How Uganda’s attitude toward refugees puts the Western world to shame

Natalie Shortall
Jul 28, 2017 · 2 min read

Uganda has gained increasing attention in recent months for it’s approach to an influx of refugees from South Sudan, and rightly so, as they continue to set a progressive and humane example that welcomes refugees rather than deterring and demonising them. In fact, according to The Washington Post, every day for the past year, 2,000 refugees have entered Uganda from South Sudan alone. Uganda is now home to 1.2 million refugees. To put this into perspective, Uganda is about the same physical size as the UK, and needless to say, it’s economy significantly smaller. Yet, as of 2016, there were an estimated total of 118,995 refugees living in the UK. Not exactly a figure that we should be proud of then, is it?

The millions of refugees that seek a safe haven in Uganda aren’t merely confined to or isolated by camps, either. The country’s policy of offering refugees land, the right to work, and the right to the same services as natives shows that Uganda is committed to providing security and a fresh start for those fleeing war torn South Sudan, and not just reluctantly opening its border to its neighbour as a consequence of pressure from the international community, or as a means to meet a bare minimum expectation. Rather, the Ugandan government’s refugee policy is an expression of empathy and solidarity that seeks to lessen human suffering instead of placing hurdles in the tracks of a population that has struggled plenty already. Perhaps, then, the governments of developed nations should step up to the mark and take a leaf out of Uganda’s book. Let’s dig a bit deeper, find some compassion, and remember that no one chooses to be born into a country ravaged by civil war – not the Sudanese, nor the Syrians.

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