As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark World Refugee Day, a period set aside to honour and celebrate the strength and courage of refugees across the globe and to offer those who are externally displaced succor, stakeholders have emphasized the need for the protection of their rights.
A refugee is an individual who is displaced from their home country due to conflict, famine, natural disaster, repressive government, or economic instability. Given this, the United Nations has designated June 20th to give refugees a sense of belonging. This year’s observance is themed, ‘Solidarity with Refugees.’
World Refugee Day was first held on 20th June 2001 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees. A human rights advocate, Mr. Higher King, who pointed out what refugees stand to lose, including sources of livelihood, home, and loved ones, emphasized that the refugees have the right to the basic needs of life.
“Refugees have rights under Refugee Convention and Human Rights Treaties.
This right deals with the possibility of staying in the host country and not being returned to the country of origin. Education, healthcare, housing, employment these are the rights of the refugees,” he stated.
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A social commentator, Mr Andrew Ajayi called on the government to come-up with policies that would create enabling environment for refugees to thrive. “The first solution in ameliorating the problems facing refugees in Nigeria is that the government should really planned against any form of internal crisis and insecurity nipped in the bud,” he said.
On her part, one woman Liyatu Ayuba who left her community due to conflict voiced out her plight in the camp. “This raining season if you enter the tent you will see how it is flooded. It leads to the place becoming insect infested and this leads to infection”, she lamented.
Another person residing in one of the camps, Mr. Alex Aaron frowned at the absence of amenities. “If you look around people here do not have school, and hospital they
have been relying on quacks doctors to survive,” he decried.
An activist, Chief Constance Meju advised externally displaced people to be bold and exhibit resilience while passing through the challenge. “Whenever you find yourself make the best of it. See where you are as a temporary place and use and use the resilience in you to build a life. Develop a skill if there is the opportunity. Remember you are somebody and you can be more than you are,” she admonished.
