Educate the host: it’s not just refugees who need ‘integration’ programs

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Informal activities and events are often organized in cities that host large numbers of forced migrants, both in the North and in the South.

In Europe, some towns and villages host events or initiatives led by municipalities and managed by collectives aimed at promoting integration through cultural activities or interreligious dialogue.

In cities like Beirut and Istanbul, film screenings and round tables on Syria have been largely organized by local activists, with the aim of raising awareness among civil society. Yet very often these initiatives fail to become visible to all social groups and, above all, still lack the official discourse on forced migration.

“Hosts” who do not actively host

Instead, the responsibility and ability to integrate and be included is exclusively vested in the refugees themselves. Paradoxically, members of societies hosting refugees are officially defined as “hosts” without active accommodation.

This is not to reject the importance of “integration” and “inclusion” in contemporary societies, but rather to advocate for a healthy coexistence and mutual knowledge between members of the community. long-standing and new members of these societies.

The international community needs to shift the phrase “integrative capacity” from refugees to local “hosts”, and recognize the need for a real plan with mandatory long-term education programs.

Some might see this call for host education as an ideological and, therefore, questionable decision, but the truth is that whether we like it or not, people will keep moving, and the sustainability of well-being. of each can only be a common affair.

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