Essay Competition Prizewinner

For World Refugee Day 2005 - Ceremony on June 23, 2005

First Prize winning essay in the competition by
Denitsa Krassimirova Ivanova, student.
Faculty of Pedagogy, Sofia University, 3rd year. Tutor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siika Chavdarova
Translation from Bulgarian ‘The Refugee Child: The same as other children, but also different from them’

Jury:
1. Dr. Zhelyu Zhelev, President of Bulgaria (1990 - 1997) - Chairman
2. Assoc. Prof. Anna Krusteva, NBU
3. Assoc. Prof. Vesselin Tsankov - Plovdiv University

THERE are about 50 million people around the world who were forced to flee their homes - refugees - people who fled to security in another country, and people who were forcibly displaced within their own country. Approximately half of these people are children. Twenty-two million, three hundred thousand people fall under the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for refugees. It is estimated that 10 million of these people are under the age of 18. The majority were forced to leave their homes because of wars. According to statistics, over two million children have been killed in conflicts during the past 10 years.
It sounds awful, doesn't it? The cost of the insanity of the adults is more than two million innocent children's lives, and over 10 million being far away from their homes.
Although children's rights are recognised universally on paper, children still face numerous forms of discrimination, such as child labour, rape, enforced military service; or are unwilling witnesses of the death of their parents, brothers and sisters. Can we then say that they are the same as other children; would their fragile child psychology withstand such perversion, persecution and insecurity? However, they have the same right to be as the others, to have an unconcerned childhood, to love and be loved, even outside their own homeland. And, in this respect, we can help them be equal to other children.
It may be the case for some of us that refugees are yet another group of people whom the state must care for- one extra burden on society.  For these people, refugees will always be the "others", the ones who are "different". These people heartlessly stigmatise refugees and believe that the very fact that they were granted asylum is a sufficient gesture to them.
But asylum does not mean only being allowed to safety on the territory of a country and guarantees of security. Asylum includes integration into society of the ones who were granted protection, which, in turn, secures being treated in conformity with the norms for human dignity and personal inviolability. Integration is a process, in which the small and the larger community move closer together simultaneously and develop simultaneously.
To a much higher degree, refugee children live throughout the events which led to their escape from their country, through the loss of beloved ones and of friends. A long and often torturous journey to the host country, the lack of proper environment and friends, the initial shock of confrontation with a new way of life, leave a deep imprint on the child's psychology and provoke alienation and withdrawal within oneself, nostalgia and withdrawal into one's own culture and values.
The difficulties experienced by a child refugee are typical of a child who experiences isolation. This child is different from the other children because of its ethnicity, culture, religion, even the colour of its skin. It hardly speaks the language of the host country. It is not familiar with the customs, the culture of the host country; it has no friends. But the other children are unfamiliar with the history, religion, culture of the country of this child. The lack of knowledge about other civilisations, cultures, ethnicities, religions is one of the reasons for rejecting the differences without even knowing anything about them. It is far easier to accept someone of the same language, intelligence, social environment etc., than to start "becoming familiar" with the person "different" from yourself.
The leading principle in the work and the attitude towards minors should be "in the best interest of the child". And that's where the role of inter-human assistance and improving human relations is very important for overcoming the differences. Refugee children must be provided with a supportive environment and with understanding by the society.
Among useful and interesting activities for children are the initiatives related to preserving the cultural traditions of the refugee communities through organised festivities on the occasions of national and religious holidays, stimulating children's creativity - in drawing, tailoring traditional clothing, preparing various meals from different parts of the world. Picnics, excursions to historical sights, visits to cultural sights, museums, the zoo, the Botanical Gardens, are among the activities which help children socialise and adapt more quickly.
Sports initiatives for children are also a means of adaptation. They improve health culture and develop sports skills.
Christmas celebrations for refugee children, celebrating New Year according to their religious calendars and other activities of this sort are only a part of the initiatives which can bring the smiles back to their faces, to make them feel at home, to forget and be happy.
"People should be respected in this diversity of religions, cultures and languages. The differences in, and between societies should neither be persecuted nor repressed but viewed as the most valuable achievement of mankind. The culture of mutual co-existence and the dialogue between civilisations should be promoted." This abstract is taken from the UN Millennium Declaration (New York, 2000).
Yes, differences should be studied, accepted, and they should interact in equality. Especially when children are involved. Difference is a virtue, not an obstacle. The idea of respecting differences leads to recognising the existence of the other; it makes dialogue and communication possible. We must encourage the exploration and preservation of cultural, ethnic, religious and other differences and this can be achieved through the exchange of values, through accepting the values of others.
The idea of difference is enmeshed in the ideas of tolerance, humanism, equality, democracy, freedom and respect for human beings - ideas which are incorporated in the foundations of every society. Accepting the equality principle is a precondition for accepting the idea of tolerance and, hence, the idea of differences. Many of us, undoubtedly, are not treated equally in certain situations, but accepting the equality principle, showing tolerance towards each other is a sign of a "mature" society.