EUMIND

Assignment III

History shows that it is not only senseless and cruel, but also difficult to state who
is a foreigner.
-Claudio Magris

The Irishs immigration to the United States, where the Red Indians are natives; the
British to Australia; the Aryans to India and most importantly, the migration of people
from the continent where life first began, Africa, to the rest of the world exemplifies
Claudio Margiss words. History has it that we are a product of emigration and
immigration; so, isnt it pointless to differentiate between each other by terming someone
as a foreigner when we are all intertwined not only by nationality and race but also by
Humanity?

The Red Indians

The Aryans migrating

The British migration to Australia

Over the years, the world has not only changed and evolved geographically but also
aesthetically in terms of the constitution of the people of a country. The past is
testimonial to the fact that migration has been rampant and the present carries on the
legacy.

There are people who migrate to another country for a varsity of reasons; political
and constitutional, financial stability; education, family and a better standard of living are
a few main points to cite.
Many of these immigrants come under the realm of expats and would like to be
given an equal status as the natives of the country, having stayed there for a long period;
for example the Indians in countries like UAE, USA, UK and the African origin people in
USA, UK and Australia. Article 6 and 7 under the UN, Universal Declaration of Human
Rights is imperative to protect such individuals.
Article 6.Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to
equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any
discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such
discrimination.
However, speaking of equality for the expats, we fail to consider the plight of the natives
of nations like Australia- Aboriginals, USA- Red Indians, New Zealand-Maori and the
Blacks in South Africa, who are treated as foreigners.
But, why do we term someone as a foreigner? It is, indeed, a senseless act of
differentiating on the criteria of religion and race. And why is it difficult to state someone
as a foreigner? Then, again, religion and race come into play. A Muslim from Pakistan
may not seem as a foreigner in Saudi Arabia; the same goes for Indians in Sri Lanka,
Irish in United Kingdom, Turks in Palestine and the list is endless. On the other a hand,
an American in India, an African in China and for that matter, one of the biggest
discrimination the north-eastern Indians are facing is the division on the basis of their
Mongolian features.
Isnt this an act of cruelty? Does the outward appearance or religion have
anything to do with ones nationality? We live in the 21st century where most of the
educated people are hopeful that such narrow walls are shattered.
Coming to the circumstances of an Asylum seeker, where the fact of a
foreigner seeking refuge in another country is not only highlighted, but also underlined
and italicized, the Universal Declarations of Human Rights backs this under the
following Articles:
Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the
borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his
country.
Article 14.(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from
persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from nonpolitical crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United
Nations.
Article 15.(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change
his nationality.

The Asylum seekers

If there ever were to be a foreigner on this planet, it would have to be an extraterrestrial

creature. We all belong to this world. Before religion comes nation, and before nation
comes the world, metaphorically standing for humanity. To quote Article 1 under the UN
charter, All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are
endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of
brotherhood.

WE are the world, WE are the children.

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Ayesha Modak

Michael Jackson.