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World Refugee Day on June 20 brought awareness to the suffering of millions of people worldwide.
Refugees are welcomed and cared for in some countries while other countries seem to discourage refugees from coming. This is what Epoch Times reporters from Spain to Australia discovered when they asked locals: “Do you think refugees are treated well in your country?”
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Monica Elguero, Madrid, Spain  Madrid, Spain Yes, on the whole I think refugees are treated well in Spain. Typically, many try to reach Spain by sea from Africa and experience very miserable conditions. Unfortunately, some of them die during the journey. However, the survivors are immediately seen by doctors and psychologists. Moreover, they can count on legal aid being provided by people working for NGOs. |
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Ramchand Bathija, Bangalore, India Bangalore, India There has been a significantly large influx of refugees to India, be it Pakistani’s, people from Tibet, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, or Bhutan. India has welcomed all people with open arms, and all Indian communities have made them feel very comfortable and settled. Even on the education front, we have a large number of people coming to India, and there are even special seats reserved for individuals from other countries. India is a very generous country; especially cities like Bangalore and Mumbai have given opportunities to lakhs of refugees. Note: A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to 100,000. |
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Felipe Alvarado, Puerto Montt, Chile Puerto Montt, Chile The origin of the refugees will determine how people perceive them. … If the refugee comes from Iraq, he will be seen as a Muslim, and thus, he will be associated with Islamic terrorism. If he is German, he will be labeled as being of the super race. If he is Peruvian, he will be seen as from an inferior race. This is due to the media. But, in general in Chile, we have the following phrase: Here, we welcome any foreign friend. Therefore, I think that refugees are well treated in my country. Even more, they will celebrate their day on June 20. |
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Laura Tarazona, Lima, Peru Lima, Peru In my country, I think that the refugees are well treated. Peru is a country with many poor people. People who come from other countries are always treated well, and we give them the opportunity to meet our people. Facilities are also given for them to work and create companies. |
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Farshid Ardabili-Farshi, Nassjo, Sweden Nässjö, Sweden Both yes and no. It is good that they are allowed to come here. But the climate has become tougher in recent years for them. Previously, Sweden was more refugee-friendly. I think that Sweden should keep the flag high, and let them come here and find safe refuge on a large scale. They cannot do that now. Per capita, Sweden takes a big number of refugees, but the actual number is not that large. The top priority, I think, is to ensure and look at the causes, which are, among other things, political oppression, war, poverty, and hunger that create refugees. |
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Benedito Jose Gomes da Silva, Itatiba, Sao Paulo, Brazil Itatiba, São Paulo, Brazil I think they live well in Brazil. The country is large and if the person wants to work, it can happen fast. I worked with a German refugee from the war, who lived very well in Brazil; he worked in a company well known in Itatiba. I know there are more refugees, but because of the war no more are arriving. |
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Tameka Baker, Sunshine Coast, Australia Sunshine Coast, Australia By watching the media, just by the way that the refugees are protesting about how they are being treated; I think that maybe we need to look into the way that we are treating them. They are being sent away from our country as soon as they arrive. We maybe need to look at the way we are treating them because obviously the way we are treating them, it is not working at the moment. Look at the protest in Villawood; they’re burning; they’re angry; they want to be heard; they’re not being listened to so maybe we need to look at what we are doing wrong. Note: Villawood is an immigration detention centre for asylum seekers. |
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Wellington, New Zealand Yea, I guess so. There are not many countries in the world where you can go and get government help. They are refugees for a reason. … I think they are treated pretty well here at least by the people of New Zealand, not so much the government of New Zealand. … They [refugees] are down the bottom of the barrel with the rest of us, but the fact of the matter is New Zealand’s a better place to live than where they are from; otherwise they wouldn’t have come here. |
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Look for the Global Q&A column every week. Epoch Times correspondents interview people around the world to learn about their lives and perspectives on local and global realities. Next week’s global question: “What stresses you most and how do you handle it?” |
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