is a nasty partner to my job. I’m always convinced that there is more that I could be doing. I tend to judge my actions on how others perceive them; and so, if I was to quit this career today, I believe that I wouldn’t have achieved a great deal. There’s always more to be done.
You are New Zealand’s Minister of Immigration in exceptional times. When successive New Zealand societies contemplate how this Government helped alleviate the undeserved suffering of a fortunate few, will you stand out as a champion to that cause? And, will you be satisfied in your own choices, when you are no longer in this portfolio and no longer have the influence to speak for those who have no voice? This is not an economic argument, Minister – we cannot frame these lives upon transactional terms. This is an innately humanitarian argument.
We are a small country – but so is Lebanon. The blessing of our geographic isolation should not be a vehicle for complacency.
I’d like to invite you to Egypt, where I can show you the reality of how African refugees live. The struggles they face in this country of transit include economic and social discrimination, threats of refoulement from their embassies and the Egyptian government, sexual harassment and abuse, marginalisation, human trafficking, physical and mental illness, and abject poverty.
I can show you the admirable work some organisations are doing in order to advocate for these people. You can see for yourself the limits of these services – and how New Zealand, by committing to only a small quota increase, can alter the futures of some of these desperate (yet tenacious, courageous and hugely inspiring) people. This is a prudent and illustrative exercise for you to undertake prior to making a well-informed decision regarding the quota.
I have a spare mattress in my lounge and my fridge runs on a 50:50 (milk/beer) ratio. I’ve had a quick look at Skyscanner and the airfares are fairly competitive. Menial cost to the New Zealand taxpayer. Let me know.
Many thanks for considering my words. I very much look forward to hearing from either you or the Prime Minister, be it via response or, potentially, during question time at Parliament in about 10 years. Sincerely, and best regards – Hester