Images of Exile

Worldwide, over 18 million people are refugees and a further 25 million are displaced within their own countries. The refugees portrayed in Images of Exile are the victims of wars and government oppression. Often refugees cross into countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, where the  resources are already stretched to support the local population, and there is little left to offer large influxes of refugees. Despite media images of floods of refugees to the West, nearly 90% of the world’s refugees live in other developing countries. The cost of supporting so many refugees is high. Land, firewood and water all have to be found and the arrival of refugees can cause political instability. For the most part, however, refugees are accepted peacefully into their host countries.

By contrast the 10% of refugees who seek sanctuary in the richer nations of Europe and North America face a barrage of obstacles designed to keep them out. The positive contributions refugees can make are ignored, and the qualifications they hold are unrecognised.

Refugees from Vietnam crowded into a secure detention camp. The 4,000 refugees were among 150,000 who found their way to Hong Kong by boat. The refugees were detained in camps until they were either given asylum in Western countries or returned to Vietnam.
Sham Shui Po closed centre, Hong Kong. 1988

They find themselves portrayed as trouble-makers and benefit scroungers. These stereotypes by a hostile media have played an important part in the introduction by European governments of legislation designed to block the arrival of desperate asylum seekers. In the UK this has led to discriminatory practices, including the detention and imprisonment of asylum seekers...