re: #398 wrenchwench

For him to say this in Europe to Europeans makes me think he does not believe a person can rightfully relocate on a permanent basis. If a person wants to go back to where they came from, fine. If they don’t, I believe they should be made to feel comfortable in a new home. Doesn’t matter why they want to. Could be economic, could be to avoid violence, whether from someone they know or a gang or a war or anything. We are fortunate to have such a big country in which we can move around at will. I hope I’m not alone in being willing to share.

I guess we would have to ask him to elaborate. I don’t think it implies that. If he said “Tibet is for Tibetans” and “Tibetans should go back to Tibet”, would we think he was a Tibetan supremacist? I think most of the refugees were driven out, and had no desire to leave. I think to say that they should go back is recognizing that they have a right of return. In Western Sahara, for example, there are tens of thousands of refugees living in desert camps with nowhere to return to. Teenagers today have lived their entire lives in these camps supported by the UN. They would like to go home, Morocco begs to differ. I think the best long term resolution is for refugees to return safely to their homes as soon as possible. If some want to stay, I support that. The more time that passes, the less chance there is of ever returning even if they want to, as their property and places have been taken and their children raised in a different culture.