Day 171 -- World Refugee Day

Today is World Refugee Day, a day set aside by the UNHRC (UN Refugee Agency) to draw attention to the growing number of people forced from their homes due to political, social, and economic situations or natural disasters.Current figures sit around 50 million people who are refugees (crossed an international border) or Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs -- displaced from their homes but living within their own country). This figure is about 6 million higher than last year and hasn't been this high since the end of World War II.

Why is this important to me today? Well -- all these people have to go somewhere, when mostly they really just want to go home. This often just isn't in the cards given the fractious and fragile nature of many governance issues globally. For many people reading this, families emigrated from a homeland, moving somewhere with a promise of a brighter future. For some, this was many generations ago. Locally many people are descendants of Scottish settlers who left (were expelled or sold into indentured servitude) during the clearances after the second rising in the mid-1700s. Also in the 1700s, Acadians were deported for not signing allegiance to the British king. (See Evangaline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -- also made into an amazing musical premiered last summer at Charlottetown Festival). Some of my family members travelled to North America to avoid economic downturns and famine.

While being forced to move one's life across the globe is not ideal, I often thank my ancestors for choosing to live in this country. It did allow them to build a life for themselves and for generations that followed. This was not easy in any sense of the word, but with perseverance they overcame poverty, prejudice, and homesickness. Refugees are not new to the world, but there are far more people being forced to move away from everything they know and love. For these people, today's selection offers some hope for a better life. Enjoy!

Emigrant Eyes -- GIRSA