In this reading, Parekh has neatly summarized what I have long considered to be an enormous and, often, overwhelming topic. The refugee crisis, from an individual perspective, seems hopeless when attempting to conceptualize where support is needed because it is needed everywhere. The harm that refugees face is persistent regardless of where they are in their refugee ‘journey’, whether it is the conflict in their home countries; the neglect, abuse, and dangerous environments they experience once leaving their home country, both within a refugee camp or in the process of personally seeking asylum; as well as lack of supports, opportunity, and discrimination post resettlement (for the few who are actually granted the opportunity of resettlement). That is why I appreciated the way Parekh expanded the framework and separated types of harm, because acknowledging how harm might be direct or indirect throughout the entire refugee process makes it easier to comprehend what can be done about it and how an individual may assist at their level.
Where I disagree with Parekh, however, is the culpability of Western countries in causing the refugee crisis through colonialism and Western imperialism. While Parekh acknowledges the theory that many consider both to play a part in the structural injustice concerning the refugee crisis, she remains that she is agnostic on the topic, maintaining that the situation exists and requires rectifying regardless of responsibility. She is correct that the situation exists and must be addressed, and it is a noble stance to take… but I must disagree with the ‘regardless of responsibility’ bit. Responsibility must be solidly assigned because states, as she mentions within the chapter often, are always looking after their own interests, and are always looking to weasel their way out of responsibility. So, rectifying the dire situation will likely not happen until that responsibility has been meted out, and Western nations, as we’ve previously learned from Táíwò, have the resources and the wealth they do solely because of colonization and imperialism; therefore, it stands that they should shoulder a larger portion of the political responsibility.
References
Parekh, S. (2020). No refuge : Ethics and the global refugee crisis. Oxford University Press, Incorporated.
ma guarda quante stelle nel cielo 