Calling for a right to resettlement ahead of UN refugee summit1

• Human Rights and Migration, Op-ed
• 17/09/2016

During a meeting on how to manage refugees’ expectations, I was reprimanded by my superiors for adding to my introduction in resettlement interviews with refugees that there is no recognized right to resettlement. This is certainly not a shock to most people, but it was a shock to the people I interviewed. It certainly made them upset to hear it. My superiors said it was cruel. Working for a small aid organization, we turned down many in need refugees asking for financial, legal, and medical assistance, and yet none of that was deemed cruel.