http://allafrica.com/stories/200707231252.html
This article is from last week, but it's one of the latest I can find. It's about the recently elected (March 2007) president Abdallahi's government's promise to black Mauritanian refugees in Senegal. In 1989, ethnic tensions in the country betweem Moorish Mauritanians and Black Mauritanians drove many Black Mauritanians to Senegal. The new government promised to end their suffering all these years by restoring their rights to citizenship and their rights to restore their property and live in dignity.
Many of these refugees have lived most of their lives, if not all, in statelessness. They're neither Mauritanians nor Senegalese. I am touched when one of the refugees speaks of nationality as a basic human rights. Nationality is something that many of us take for granted that we do not realize how important it is to our identity. Even though many of these refugees know that life will be difficult when they return to Mauritania, they are still willing to risk because they want to belong to somewhere; they want dignity and identity. I hope that Mauritanian government won't fail to deliver their promise!
After reading this article, I feel very lucky to have a nationality and knowing that under normal circumstances, my nationality won't be taken away from me. It makes me feel like I belong somewhere, no matter how far I am from home. I also feel protected, knowing that no matter what happens to me overseas, my government will assist me and protect me.
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I agree that nationality and a sense of belonging is important to many people. The whole issue of rebuilding places like New Orleans and other high risk areas of natural hazards shows how people are willing rebuild even though they have lived through a traumatic event. A sense of belonging is very important and many refuges have to deal with displacement as more than just a loss of their homes, but a way of life, family and friends. The amount of stress and cramped borders that contain refuges can create dangerous living conditions and are generally subjected higher levels of crime.
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