Two events on campus Monday afternoon offered examinations of topics that are dominating the headlines – ISIL and refugees.
The first lecture, “Immigrants, Refugees, Asylum Seekers: People Moving Across Borders,” held in the Dunn Conference Center, featured the thoughts of four BSU faculty members.
Dr. Hadidja Nyiransekuye, assistant professor in the School of Social Work, set the stage with background information on refugees and immigrants.
Since WWII there has been a shift, she said, where wars are not limited to prescribed battlefields. Armed conflicts in recent decades tend to occur more often in urban areas and neighborhoods. Those who flee these situations have limited choices. “Can they go back? Usually the answer is no, because it is not safe,” Professor Nyiransekuye said.
She added, as did the event’s other speakers, that assisting immigrants and refugees is a matter of social justice.
Her colleague, Professor Jonghyun Lee, made the case that immigrating from one’s home country is often stressful, but that most immigrants arriving in America are, studies show, very resilient. They also contribute to the economy, despite what detractors and some political candidates may say.
This last issue was fleshed out by new faculty member, Dr. Feodor Gostjev, assistant professor of criminal justice. He explained how U.S. policy toward immigration and refugees has long been based on misinformation. Spreading out newly arrived immigrants, as the current policy dictates, runs counter to the ways in which newcomers to this country typically acculturate. The first wave of refuges are usually the most well off, Dr. Gostjev said. They come to these shores and set up the business that hire subsequent arrivals.
Lastly, Richard Vengroff, professor of political science, discussed asylum seekers by expounding on a handful of anonymous cases. The gripping stories depicted the experiences of people who were beaten in their home countries for their political views or sexual orientation. “I want you to understand what this means in human terms,” he told the audience.
Professor Vengroff has interviewed many asylum seekers, and is the recipient of Senegal’s highest civilian honor for his contributions to higher education and development in that country.
Also on campus Monday, was retired Maj. Gen. Mouayad Al Windawi, head of the foreign relations department of the Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies. His talk, “ISIL/Daesh: The War on Civilizations, Culture and Humanity – The Current Situation in Syria and Iraq,” was delivered to a packed Heritage Room inside the Maxwell Library.
Dr. Windawi began his talk by defining what the word Daesh means, and how it is the full Arabic name (al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham) for the group usually referred to as ISIS, ISIL or the Islamic State. Governments around the world, including the U.S., have agreed to change their nomenclature and use Daesh instead of the original names.
Next, Dr. Windawi provided background information concerning the situation in Iraq and Syria, and brought the audience up to date concerning the ongoing struggles in those countries. His talk was presented by the Center for Middle East Studies. (Story and photos by John Winters, G ’11, University News & Media)
