Disposable People Through the Green Door

In this article, originally delivered as a keynote address at the 1999 Chicago World Mission Institute which addressed the theme "Disposable People? Refugees, Migrants, and the Church's Mission Today," Dr. Barbara Harrell-Bond tells about some of the people that she has encountered in her work as a researcher into refugee rights in East Africa. Using this narrative approach, Dr. Harrell-Bond paints poignant portraits of people who, in the eyes of so many, are simply "disposable." What is to be done? First, we must expose the myth of "us" and "them" (see Judy Mayotte's story of the Bosnian refugee in the following article). Second, we must work for better training of refugee workers. Third, we must oppose and expose policies that prevent agency workers from acting in truly humane ways. Fourth, we must acknowledge and move beyond the intimidation that NGOs suffer under the shadow of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees

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