United Nations, Apr 10 : In a heartfelt briefing to the Security Council, Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has said that, during his three and a half decades as an international civil servant, he has “never seen such toxicity, such poisonous language in politics, media and social media,” directed towards refugees, migrants and foreigners.
At times – pointing his finger at Security Council members for emphasis – an animated Mr Grandi on Tuesday said that the stigmatisation of refugees and migrants is “unprecedented,” and that traditional responses to refugee crises appear increasingly inadequate.
Dissecting the term “refugee crisis” itself, Mr Grandi asked the Security Council to consider to whom, exactly, that applied: “It is a crisis for a mother with her children fleeing gang violence; it is a crisis for a teenager who wants to flee from war, human rights violations, forced conscription; it is crisis for governments in countries with few resources that, every day, open their borders to thousands. For them, it is a crisis.”
(UNI)
