[Think Black] We Are The World, Remember?

But is the Ukraine refugee migration crisis of two million already in Poland, a new dynamic or is our response just different?  If so, how different and why so different?

Man, I got a lot of questions and I hope you can help me answer them.  Not just for me but for you.  Remember in 1985 famine had overtaken Africa and overwhelmed traditional nonprofits’ ability to meet the needs of starving population groups?   

The famine hit Ethiopia especially hard with an estimated 1.2 million people dead.  Another 2.5 million citizens in Ethiopia were displaced.  Finally, four hundred thousand (400,000) Ethiopians left the country with two hundred thousand (200,000) children being orphaned. 

Unimaginable suffering, destruction of families, and total devastation of communities.  Going back only to 1985 we know the refugee problem was and can be huge with regional, national, and international impact.  

At the urging of Harry Belafonte, Michael Jackson (Jackson 5) and Lionel Richie (Commodores) wrote and produced a fund-raising hit record with performers from all over the world titled “We are the World.”   I am sure the impact on Africa and the economy, employment, health care, mental health, education, domestic relations, and drug use pretty well illustrate the point.   We’re all affected by these types of events because we’re more connected than ever before.  But the refugee crisis from Ukraine is a type of pandemic as well, as far as worldwide impact.

But is the Ukraine refugee migration crisis of two million already in Poland, a new dynamic or is our response just different?  If so, how different and why so different?  

In my eyes,  it is a different refugee dynamic in a large part due to the fact that the refugees themselves are primarily European, and as such, the response and media coverage are different.  

Just think about the immigrants that came from northern African Countries over the last few years who have tried to enter Europe.  How were they welcomed as fleeing famine, oppression, violence, exploitation?  A different type of violence in some cases, but horrific violence, nonetheless.  

Has this refugee crisis like the pandemic revealed our true selves, values, and principles?  Do we now recognize our need to improve our capacity and delivery of emergency equipment, training, aide, and personnel?  Must we face the fact that leaders and/or decision-makers respond more sympathetically, compassionately, and urgently to those who look like them, and less so to those who are different?  

We have to face that and fix that because we will see it again.  Maybe it will be in the next disease pandemic or another power-hungry dictator with a strong military. So many questions and so little time to answer before the next crisis and teachable moment.  History is teaching, but are we learning?   

This window into our souls of refugees is hard to look through.  Around the world, there are at least eighty-two (82) million people who have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are more than twenty-six (26) million refugees who had to leave their country, around half of whom are under the age of 18.  In short, there are also millions of stateless people, people who have been denied a nationality and lack access to basic rights such as education, health care, employment, and freedom of movement.  

Right now, one (1) in every ninety-five (95) people on earth have fled their homes as a result of conflict or persecution.  Is this like so many problems we look past daily and think that it does not affect us?  Of course, a closer look says it does affect us in those many ways already covered.  

So as we go on our merry way, well not so merry at the gas pump these days, let’s see the connections and how we address the issues for the future.  Whether we like it or not, we are citizens not only of this country but the world. 

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Think Black columnist Attorney Larry D. Hall served as Secretary of the NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs under Gov. Roy Cooper from 2017 through January 2021. In the NC House of Representatives as the member from NC’s 29th House district (Durham), Hall served from 2006 through 2017. Secretary Hall earned a B.S. with Honors in Political Science and Business from Johnson C. Smith University and a J.D. from the School of Law at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Upon undergrad graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the US Marine Corps. A decorated officer, Secretary Hall served 16 years in the Marines and Marine Corps Reserves and served in the support of the Operations in the Middle East in Lebanon and Iran. He is currently the Deputy Industrial Commissioner at the NC Department of Insurance.