It really caught my attention how in the workshop “Innovations in Poverty Reduction” it is talked about ‘social innovation’. The description of this workshop explains really well how diaspora youth are able to bring ideas that resolve some of the social and economic issues that are present in some communities in the developing world. They understand the nature of the community’s challenges first hand because they once lived in these communities.  

In a video that I watched last year I observed something similar taking place in the Philippines. Back then I understood innovation in a more ‘technical sense’ but I now see how innovation can be said to have a social dimension. This video clip shows how a simple idea can make a difference in the livelihood of many people who can’t afford electricity in their homes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1WtIfJuRMA

As in the video it is mentioned, the solar bottle is an example of “a third world solution for third world problems”.

One step at a time: Helping the Refugee Housing crisis.

One of the workshops I attended was “You cannot settle like this”: Addressing local
refugee housing problems. After reading some case studies based on true refugee
stories there was a discussion about what can be done to solve such issues. On
reading about this issue after the conference, I found an interesting article that
showed what we as residents of Vancouver could do to help these refugees.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?
id=beca3f47-d405-4e38-8274-9352708da6eb

This article illustrates many organizations that are there to help these refugees.
The solutions that we came up in the workshop varied from policy making to
infrastructure. At the same time, as residents of this wonderful city we also have an
opportunity to help these newcomers to our country.

I was very excited when I learnt about Navigating Borders theme this year: Migration and Poverty.
Migration/refugee issues are very personal to me. My family escaped the Sri Lankan civil war as asylum
seekers in 1988. Luckily they were accepted into Canada at that time, but I doubt they would have been
treated so welcomingly if their application was made today.

World events of the last two decades have resulted in policies that are less empathic of refugee claims.
What I find most troubling is the lack of awareness amongst the citizens of western democracies on
these matters. Without this awareness, there isn’t any political pressure to create more humane policies
for receiving refugees. I attended Navigating Borders 2012 in the hopes of contributing to the dialogue
and to help ensure that it continues afterwards.

At the conference, I was really happy with the variety of perspectives that were offered on migration/
poverty issues. Navigating Borders 2012 had speakers representing a variety of issues ranging from
indigenous rights and Canadian mining companies to human trafficking and housing issues. I also
appreciated how the conference was organized with the intention of coming up with action ideas.
However, despite these efforts, I am afraid I left the conference not having a better idea of what I could
do.

On an individual level, the most direct way I can make a difference is to vote for politicians that are
accepting of refugees. The other thing I can do is engage in conversations with others so that refugee
issues are something they consider when voting as well. I’m hoping this blog can be a way to do that.

How do you feel about Refugees? Do you believe it should be our responsibility as a democratic country,
to accept and protect those fleeing from unjust systems? To what extent should we hold ourselves to
this responsibility?

What I’m most concerned about are the rules around what constitutes a legitimate refugee claim. If a
refugee out of desperation and fear takes the risky journey by boat to Canada’s shores, is it constructive
to keep this individual in a detention centre while evaluating their claim? What if this individual is a
child, or a mother, without papers and documentation? What if this individual claims to be innocent, but
is being labeled by the country their fleeing as a terrorist?