Political gains and dominance are some of the most notable captivating culpable twin objectives cum baits behind waging war. But on the other hand, the hardships and struggle of being a refugee is one of the most dreadful tumultuous aftermaths a war can shave out in the hands of an ordinary man. Fear, uncertainty, and arguably the most dominant element, finding oneself amongst many more displaced lost like a grain of sand, are excruciating and provocative to one’s stimuli.
For refugees, life straddles between a lovely lost homeland and an unwelcoming new land, leaving them suspended in a fragile existence. This is what the enigmatic life of a refugee straddles incessantly. It constantly seeks and combats plausible answers via scraping out a layer of heavy dust over the infinite, eternal truth of WHO, WHEN, AND HOW. A refugee’s FUTURE, PRESENT, AND PAST seem somewhat blurry and uncertain, longing for a golden ray of hope. Thereby losing a sense of identity are some inexorable shiny traits that a refugee’s life mirrors.
The Burden of Alienation
Refugees perpetually experience a dilemma itching back in their heads of an unwanted weed relentlessly. They strive to trace out a sense of desirable congruence commonality, attempting both to absorb a fruitful and futile mental cum psychological satisfaction in a place that never was, never is, and never would be, at least in near future generation presently to be fondly labeled as your MOTHERLAND drenched in utmost pride without any grudges. Earlier NOWHERE but now NOW HERE, suddenly appearing from SOMEWHERE out of the blue behind the bush. At first sight, bridging this deep, endless gap to equilibrium via killing the buoyancy of a persistent enigma behind the curtain between the WORLD and THEIR WORLD filled with dubious contradictory beliefs stuffed with qualms, problems, and hesitation ought to become the sole self-motto and essence of both their straddled life and inner conscience.
Psychological Meaningless Toll of War on Refugee Life
That outsider alienated feeling lingering in their soul both haunts and hunts them on a regular note induced with a bittersweet chorus from inside on a heartfelt rhythmic tune. War leaves deep wounds, bleeding, stitches, and scars on the heart, marching them towards a slow, numb emotional breakdown. Parallel to this, it pulls them inside an escape room, rooting them to an eventual smothering and choking state in all possible “ideal” manners, i.e., culturally, environmentally, psychologically, socially, physically, lingual, mentally, aesthetically, spiritually, morally, and an array of other ways, alas! Regrettably.
But as the legendary 20th-century French Nobel prize-winning philosopher Albert Camus’s theory circling his core philosophical principle theme and beliefs in his writings gets beautifully sculpted in his magnum opus 1942 novel The Stranger, the inherent nature of MEANINGLESSNESS is brightly evident even here! These factors appearing in a diabolical dystopia distantly have a significant disparity and impact, ultimately leading to an utter sense of both nonsensical AMBIGUITY AND ABSURDITY, later bearing quite nearly zero output and value except driving a dark fruit of sadism or even masochism in both overall view and perception after summing it all thoroughly.
The Historical Cycle of Refugee Crises
Dissolution of empires, independence, freedom struggle, war, partition, and many others are the grounds where refugees are born, being a victim and paying the ridiculously hefty price of someone else’s crime. It is traumatically complex and challenging to commute like an innocent culprit under the wires across the borders, moving from one place to another, lying unnoticed in a concentration camp, nearly like a lifeless being, and that too forcefully! Being ‘transported’ over millennia, again and again, innumerable times.
In the 19th century, the world witnessed the first mass displacement, later during the Balkan Wars and both World Wars I and II, with more than 100 million ordinary civilians officially tagged as refugees (UNHCR History). These relentless incidents have marked mass population and demographic disruptions around the globe, leaving a lasting impression for centuries to come.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most influential and greatest philosophers of all time (even by meticulous critics), the German genius Karl Marx rightly quoted, “History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce”. True to his words, another such eye-opening illustration is seen in the advent of the 21st century, dated on February 20, 2014, when the world oversaw yet another refugee emergency amidst the war between Russia and Ukraine. The crisis has “manufactured” more than 5 million war refugees globally, and the count continues to rise.
Global Refugee Statistics
According to UNHCR reports, around 100 million people have been displaced in the past decade. Approximately 72% of refugees come from just five countries: Venezuela, Turkey, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Approximately 36% of refugee-hosting countries are only five countries: Pakistan, Turkey, Uganda, Colombia, and Germany. Children alone constitute 36.5 million of the refugee population, with 1.5 million children born yearly carrying the refugee ‘birthmark.’
Examining the Indian refugee scenario, the country houses more than 400,000 refugees belonging to the Muslim and Sikh communities, with the Afghan Rohingya genocide group as an eminent example (World Data on India). Conversely, countries like the UK, the USA, and Canada also have Indian refugees. Meanwhile, nations like Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia accept the least number of refugees, as per the Migrant Acceptance Index (US News Report).
Economic Burden and Surveillance
Around 85% of the funds spent on refugees under UNHCR come from the European Union (EU), with another 25% from miscellaneous sources. In 2015 alone, host countries shouldered an enormous financial aid burden of $131.6 billion (OECD Report). This expense could soon fracture many world economies.
The canvas of living such a discriminatory, xenophobic, painful life gets painted in shades of grey, gripping one’s actions and deeds under a watchful radar—sometimes both intentionally and unintentionally. The biggest irony is the battle with both external and internal suffocation. One seeks solace and peace, striving to explore the inner self in a new, colorful manner.
The Bitter Irony of Homeland
Observing the volatile nature of world politics makes one quickly realize the high value of safety, freedom, political stability, and peace that a native country provides! It is a striking and thought-provoking contrast. However, drawing lessons from a refugee’s dilemma, one sees the bitter irony: those fortunate enough to have a homeland often take it for granted, complaining about trivial matters instead of appreciating their privilege. The refugee’s dilemma is not just a burden- it is a global responsibility. In this crisis, millions will be stranded between worlds, searching for a place they belong. Their struggle is not just one of survival but of reclaiming dignity in a world that too often sees them as burdens rather than victims of circumstances beyond their control.