Our world is in crisis. In May of this year, the United Nations Refugee Agency announced that, for the first time, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide has reached 100 million.
With 1 in 78 people worldwide forced to flee their homes, and as climate change threatens to displace more than 1 billion more by 2050, we must ask: our policy current refugee is adequate?
As New Zealanders, we like to think that we always help others when they need it, but when it comes to refugee policy, the facts don’t support that.
New Zealand ranks 95th in the world per capita in accepting refugees, a statistic that is itself based on an increase in quota that we have never achieved and which the government currently has no plans to retroactively fill.
And yet, there is a great need. Conflicts in Afghanistan and Ukraine, droughts and famine in Somalia and Mozambique, and political persecution in places like Venezuela represent some of the humanitarian crises that exist today.
Aotearoa could be doing a lot more to help.
We think that refugee policy should be radically rethought, in line with the politics of love. This view of politics affirms the importance of each of us and emphasizes loving values such as compassion, humility and respect. It encourages us to work together to achieve a better world.
Love is sometimes criticized as too “weak” for politics, but with very complex and potentially divisive issues like immigration, it can focus our attention on what’s most important.
So what would refugee loving politics look like?
First, it would be led by people who have experienced displacement and resettlement.
Refugees know firsthand the challenges of forced migration, as well as the emotional, social, cultural and educational needs that come with it. Because of this, they are in a unique position to imagine ways to help those suffering from disorders.
Seeking guidance from refugees is one way we can infuse refugee policy with understanding and respect. In Aotearoa, we could do this by elevating more refugees to elected office and actively involving migrant communities in policy decision-making, through advocate-led wānanga (conferences), focus groups and policy-writing events.
Second, the refugee love policy will work to ensure that aid is always provided in a timely, comprehensive and situationally appropriate manner. In addition to anticipating potential crises, we must be prepared to respond as they arise.
Aid can take many forms, including sharing resources, extending manaakitanga (hospitality) to refugees by helping them resettle, and supporting other communities that may be better placed, geographically or otherwise, to administer assistance.
In some cases, the best way to help will be to help refugees resettle in their countries of origin. Most people prefer not to have to leave their homes, and by helping refugees rebuild rather than relocate, we can help them maintain their relationships with people and places.
Often, though, people have to leave. We should help them do that.
New Zealand uses a quota to determine the number of refugees we accept. However, quota systems restrict our options and may prevent us from providing more support than we would otherwise.
We should explore different approaches. For example, alongside its government, Canada allows private citizens to sponsor refugees, and this has already helped more than 250,000 people. This approach could be adapted to allow Aotearoa communities to take action, even if the government does not.
An example of innovative policy can be seen in New Zealand’s response to the war in Ukraine. We have issued 4,000 emergency visas for Ukrainians with whānau here. This will mean hundreds of families are reunited and safe. While this particular policy raises questions about who we choose to help and why, it shows that we have the capacity to strengthen our formal refugee policy and help more people than we usually do.
Third, loving refugee policy would actively promote global cooperation, to ensure that our aid is as responsive and accountable as possible.
However, this cooperation must not only involve collaboration between governments and intergovernmental bodies. Grassroots peace groups and refugee support networks are often best placed to work with similar organizations around the world to respond to crises. Governments should trust them and support them when called upon.
Importantly, global cooperation must involve addressing the root causes of displacement, such as hunger, natural disasters and armed conflict, and promoting freedom of movement and the gradual opening of borders.
We should also plan for the mass migration that climate change will catalyze. The global community must prepare properly for this, to ensure that all people in conflict receive the assistance they need.
In this era of growing uncertainty and deepening crises, conflict threatens to tear apart our relationships and tear us apart. A strong refugee policy can be understood as a loving intervention against the danger these crises represent for global solidarity. In addition to helping people in desperate need, it can nurture the values we need to survive and thrive in a dramatically changing world, such as caring, sharing and trust.
In her book, Know Your Place, Golriz Ghahraman, the first refugee elected to parliament in New Zealand, writes: “The history of the world can be told through conflict, but it can also be told through the benefits of knowledge and shared goods that are sown by migration”. We could also imagine our future this way.
The many advantages that migration brings—global connections, cross-cultural understanding, genuine empathy, and stories of strength and resilience—may be the very things that allow us to navigate unprecedented challenges together.
