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The War and The Victims: A Better Understanding Why It Hurts

About 76 years ago after the Second World War, we thought we finally terminated the violence in this world. But then comes the Cold War. After the Uni Soviet split out, yet we thought peacefulness came to rescue our situation. But in fact, there are wars and conflicts that never come to an end until now. Ironically, nowadays while people choose to focus on human rights or any of the exclusive movements that do exist, old issue like war and conflict has been imperishable for dozens of centuries. It’s an immortal issue.

Regarding Escola de Cultura de Pau, until 2015 there were 83 cases of social-political conflict that happened around the world. About 5 cases happened in America, 11 cases in Europe, 11 cases in the Middle East, 20 cases in Asia, and more than 30 cases happened in Africa. Built upon whole cases, causes of war are internal conflict, opposition to the policies, contradiction in the political system, social system, and ideology was identified. Another source from ACLED said that there were 1,896 battles, 1,038 riots, 1,948 remote violence, and 1,965 violence against civilians cases that still existed until this year. World population review shared that many types of conflict and war happened in many countries such as terrorist insurgency, civil war, drug war, political unrest, ethnic violence, etc.

Indubitably, there are tons of reasons why war and conflict couldn’t be removed since a long time ago and still be preserved until this modern day. The root of this problem is basic aspects such as religion, nationalism, ideology, revenge, civil war, revolutionary war, economic causes, territorial, or many more. Precisely, each war in a different country has its own specific reasons and tons of factors behind it. Stephen (2013) said that there are four premises for the cause of war arguments. First, when countries think that winning a war is a bearable event. Second, the actual structure of international power. Third, misperception of the structure of power. And fourth, the misconception and reality of war.

But instead of clarifying all causes of war, the deadly consequences of war should be the main course of people’s attention. Some of the consequences caused by war are the lack of a country’s economic development, poverty, malnutrition, disease, mortality, victim, loss, grief, trauma, mental illness, etc. From all of the examples, we are gonna get to know more about something that bothers most people because this case is just confusing and an emerging dilemma between reality and humanity. This case is a refugee.

The concept of displaced persons basically assorted. Based on UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, there are 4 types of displaced persons because of war or conflict. First, refugees are people who run away from their country because they need to avoid conflict, war, or violence in their country. Second, an Internally Displaced Person or IDP is a person who moves from their place to another place but never goes outside the international border. IDP don’t get legal facilities or protection from international law because they are still in their own country. Third, a stateless person is a person who doesn’t have any citizenship in any country. Fourth, asylum seekers are refugees who run to another country and seek sanctuary legally, so they could be protected under the state’s constitutional law.

Based on those definitions, the main instance from war and conflict victims is asylum. They need a place(s) to take shelter from turmoil in their country. Many freedom and stable countries have been refugees’ destinations to seek protection. But, this form of humanity starts to disturb the country’s system in native sight. Based on The Guardian’s video about the differences between refugees’ culture and Norwegian culture that hinder the process of refugees’ adjustment. There is a big gap in every aspect such as culture, ideology, habit, and mindset that could lead to a discrepancy.

From a native perspective, it’s kind of a dilemma to accept refugees, immigrants, IDPs, or etc who come to run away from their country and not prepare for the exact differentiation of every aspect in their destination country. In some cases, natives want to comply with their inner sympathy and human sentiment. On the other hand, they saw the alteration of the system in their countries for the sake of supporting refugees’ adjustment. Thus, as a replacement, they feel frightened that their original culture, habit, system, and original form would vanish one day.

As an example, the explosion of Haitian migrants to the U.S is one of the sensitive cases that contain how citizens face the dilemma of the refugee wave. The United States has been facing Haitian immigration for a long time. It has historical background such as slavery, colonization, and many more that undirectly lead this case into a confusing subject. The U.S. Made many laws and policies toward this case, but yet doesn’t conceal the confusion in it. The reason why the U.S recently restrained Haitian Immigrants Based on Lenox (1993) is that Haitians are not political refugees, they are economic refugees. Then Haitian is anticommunist. Noncommunist countries lack any institutions that are associated with a democratic government. So anticommunist term just a camouflage from the U.S to Haitians as a form of racial discrimination.

This case just perfectly describes how a nation that possibly is an asylum country for refugees is hesitant to help and accept refugees come into their country. There are so many considerations that purposely need a long time to consider for both natives and refugees.

Written by Widari

References :

1. https://acleddata.com/#/dashboard
2. https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/The-Main-Reasons-For-War
3. Van Evera, S. (2013). Causes of war: Power and the roots of conflict. Cornell University Press.
   Escola de Cultura de Pau
4. Ammons, L. (1996). Consequences of war on African countries’ social and economic development. African Studies Review, 39(1), 67-82.
5. https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/what-is-a-refugee/
6. The Guardian. (2016, Aug 1). Norway’s Muslim Immigrants Attend Classes on Western Attitudes to Women [Video]. https://youtu.be/oKY600o3CXw
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1472271/
8. Lennox, M. (1993). Refugees, racism, and reparations: A critique of the United States’ Haitian immigration policy. Stanford Law Review, 687-724.
9. Deaderick, Lisa. 2021. A perfect storm of crises and instability leading Haitian migrants to seek U.S. asylum.
10. The San Diego Union Tribune. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/columnists/story/2021-09-26/a-perfect-storm-of-crises-and-instability-leading-haitian-migrants-to-seek-u-s-asylum