Yoonsu Lee: How to View the World Refugee Crisis

The topic I want to talk about with you today is about international refugees. What is an international refugee? They are people who have fled from worst revolutions, natural disaster and poverty without being protected by their own country. So they are people who desperately need help from the international community. No one wanted to become a refugee on their own in Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and other war torn countries. What is the last thing people can do to survive? The only way is to leave their home and risk their lives to flee to a neighboring country. Have a look at these pictures. Too many refugees are on a death journey to survive. We easily see articles about people suffering from war, division, poverty and disease all over the world through the media. Even at this moment, somewhere in the world, there are people who have to run away to live. Fortunately, after World War Two, politicians in Western countries began to embrace refugees with global leadership based on humanity. For refugees, these Western countries were recognised as a new hope and only a lifeline. As 1 million Syrian refugees flocked to Europe after a long civil war, Eastern European countries such as Italy, Poland and Hungary suffered serious social problems. In particular, the news of the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine both breaks the hearts of many people around the world. This is because so many innocent civilians have died in this war and there have already been 2.7 million refugees. Europeans are recovering their sympathy for refugees in the wake of the war in Ukraine. However, since opinions on refugees from Africa or the Middle East are not positive, so there are still problems to be solved. Whether to accept them is not is not an easy matter because it requires the consensus of the members of the community. It is true that there are arguments for and against, so it is unreasonable to insist on unconditional acceptance of refugees or completely opening. It would be a good idea to start accepting them based on the consensus of all citizens and expand them. Now we have to think about whether accepting refugees is right or not. The international community should pay more attention to whether they are being properly managed in their newly set country. They go through strict procedures before settling into a new place. Therefore, recognising refugees as a dangerous terrorist group that threatens its own people is not the right thing to do. This issue is difficult to deal with because there are still opposing opinions. We must remember the basic ethics of mankind and the values we ultimately aim for. This is not simply a matter of saving refugees lives because the future of the earth depends on the responsibility of the international community. Therefore, the issues of international refugees must be resolved together for the sake of the future earth on which we must live. Thank you for listening to my speech.