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A closer look
at refugees in war
By Ako Sakurai
On-line Forty-Niner
With slides and
pictures, the issue of the refugees was discussed at the event
called "In the Middle of War- Thinking about Refugees"
Thursday, at UTC-127.
As part of the Sept. 11 Discussion Series, the event was sponsored
by the College of Liberal Arts 9/11 Committee, History Student
Association, Human Development Students Association and CLA
Dean's Office.
Silence was shared as Joanne Tortorici Luna, a professor at
College of Education at CSULB, started her discussion with
an example to virtually bring the audience to the scenery
of refugee camps all over the world.
When Luna was at the Salvadorian refugee camp in Honduras,
she asked one of the refugee women "what is it that you
need right now?" What she wanted to do was to plant
some flowers, but she was not allowed.
According to Luna, even though some refugees live in their
camps for decades, they are not permitted to grow food or
flowers because the agents don't want the refugees to feel
attached to the camp and not want to return to their own country
in the future.
"Some people that work with refugees, including me, now
recommend that these restrictions be lifted, to help fulfill
some of the refugees' psycho-social needs as well as their
basic safety, food, water and clothing needs, even while they
are in the host country," Luna said.
Luna had been working as a consultant for UNICEF and WHO and
other humanitarian organizations since 1990, specializing
her work in war and refugee zones of all the Central American
countries and South Africa.
Elham Bayour, the MA candidate for interdisciplinary studies
at CSULB, also spoke at the event. She is a child of
Palestinian refugee family herself, raised in a refugee camp
in Lebanon.
Using a slide presentation, Bayour introduced the life of
Palestinians before and after they have lost their land to
Zionist troops.
Bayour's pictures were of refugee camps in Gaza, Palestinian
oranges, factories, houses, textile companies and tobacco
companies. The bones of their ancestors are left on the ground,
without being buried or were exposed because of their loss
of the land.
"(It was an) eye opener experience," said Chantha
Eau, a liberal studies major who was attending the discussion
for her history class. "It's very important for
us to raise those issues to make ourselves aware, especially
in higher education. We need to be knowledgeable on those
issues."
According to United Nations Higher Commissions on Refugees
(UNHCR), Afghanistan was the largest country of origin of
asylum-seekers in 2001. In 2001, Afghan citizens lodged
some 42,100 claims in the 26 industrialized countries with
complete data, 60 percent more than in 2000.
"The Internet is one of the most valuable tools for learning
more because books on the topic are almost outdated by the
time they are published," said Sherna Gluck, a director
of Oral History Program and moderator of the event.
For further information, Gluck recommended to check out United
Nations High Commission for Refugees Web site for refugees
in general and United Nations Relief Works Agency site, which
is focused on Palestinian refugees.
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