(Global Campus Human Rights, 2022)
Annamalai, Visalaakshi
The terms “emergency” and “refugee” often conjure up images of short-term crises quickly resolved by one-off aid efforts and people who will be able to return home at some stage in the near future. However, many emergencies around the world continue for decades and those fleeing them struggle to exist in conditions totally unsuited for the long haul. In Asia Pacific alone, Afghanistan, Tibet and Sri Lanka are all suffering ongoing long-term emergencies with tens of thousands of citizens bringing up new generations in exile: many are denied basic human rights such as citizenship, education and the ability to make a living in their host countries, not to mention the steady erosion of their cultures and traditions. With economic crashes and climate change amongst the many reasons people may flee their countries of origin in order to survive, this article recommends that the global community broadens its definition of refugees and imaginatively redesigns its approach to human rights preparedness in face of ever-increasing movement of peoples migrating from varied and complex long-term emergencies.
