What is the price of a human life? How much is a human life worth? If you’re ever wondering, look at their nationality.
This is what nationalism has led us to. Nationalism, defined as identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, often at the expense of others, is a sentiment that has become increasingly common and problematic. After all, it gives us the right to decide and judge who gets to stay and who gets to leave based simply off of their passports. It has given us the permission to condemn entire ethnic groups and races simply because they are “different”.
This realization struck me during the expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan. When an interim government sent back over half a million Afghan refugees, most of whom had been born and raised in Pakistan or at the very least spent decades in Pakistan. They had a right to call Pakistan there home. They were sent to Afghanistan just before winter set in, and in the words of UNHRC, the timing could not have been worse. They had no jobs, no money, no shelter and certainly no hopes of a secure future in a country where over two-thirds of the people require humanitarian aid.
What shocked me was the reaction of the people: how they did not even question it for a moment. Everyone said that it was a “good move”, that there would be less “crime and terrorism” and more “opportunity” for real Pakistanis i.e Pakistani passport holders. Of course, they are the same people who will never speak against the terrorists sitting in Pakistani mansions and Pakistani offices. But, its always easier to blame the weak and powerless.
Another very similar example I can quote is this year’s anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments in Great Britain. Three young girls were killed in Wales, and the attacker was falsely labeled a Muslim immigrant. This sparked protests across the U.K. as hundreds were injured, and the Muslim community was disproportionately affected. These far-right protestors accused immigrants of “stealing their jobs” (ignoring the fact that 33% of doctors in the U.K. that come from ethnically diverse backgrounds) or “taking their homes” (whatever that even means).
Funny thing is, according to data from the Ministry of Justice in the U.K, in 2019, 77% of people prosecuted were from a white background, with specific offenses like theft being more prevalent among white offenders; but hey, it’s always the people who don’t look like you that you will hate, despite the fact that if they are allowed, they will contribute to your country.
What I’m trying to say here is that when, as a species, did we decide that only certain people who look a certain way and have a certain DNA can live in certain parts of the globe? How does that make any sense? And all nationalism does is fuel this narrative of “us vs. them.”
I will end this monologue by saying that me and the majority of the people reading this do not know what it’s like to pack our entire existence into a suitcase, say goodbye to everything we have ever known, and go off to live in a country where nobody looks like us, nobody speaks our language, and nobody tries to understand us, but everyone hates us. We don’t know what it’s like to move countries and continents, away from poverty, war, and famine, just to give our children a chance at a better future.
We will never know how much bravery it takes to do just that. It’s very easy to be judgmental and prejudiced, but it takes a human being to have enough empathy and humanity to put ourselves in their shoes.
So, I for one will never call myself a nationalist because it clashes with every aspect of my own humanity. I pray that one day my country will not be reserved for people who look or talk like me, but for everyone looking for a better and safer future. I hope that one day my society is diverse enough to be a promise of hope to anyone who wants to come here, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or gender.
