East African Refugee Crisis

No one really ever knew about six-year-old Mawi Asgedom, a refugee of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, until he came to the U.S. Not many ever really seemed to care and sympathize with Mawi and other refugees while they lived in harsh refugee camps in Sudan. The government of their homeland certainly didn’t care about them, as rather than providing its citizens with proper food, education, or health care, it started wasting its money to fight over the small, inessential area of Badme through a violent war. However, when Mawi and his family traveled to the U.S, their lives changed for the better. They, and other refugees, such as the Lost Boys of Sudan, were met with a land that nurtured a stable and fair government that cared, boasted a strong economy, provided a large variety of good food, and utilized excellent education opportunities. Mawi, who had been a poor refugee child constantly plagued by sickness, was able to work hard and graduate from Harvard University. Moving to the United States helped the refugees of East Africa succeed and grow. The refugees of East Africa are much better off in the United States than in their native country.

Perhaps one of the most important reasons why East African refugees should move to America is because many of their native countries are ravaged by constant warfare and an unstable government. Governments, one of the elements of culture, are supposed to keep order and protect their citizens. However, Sudan’s government has been doing the opposite. Omer el-Digair, the leader of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party, protested, “We do not need a security apparatus that detains people and shuts off newspapers.” This quote gives examples of the outrageous things the Sudanese government has done. Corrupt governments and rebellions can also cause violent warfare, such as what happened in South Sudan. CNN news states, “For several years, soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir clashed with forces loyal to his ousted vice president, Riek Machar, displacing millions of civilians and killing tens of thousands.” This quote shows how millions of people were killed or driven out as different people fought for power. During the war, children and teens were captured and forced to steal, rape, and sometimes even kill others. During Sudan’s civil war, about 17,000 boys were left orphaned or displaced, and they became known as the Lost Boys. The horrors of war are simply too horrid for many to imagine, and no one should be forced to experience it. The refugees of East Africa deserve peace, and that is exactly what America has to offer.

A second reason why East African refugees are much better off in the U.S is that the U.S has a stronger economy and a higher standard of living. Some people may argue that in the U.S, everything is expensive and costs money, so the refugees should stay in their homeland. However, the price of certain things in the U.S is nowhere near the price of items in many East African countries. According to the video “Saving South Sudan”, the price of gas in South Sudan is a whopping $20 per gallon. This shows that certain items are much more expensive in South Sudan than they are in the U.S and that South Sudan has a very poor economy. Economy, one of the elements of culture, deals with how people produce, sell, and use limited resources. Because the economy is dangerously low in South Sudan and other East African countries, many people live in poverty under horrible living conditions. After coming to America, refugee Mawi Asgedom wrote, “We had spent the previous three years living in a one-room adobe, and even then we had been grateful that we had the one room.” This quote reveals that Mawi’s family of six had all lived in one room, and even that had been something to be grateful for in Sudan. When they came to the U.S, they could not believe their eyes when they were told that they could stay in a two-story house with a huge yard. He exclaimed, “Is it for real? This whole stretch of house and yard ours? It’s too much.” This quote shows how unbelievable it was to refugees that they could have that amount of living space. Large houses, cars, and roads are all human characteristics of Wheaton, the area where Mawi was taken. Place, one of the themes of geography, is made up of all the physical and human characteristics in a certain area. All of those human characteristics support the fact that Wheaton has a higher standard of living than Sudan. The U.S has a stronger economy and a higher standard of living than most East African countries, so refugees should definitely move there.

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Another reason why East African refugees are better off in America is because of America’s abundant food and water. The video “Saving South Sudan” explained the fact that many everyday people in South Sudan are forced to hunt and kill animals simply in order to eat. Erminio Sacco, a food security expert who works at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N, also states that when South Sudan began to undergo a famine, many people were forced to “... spend days foraging for wild foods such as water lily roots, fruit, or fish.” In other words, many unwilling South Sudanese people had to go through extreme human-environment interaction to find food. Human-environment interaction is one of the five themes of geography. Although everyone interacts with the environment, foraging and hunting in the wilderness to survive and eat is a painful and dangerous struggle. Regions, or places that share similar characteristics, is another theme of geography. Living in regions that are very dry or have long dry seasons makes the struggle of finding food even harder. There are many places like that in East Africa. Mawi Asgedom and his family were lucky enough to make it to a refugee camp, but even there he said that they barely “... survived on goat milk, eggs, U.N rations, and whatever we could grow in our small gardens.” This quote illustrates the point that Mawi had very little variety in his food. However, when Mawi moved to the U.S, he was amazed at what he saw. He found constant, delicious food, and he especially enjoyed the Reese’s chocolate he received on Halloween. Mawi even found some of his traditional Ethiopian food waiting for him, such as inerja bread or sebhi stew. Those traditional foods are examples of Customs and Traditions, which is one of the elements of culture. In America, Mawi’s culture was able to stay with him through food, and so did his full belly. Another refugee, Peter, discovered that he loved cheeseburgers and that he could finally eat more than twice a day. The scarcity of food in certain parts of East Africa is simply too much to bear. By moving to America, the refugees were able to find much better food and a much better life.

Some people may argue that it is almost impossible to get a good education in America if you are unable to understand English. However, that is not nearly the case. For example, Mawi Asgedom, a refugee of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, came to the U.S when he was seven years old without knowing any English. However, because of all the books, libraries, and helpful teachers in America, he was able to learn how to understand, speak, and read English very quickly. He said, “I graduated from Longfellow’s ESL program at the end of second grade, and by sixth grade, I was making the high honor roll.” The quote explains how Mawi became very fluent in English quickly and that he actually did very well in school. Language, the element of culture which explains how people communicate, is generally not a problem adapting to for most refugees. There are many resources to help them, and if they still need help, they can always ask their friends. In Mawi Asgedom’s book, Of Beetles and Angels, he explained that his father was always there as a translator when his refugee friends needed him most. Thus, adapting to a country with a new language is not nearly as hard as many people think it is.

Through these reasons, it is clear that traveling to the U.S would be more beneficial to East African refugees than if they stayed in their homeland. There, many are forced to live off of the same food every day, without knowing whether or not they would have enough for their next meal. The idea of being immeasurably poor, under times of constant struggle and death, a time when the government doesn’t even try to protect its citizens, seems unimaginable to many Americans. However, this is the life of countless East African refugees. If they have a chance to get a good education and start over in a wonderful, new land, why shouldn’t they take it? The refugees of East Africa are easily much better off in the United States than in their native countries.