20.06.2024
World Refugee Day emphasizes the resilience and bravery of refugees, as well as their determination to rebuild their lives. It also serves as a call to action to address the underlying causes of refugee displacement and to find lasting solutions that enable their safe repatriation. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) undertook the Hijrah from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, leaving Mecca to avoid persecution by an authoritarian regime. Similarly, Joseph and Mary took their infant, Jesus Christ, to Egypt to evade Herod’s intent to find and eliminate Him. The Holy Family stayed there until Herod’s demise. Matthew 2:13-15.
The oppressive regime of Yahya Jammeh in The Gambia resulted in the exile of many, including journalists, politicians, and advocates for democracy. His twenty-year reign was characterized by random arrests, forced disappearances, and unlawful killings. He vowed to govern “for a billion years,” crushing any dissent and targeting journalists who criticized him. Consequently, around a hundred Gambian journalists and political leaders sought refuge in neighboring Senegal under his tyrannical governance. In a turn toward justice, former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko has been found guilty of crimes against humanity, which involved the torture of two journalists, and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. This conviction marks a pivotal move towards rectifying the injustices of the Jammeh era.
Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Thabo Mbeki, and many other South African freedom fighters fled into exile at various points during the anti-Apartheid struggle. For instance, Nelson Mandela was in Ghana and underwent military training in Algeria during the Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) military phase of the struggle. Amid Yahya Jammeh’s tyrannical rule, a crackdown on political opposition, pro-democracy activists, human rights defenders, religious leaders, clerics, and over 150 journalists and media practitioners forced them into exile across the globe—from Africa, Asia, and Europe to North America—as refugees
.During Yahya Jammeh’s rule, nearly all media executives, top journalists, public intellectuals, and student activists fled into exile as refugees.
In July 1994, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara was granted full asylum in Senegal and the United Kingdom following his overthrow in a bloodless military coup and his replacement by Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh as Head of State. Despite being granted amnesty and pardoned by President Yahya Jammeh in 2002, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara remained in exile. After a humiliating defeat in the transparent and fair 2016 elections, Yahya Jammeh refused to relinquish power. Facing the threat of military intervention from the ECOWAS regional force ECOMIG, Jammeh, along with a number of politicians, family members, security personnel, and cronies, fled into exile in Equatorial Guinea. Throughout Yahya Jammeh’s oppressive rule from 1994 to 2016, numerous pro-democracy activists, politicians, and civil society leaders were forced into exile to escape elimination and persecution, as Jammeh established and broke numerous records of despotism.
Albert Einstein, the distinguished physicist and Nobel Laureate, was also a refugee. As a German Jew, he endured persecution by the Nazi regime in 1933, which compelled him to flee his homeland. Einstein found sanctuary in the United States, making his home in Princeton, New Jersey. He actively vouched for other German Jews, aiding them in securing visas. His humanitarian actions led to the establishment of what would become the International Rescue Committee. The world has been shaped by refugees like Einstein, psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, painter Marc Chagall, author Joseph Conrad, filmmaker Billy Wilder, and singer Freddie Mercury. Einstein’s legacy continues to underscore the vital importance of empathy and assistance for those in distress.
Let us honor refugees whose flight into exile to escape political persecution is not an act of cowardice; nor is choosing to face invasion, arrest, detention, or death rather than flee a mark of bravery. On World Refugee Day, we recognize the resilience and valor of those compelled to leave their homes. It is a day to intensify our efforts to protect and assist refugees on their journey, ensuring they can reconstruct their lives with dignity. We stand united with refugees and call for policies that safeguard and aid them, whether through integrating them into our communities or seeking resolutions to their adversities.
