Skip to main content

THE FORGOTTEN MILLION


With the news of recent terror attacks around the world and the messy and bizarre Presidential campaigns in this country, we have forgotten the world’s displaced population of nearly 60 million people, of whom 20 million are stranded outside of their own countries. The latest drownings of terrified migrants plunged into the Mediterranean sea, put the death toll, so far for this year, to more than 2,000 innocent people looking for a better life. Last year, more than 3,700 migrants died in the Mediterranean, and according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) a figure that could be surpassed this year.

People are currently fleeing war-infested areas in large numbers, paying huge sums of money to travel on unseaworthy boats to rich countries. This is because Europe’s land borders are closed. The fleeing of innocent refugees, that resulted in a migrant crisis in Europe is a worldwide problem. The scale of the refugees fleeing is enormous and is only going to get worse. The rich world must get better and have a good grip of managing the crisis and a unified approach based on justice and unity must be developed.

More than 160 years ago, Baha’u’llah, the Founder of the Baha’i Faith, has addressed the world of humanity, saying, "Verily, ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch."  This signifies that the entire world of humanity is one tree. The various nations and peoples are the branches of that tree. Individual members of mankind are represented by the twigs and blossoms. Bahá'u'lláh, wrote: "The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.”

The world leaders and politicians need to come up with radical solutions to the refugee crisis. Through visionary leadership by elected officials and global co-operation - setting up legal procedures that allow people to apply for asylum, resettling the most vulnerable and children, opening up safe routes to sanctuary for refugees, provide basic healthcare and education for young and needy - we can establish peace and unity. No one should have to die, drowning in the Mediterranean while crossing a border.

But, the world’s current political and social structure, with its focus on nationalism and prejudices of flag and race can no longer meet the needs of a desperate humanity.

The refuge crisis is everyone’s problem. We all need to accept that laws and treaties related to refugees (developed by political leaders and cherished) will wither if unity is not firmly established between countries.  

The Baha’i teachings say only a global solution, a unified international order that fully recognizes the human rights of every person and brings about universal peace, will ultimately mitigate and solve the national and regional chaos afflicting the world. 

“O contending peoples and kindreds of the earth! Set your faces towards unity, and let the radiance of its light shine upon you. Gather ye together, and for the sake of God resolve to root out whatever is the source of contention amongst you. Then will the effulgence of the world’s great Luminary envelop the whole earth, and its inhabitants become the citizens of one city, and the occupants of one and the same throne. – Baha’u’llah, (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 217.)

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VISIT TO ABDUL BAHA VILLAGE IN MYANMAR (BURMA)

In 1989, the military government in Burma, officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to Burma's colonial period, including that of the country itself: "Burma" became “Myanmar.” The name Burma has been in use in English since the 18th century. Burmese are very friendly. Highlight of our visit to Burma included a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda and Abdul Baha village. Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar. It is sacred to Buddhists from all over Asia and it is believed to contain relics of the four previous Buddhas of the present kalpa. Myanmar's military yielded to a civilian government in 2010 and has dramatically reshaped its economy, opening up various sectors, including energy and infrastructure development, to direct foreign investment. Many foreign investors, especially from ASEAN countries rushed to set up factories and raze old neighborhoods to build luxury housing estates. New hotels and large condominiums...
5 comments
Read more

Visit to Safe Haven orphanage in Mae Sot, Thailand

January 1, 2010: During the Christmas 2009 break, Debbie and I visited an orphanage along the Thai-Burmese border in the northern part of Thailand. Our Foundation has recently built water towers to collect and store water for the children throughout the year for this orphanage. Our trip to this area was to visit several orphans who are currently sponsored by the Foundation. These children are from Karen tribes who are refugees from Burma. It all began about 15 years ago, when Mrs. Tasanee Keereepraneed received a frantic message from a local villager in Tha Song Yang, which is about 3 hours north of Mae Sot province on the Thai-Burmese border, that a little girl had lost her mother during birth. In Karen culture this is interpreted as a bad omen, and the child is often killed. Having lost her own father at a young age and her children also having lost their father when Tasanee ’s husband was murdered, Tasanee decided that she, if anyone should be the person responsible for caring ...
2 comments
Read more

Rising Inequality during pandemic - A threat to World Peace and Economic Development

Just imagine during the early months of the pandemic, when local businesses across the country closed and millions of hungry Americans turned to food banks for the first time, over a period of seven-month America’s 614 billionaires grew their net worth by a collective $931 billion. And today, according to a Washington Post report the wealthiest 1 percent of American households own 40 percent of the country’s wealth and the bottom 90 percent of families holding less than one-quarter of all wealth. This share is higher than it has been at any point since at least 1962. Before I go any further, I want to share a short passage from a book that I recently received. The book entitled “ For the Well-Being of All: Eliminating the Extremes of Wealth and Poverty ” was published by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of USA. One page 9, it says, “ The inordinate disparity between rich and poor, a source of acute suffering, keeps the world in a state of instability, virtually on the brink of war. Few ...
1 comment
Read more