Can we PLEASE stop calling the survivors "refugees"?

[Carolab]

It makes them sound like Third World exiles. These are US citizens who are trying to survive a disaster!!!

Here is the definition of the word "refugee":

ref·u·gee ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rfy-j)
n.
One who flees in search of refuge, as in times of war, political oppression, or religious persecution.


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Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


Main Entry: ref·u·gee
Pronunciation: "re-fyu-'jE
Function: noun
: an individual seeking refuge or asylum; especially : an individual who has left his or her native country and is unwilling or unable to return to it because of persecution or fear of persecution (as because of race, religion, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion)


Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.


refugee

n : an exile who flees for safety




http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=refugee

[Fescue4u]

1. I don't' think anyone means harming in calling them that

victims is a more accurate description, but refugees does seem to be the natural word that comes to mind.

I suspect "victims" isnt used as much simply because it doesnt do justice to what horrors these folks are going and have gone through.

[starroute]

2. They are refugees -- it's the fleeing part that matters

Survivors could be people who have been through a disaster but are staying put. Anyone who has to flee from their own home and seek refuge with others is a refugee.

We *are* a third world country now. Get used to it.

[Carolab]

5. No, they are NOT refugees because they are not FLEEING.

They are citizens who did as directed with promises of rescue and are now being deliberately trapped and left to die.

The situation is turning them from survivors INTO refugees--if only they could LEAVE/FLEE the evil situation they are in, which is exactly what they would now like to do!

[DBoon]

3. but we ARE a third world country

that is the sad thing about this.

[Gelliebeans]

4. Believe it or not

My twelve year old son went on a tirade this evening about the victims being called "refugees". He says it makes them sound like they aren't Americans.

[Carolab]

6. EXACTLY!

It just conjures up images of a bunch of Third World "sub-humans"...

[Gelliebeans]

10. That is how the media are able to

distance themselves from the victims. Not all media but the media back in the cushy studios are the ones that arms length away. THESE PEOPLE ARE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS!

[Carolab]

13. It's WORSE than that! I heard them calling black children "it"!

They said things like "returned to IT'S rightful owner" when saying that the little girl some guy was trying to get onto a bus with (while wearing a wig) and caught in the act, when the child was handed back, and they also called the child "it" when talking about the baby that one woman handed off to someone else getting on a bus two days ago asking them to take care of her.

[the_spectator]

7. I've seen threads about this before, earlier today -

You'll end up getting battling dictionary-definitions. I think perhaps the "from a foreign county" may not necessarily be definitional. So I tend to think, "chill" -- BUT: since refugees usually ARE stateless people fleeing from their homes, the USUAL result for them is being ignored/not helped/shunted off to walled-off "refugee camps" - think the boat people from Vietnam, the German Jews during World War II, even the Palestinians (whom no Arab nation has accepted, except for Jordan.) So you have a point. People "understand" in a way that refugees are people who can be "properly" ignored.

But THESE are not "foreigners." They are citizens! They have the right to live FREELY anywhere in this nation they want, not shunted into mini Gitmos.

[goodhue]

14. here is one of those threads

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4579276

[goodhue]

18. and another

which I started without realizing how strongly some people would belittle the point

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4583141

[amerikat]

8. So what do we call people that have

gathered together at the request of the authorities and are not allowed to leave? For lack of a better word we should call them "abandonees".

[amerikat]

11. abandonees?(nt)

[TheFarseer]

9. Yeah, that term is totally wrong

and yes, I have heard major news outlets calling them that.

[Jersey Devil]

12. How about 'homeless hurricane victims'?

I actually heard them referred to as "illegal immigrants" by someone in Houston.

[walldude]

21. I saw that one too, I almost puked. n/t

[fujiyama]

23. Wow

It really is amazing to hear comments like that.

Black people are forecably shipped here on slave ships and have fought in every war this nation has been in, just to come back to being treated like dogs (or worse than the enemy's prisoners), and are now called 'illegal'.

I suppose racism in twenty first century America couldn't get any more blatant.

[SledDriver]

15. How about we call them AMERICANS

[Carolab]

16. Yes or simply "stranded".

When did you EVER hear stranded hurricane victims here before called "REFUGEES"????

Here, for example, a description of aid given to Hurricane Ivan last year:

People are referred to as "residents" who have lost their homes, "people", or "victims" but NOT refugees!

http://www.redcross.org/article/0,1072,0_312_3303,00.html

[Clarkie1]

22. We haven't ever heard of hurricane victims being called refugees.

But this is a unique situation. These people are fleeing a land that cannot be rebuilt next month, next year, or the year after that.

It will take 36-80 days to secure the levees (hopefully). A year to drain the water. Another to dry out.

Even then, there is a question of the wisdom of rebuilding below sea level.

[Carolab]

24. Again, they are NOT fleeing! They are being held there!

They would like to leave to go to safety.

They thought they were going to SHELTERS.

What in the world makes you think they are FLEEING???

[Clarkie1]

17. After reading all your posts, I sincerely and respectfully disagree.

What is shocking, and what we cannot turn our eyes from, is that in a very real sense these are refugees in our own land. That has never happened before on a scale like this in America.

Refugee is not a "dirty" word -- unless you think of people of the rest of the world as less than Americans, which I trust none of us do.

It's a word that fits the magnitude of the situation: these human beings are people, they are Americans, and they are refugees in the most important sense of the word.

That is one of the reasons we should be so outraged at this unprecedented occurance.

[Carolab]

19. The term is DEROGATORY and DEMEANING to them.

Don't you see?

They didn't WANT to leave! They weren't FLEEING! They were staying in their town because they had no options and they were told they would be taken care of.

Good grief! It's a PUT-DOWN!!!

How would YOU feel in this situation if people were calling YOU a "refugee"????

[Clarkie1]

25. There are two ways of looking at this...

I don't see the term itself as a slap in the face at anyone, it is describing a situation that is not their fault. They wanted to leave sooner, but couldn't. That's what refugees do, they leave whenever they can as soon as they can.

If the term "refugee" is a put-down in that sense, that implies a refugee has down something less than the best they could do, which is not the case.

What IS a put-down to them is the the fact they have UNECESSARILY BECOME American refugees in the first place, and it's the current administration that is responsible, and that is the outrage.

Yes, these people have been put down. They've been put down by the people in power. We can't turn our eyes from that.

[Carolab]

26. They are "displaced Americans"...

THESE are "refugees":

http://www.refintl.org/

[Clarkie1]

27. Besides the fact they are carrying their belongings on their head

And they have belongings to carry in the first place (unlike many of these "displaced Americans"), what is the difference?

I don't see it.

Admittedly, "displaced Americans" is a more palatable term. Like "passing away" as opposed to "dying."

[Carolab]

28. It's not only more palatable, it's more ACCURATE.

Normally, people who survive floods and are displaced from their homes are called "flood victims"--EVEN in other countries.

These people are not from Darfur, FLEEING for their lives. They were going to what they thought/were told were shelters, seeking preservation for their lives.

[goodhue]

30. Indeed, and less racist and prejudicial to boot.

Hurricane Hugo did not result in displaced populations routinely labeled as 'refugees' if I recall correctly. But those folks were mostly white by comparison, and didn't carry stuff on their heads.

So I wonder, if you drive away in your SUV are you a refugee?
Or are the refugees the ones locked into the convention center?

:shrug:

[fujiyama]

20. They've sure been treated like third world exiles

by their own country. This nation's history of racism has hit another ugly low point.

At this point those people ARE refugees and the sad thing is, they are refugees WITHIN THEIR OWN NATION. Their own nation is starving them, keeping them locked in shockingly inhumane conditions.

[dad]

29. m-w.com

Main Entry: ref·u·gee

Etymology: French réfugié, past participle of (se) réfugier to take refuge, from Latin refugium
: one that flees; especially : a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution

[misanthrope]

31. Then how are they different...

...from "Dust Bowl refugees?" They are fleeing the ravages of nature the same as the Joads.

[goodhue]

32. Okies

Dust Bowl usage

In the 1930s, during the Dust Bowl era, large numbers of farmers, fleeing ecological disaster, migrated from the Great Plains region to California along Route 66. More of the migrants were from Oklahoma than any other state, and some 15% of the Oklahoma population left for California. Californians called the migrants "Okies", regardless of whether they were actually from Oklahoma. The term was disrespectful and used in a derogatory manner, with connotations of homelessness, poverty, and hickishness. The term was made famous nationwide by John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okie

[misanthrope]

34. I've read a lot...

...about Woody Guthrie, an early influence of mine. The feeling I got from the things I've encountered is that the word's meaning changed according to context and usage and the refugees gave the name to themselves as much as anyone else.

Didn't mean to offend anyone, didn't realize it carried an innate sting.

[goodhue]

35. No offense taken, and I don't think it carries any sting today.

But refugee can and does carry a sting when applied to US citizens. At least that is how some victims feel. And I don't blame them.

[RagingInMiami]

33. The shrub refers to New Orleans and the other stricken areas as

"that part of the world."