International Relations and World Affairs

Islamophobia is a potent factor, but not the whole story June 20 was “World Refugee Day,” but the following days witnessed strong debates over the refugee issue inside China. Many Chinese newspapers and websites highlighted the news of Yao Chen, who is a famous Chinese movie and TV star, visiting foreign refugees in both China and abroad. Those reports about refugees were viewed by Chinese public as attempts to “create a public atmosphere,” or a sign that Chinese government is preparing to accept Middle East refugees (an assumption made largely because of the official background of Chinese news agencies). Countless discussions and petitions denouncing Yao Chen and the possibility of China accepting refugees have emerged, not only on social media sites such as Weibo and WeChat, but also on several leading internet blogs. Public surveys show that a massive majority of Chinese (in some surveys, nearly 99 percent) strongly oppose t...

J une 20 th  marks World Refugee Day, a time when the international community pauses to remember and pay tribute to the 65 million men, women, and children who are escaping war, persecution, terror, and economic deprivation. In Turkey, the plight of refugees has become a sad fact of life because of the millions of refugees pouring out of Syria, the epicenter of the refugee calamity in today’s world.  Indeed, the exodus from Syria has tested Turkey, now home to 2.9 million refugees.  The largest concentration of the Syrian diaspora now calls Turkey home. This population endured barrel bombs and bullets, escaping unimaginable hardship and an uncertain future. A lost generation of Syrian youth are growing up in Turkish refugee camps and suffer from depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and other severe mental health conditions. Last month, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley visited Turkey, and witnessed the ongoing suffering that has no end in sight. ...