The Refugee experience as a form of insecurity

The refugee experience as a form of insecurity

The experiences of living in war-torn country, becoming a refugee in a neighbouring country, and finally finding salvation, peace and security in a Western country of resettlement have shaped my definition and understanding of the word security:

In the 1980s, my life was in great danger just because of my ethnicity! I had committed the crime of coming from the same region as the man who was fighting the government!

I was not a politician. I had never had political ambitions. I did not personally know the rebel fighter, but my life was marked! I could have been picked up by government forces, raped, disappeared or killed and my body dumped in a forest! My life became insecure.

I was accorded refugee status in a neighbouring country, but my sense of insecurity heightened. The citizens of this country became increasingly xenophobic. The police could arrest you on the streets and put you in prison just because you are a foreigner.

To buy their freedom, some women paid with their bodies but this did not assure them of security! As soon as a woman was released, a different policeman would arrest her and subject her to the same inhumane, inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment.

Finally, the government of my country of refugee decided to expel all refugees from my country. We had 90 days to leave the country or face imprisonment and deportation to our country of persecution.

Our plight caught the attention of some Western governments and they agreed to resettle us in their countries. “Manna” had fallen from heaven!!!

Landing in Canada and obtaining Canadian citizenship ended my sense insecurity and gave the peace and security!   

The experiences of harassment without cause both in my own country and in the country of refuge taught me that insecurity means to live a life of fear and uncertainty; a life without freedom and liberty; a life without enjoyment of life; it means loss dignity and pride as a woman and as a human being. It means being ashamed of who you are because you have been branded an enemy of the State simply because of an accident of your birth.

The experience of living in peace and security, on the other hand, has taught me that security means having the freedom and liberty to live in dignity, free from harassment of any kind, treatment with dignity and respect because you are a human being first and foremost. To be heard when you need to and to seek and receive justice and fairness without fear of reprisal or persecution.

Without women in positions of authority and decision-making at higher echelons of government, without prioritizing the peace and security of the woman, the world will not be a safe and secure place.

That is why I have committed to working with women’s organisations like World Pulse to encourage and empower women, particularly women in the south, to participate in political processes of their countries and to seek positions authority at the local, regional and national levels.