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A New Zealand muslim refugee advocate is calling on leaders around the world to be more inclusive and to reach out to refugee families and get to know them.
Guled Mire is speaking at the first ever Global Refugee Forum in Geneva and he said many host countries do not recognise the benefits refugees can offer to their communities.
(from left) Nada Tawfeek, Guled Mire and Bariz Shah at the mental health hui for young Muslim people on Saturday. Photo: RNZ / Laura Dooney
The forum is being attended by leaders from around the world who will be working to find solutions to the Global refugee crisis. It comes at the end of a tumultuous decade where refugee numbers around the world have soared to more than 25 million people.
Mire says the problem goes even further, "We've seen the numbers increase, we actually have 70 million people around the world who are displaced - but only 25 million of those are recognised refugees."
With the Global refugee crisis continuing to grow, Mire said many refugees have experienced a rise in targeted online-hate speech and abuse - even more so for muslims and refugees living in New Zealand after the March 15th terror attacks in Christchurch.
He said he'll be pushing a message of inclusivity to leaders worldwide to counteract the stereotype that refugees are a threat to society.
"Refugees give so much back to host societies. We are the doctors, we're the lawyers, the advisors all across society and I think the benefits we offer to host nations are often quite overlooked," explained Mire.
"When you look at refugee resettlement, often the conversation is around "Ok we've given protection to these particular individuals. They've benefited so much." But actually, the benefits that refugees have to give to host societies is something that often isn't discussed and I think the narrative needs to be shifted."
Eritrean refugees resettled in Christchurch. L-R. Kesete's wife, Nimrud, Kesete, Okub, Gidawn, Kesete's bro and Aki (holding Kesete's child). Photo: RNZ / Sara Vui-Talitu
84 percent of the global refugee population is located in developing states and Mire said that creates pressure on hosting countries.
"It's countries like Pakistan and like Kenya who are hosting refugees, it actually has a quite a significant burden on their infrastructure and we have a responsibility to elevate some of that pressure," said Mire.
"Resettling refugees is one way in which we can help resolve the global refugee crisis but it's also about the support that we provide to developing nations who are hosting refugees. New Zealanders can also help by donating towards charities that are involved in helping refugees and lobbying for governments to get more involved at policy level."
Mire said at a community level, hosting societies can also make a huge impact by just reaching out. Mire was just 6 years old when he first arrived in New Zealand with his 8 siblings after his family fled the Somali civil war in the early nineties.
Guled Mire. Photo: Guy Ryan
"I never really knew I was a refugee until I actually came to New Zealand. It was there where I was actually made to feel a little bit different and made me become more cognisant of my own refugee background," said Mire.
"It was all really a big adventure up until then, not realising where we were going from country to country up until we came here. For the most part, we were received really nicely. It was a very welcoming country and I think that's the message in which I want to be able to tell others is that actually, we need to do a lot more in terms of ensuring that we become a much more welcoming society towards refugees in opening our doors."
Mire says host countries need to remember that integration is a two-way process.
"It involves both resettled refugees and also the host society. Now, we in the refugee community are doing our bit - we're learning the English language just to be able to communicate, we're learning about the treaty of waitangi and what that means for us and others, we're doing a lot. But I really would like to see the host society reach out as well," said Mire.
"I think when others hear about muslim or refugee stereotypes that are being passed around in circles and environments of which we're not in, educate your peers. Educate them and tell them about the benefits that refugees have to offer and I think that's one way in which host societies are able to address some misconceptions. Often when people speak about integration, really they're mistaking it for assimilation but the two shouldn't be mistaken because they're both completely different things."
Guled Mire speaking at UNHCR NGO consultations Photo: UNHCR/Susan Hopper
"The thing is that nobody really chooses to be a refugee," he added.
"You don't just wake up and say "Oh ok, today I'm going to be a refugee." Before my family came to New Zealand, we lived like kings and queens back home so for my mum to be in a situation where basically she had to give everything up and really put everything in her life on hold just so she could see her children live the dreams that she had for them, is something else. Nobody really wishes to be in this situation. I think everyone should get to know us and just talk to us."
"We've opened up our places of worship, we've opened our houses, our homes just so that New Zealanders can get to understand us and can get to learn more about us and I'd invite every day New Zealanders also to do the same," he said.
"Extend a hand, try to get know a refugee family, try to understand their story, what it is that they're seeking, how life was for them before and what it is now? Understanding more about their hopes, their aspirations, their visions - and you'll see that actually refugees have so much more in common than everybody else."