2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Human rights advocate calls for refugee rights, opportunities
AARON BALS / DN Staff Writer
His stop at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Nebraska Union on Monday afternoon was one of many on his mission to help African refugees.
Krua spoke to a three-fourths full union auditorium about human rights, refugees, government and more.
Krua is the founder of the Boston-based Universal Human Rights International, a group that promotes the interests of African refugees in the United States and the general cause of global human rights. Krua is from Liberia, whose refugee population in the United States has soared since the outbreak of a civil war in 1990.
"As I speak to you this afternoon, there are 10,000 Liberian refugees in the United States," Krua said. "Even those escorted here by the U.S. military do not have refugee status."
Krua said refugee status for Africans escaping civil wars is the only hope they have of gaining the safety and security they hoped to find in America. The designation enables the refugees to work legally.
"We do not want people who escaped torture in Africa to die here because of snow," Krua said.
Krua's organization has lobbied U.S. congressmen and congresswomen and last week briefed Congress on its position. The group succeeded in getting two bills designed to assimilate Liberian refugees introduced in the House of Representatives.
Those bills have the support of both Republicans and Democrats, as well as the Congressional Black Caucasus, but the number of supporting congress members is small, with only 17 in the House and seven in the Senate.
Krua spent much of his time Monday talking about the legacy of colonialism and the development of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights.
He said most American students know little about the U.N. declaration, but that it is of crucial importance to the rest of the world, much of which does not share the liberty and freedoms of the United States.
Krua said adherence to the declaration worldwide is vital to establishing freedom from oppression for all human beings, and urged greater awareness of global human rights problems.
"It is part of your world, whether you know it or not, because we live in a global village," Krua said. "Unless you understand that yourself, you may be overtaken by young people from Japan, Johannesburg and other places all over the world."
Krua said a meaningful effort to implement the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights is the best solution for preventing problems such as terrorism, illiteracy, poverty and disease.
Krua spoke again later in the afternoon about the historical links between the United States and Liberia. The country was founded by former American slaves, and has had various ties to the United States throughout its tumultuous history.
The United States intervened in Liberia's civil war in 2003 in an attempt to bring peace to decades of conflict. Krua said the intervention brought much-needed stability to his former home, and that more work is needed to ensure that it lasts.
"We now need to disarm the rebels to make sure the peace lasts," Krua said. "The child soldiers must be de-traumatized and integrated back into society."
Krua said he believes problems like those in Liberia cannot be solved without the support of normal citizens and students like those in the audience.
"I'd like to urge everyone in this room to do something," Krua said. "If someone else's life is in danger, your life is in danger too."