30 million people. Oppressed. Injured. Left for dead. Over half of them are under 18. They have been denied nationality and access to basic human rights. They have been denied education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. They are imprisoned in the very same countries they believed would rescue them.

Refugees have always been a hot topic. Should we welcome them or should we turn down their seemingly simple request for mercy? 

The answer is simple. Refugees don’t flee their countries for fun. They don’t leave their families and livelihood behind to explore the world. They leave their homes because they are oppressed, disrespected, assaulted, forced to battle a cruel, unfair world. They leave because their children can’t step outside to play, dance and laugh without being kidnapped or killed. They leave because those same children have no future. And even when they do leave, we deny them. We say you can’t learn. You can’t work. You can’t help. You can’t have visitors. So even when we accept them, they are slaves to our government. 

The top refugee-hosting countries are Germany, Sudan, Uganda, Pakistan and Turkey. 80% of which, tourists would not go there by choice. Does that not signal that they have no other option? They rely on the humanity that we offer, that we must be willing to give to move forward and create change.

Unfortunately, we live in a  world where nearly 1 person is forced to be displaced and moved to another country because of oppression and conflict every 2 seconds, so we need to unite as one and make a difference. The future must show that we helped, that we made a difference. That we cared for the wellbeing of our people. Otherwise, the wellbeing of people will soon be like the wellbeing of the planet-disastrous. Do you really want to raise children in an environment that teaches them that is okay to turn a blind eye to people who beg for compassion?

People fleeing persecution have been granted asylum in foreign countries for thousands of years. Yet now, they stay in unhealthy conditions in refugee camps and offshore detention centres where diseases are fast-spreading, and food is limited.

Luckily, non-government organisations such as the UN Refugee Agency try their best to help. Their statistics say that 80% of refugees go to neighbouring countries for help, however, if you live in a place like Syria, South Sudan or Afghanistan, your neighbours aren’t very nice. 

The UN Refugees Agency has found that 57% of all the refugees they help come from these countries. 6.7 million in Syria, 2.7 million from Afghanistan, and 2.3 million in South Sudan. Moreover, in 2018, there were 341, 800 new asylum applications-the greatest number yet.

We can help by donating, fundraising, volunteering or even just speaking out.  We can all make a difference. You can save lives. It is crucial that we do what we can because every little thing helps.

We shouldn’t just turn away and think, ‘Someone else will do it,’ or say ‘Sure, we can turn back their broken boats back into the rough, raging sea. It’s okay if they drown. That’s humane. That’s perfectly fine. 

Well, If not you, then who? And if not now, then when?