By Erin Kim
I am surprised, shocked and confused. But most of all, I am scared for our future. For most of my relatively young life, I grew up and learned to take for granted that the world lived in harmony. And that the world's problems are there to be solved, eventually.
From a very young age, I enthusiastically learned the Mandarin language with assurances from my teachers that China is embracing the rest of the world in global trade, democracy and fair play. I also took a keen interest in modern history with confidence that dictators like Hitler are historical aberrations that will not be repeated, ever. I entered debating competitions with the absolute confidence that any notions of dictatorships are bound to fail in due course.
Even our neighbor North Korea and its dictator Kim Jong-un seemed like just a freakish accident in a long history of improving global harmony and globalization. My interest in refugees began with the desire to help North Korean defectors, very confident that it is a problem soon to be deleted from our collective "do to list." For my generation, climate change seemed to be an issue that posed a rare challenge due to the serious threat to our future. Then with COVID-19, everything I took for granted was flipped over on its head.
The pandemic showed the ugly side of nationalism with prejudice and racism still being widespread problems. The reports of anti-Asian incidents are deeply disturbing for a young person like me, who has only experienced them through books and movies. To see the rising discrimination against any race or color is hard to fathom, as we were taught that racism and refugees are issues that are getting better every year.
Also hard to fathom is the U.S. trade war with China. China's trade war with the U.S. continues to flip the notion of the globalization ideal that I learned all my life. China's zero-COVID policy seemed at first like a noble effort to ensure the safety of its people, but recently it dawned that the reasons seemed more political than humanitarian. Not to mention China's treatment of Uighurs, which seems not that different from North Korea's treatment of many of its people.
Finally, I read about the Chinese government banning certain books from Hong Kong schools, which is so different from what I remember when I was attending school there not so long ago. This month, Chinese President Xi Jinping is changing China's constitution to extend his term in office indefinitely, ending its promise of embracing and respecting the democratic process. The pride I had for being fluent in Chinese does not have the same feeling anymore.
Most shocking is Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which to me is frighteningly similar to what I read about in the early days of World War Two. The plight of the Ukraine people, especially the innocent young ones, was unfathomable just a few years ago.
North Korean refugees now do not seem like an anomaly but a part of a greater trend. The idea of war, such as the one Russia is waging against Ukraine, is something I only read about in history books. But that is now shown every day in the media. Most disappointing is the lack of action taken by the United Nations or the United States, whom we took for granted as the ultimate world police to prevent such incursions on any sovereign nation. Coincidentally or not, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un all seem to have been empowered since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Yet, we should not give up hope. My experience with countless volunteers helping refugees proved to me that there are far more people ready to protect human rights and refugees than those causing them distress or harm. The support for the Ukrainians from the global public is an inspiring foundation for us to build awareness for refugees. With the easing of the COVID-19 lockdowns and global travel largely resuming, the world will get back to its normal way of life. We also hope with the growing support from the public, we will take on the challenges that are facing us.
Erin Kim is a high school senior at Geelong Grammar School and an Australian state debating champion team member.
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From a very young age, I enthusiastically learned the Mandarin language with assurances from my teachers that China is embracing the rest of the world in global trade, democracy and fair play. I also took a keen interest in modern history with confidence that dictators like Hitler are historical aberrations that will not be repeated, ever. I entered debating competitions with the absolute confidence that any notions of dictatorships are bound to fail in due course.
Even our neighbor North Korea and its dictator Kim Jong-un seemed like just a freakish accident in a long history of improving global harmony and globalization. My interest in refugees began with the desire to help North Korean defectors, very confident that it is a problem soon to be deleted from our collective "do to list." For my generation, climate change seemed to be an issue that posed a rare challenge due to the serious threat to our future. Then with COVID-19, everything I took for granted was flipped over on its head.
The pandemic showed the ugly side of nationalism with prejudice and racism still being widespread problems. The reports of anti-Asian incidents are deeply disturbing for a young person like me, who has only experienced them through books and movies. To see the rising discrimination against any race or color is hard to fathom, as we were taught that racism and refugees are issues that are getting better every year.
Also hard to fathom is the U.S. trade war with China. China's trade war with the U.S. continues to flip the notion of the globalization ideal that I learned all my life. China's zero-COVID policy seemed at first like a noble effort to ensure the safety of its people, but recently it dawned that the reasons seemed more political than humanitarian. Not to mention China's treatment of Uighurs, which seems not that different from North Korea's treatment of many of its people.
Finally, I read about the Chinese government banning certain books from Hong Kong schools, which is so different from what I remember when I was attending school there not so long ago. This month, Chinese President Xi Jinping is changing China's constitution to extend his term in office indefinitely, ending its promise of embracing and respecting the democratic process. The pride I had for being fluent in Chinese does not have the same feeling anymore.
Most shocking is Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which to me is frighteningly similar to what I read about in the early days of World War Two. The plight of the Ukraine people, especially the innocent young ones, was unfathomable just a few years ago.
North Korean refugees now do not seem like an anomaly but a part of a greater trend. The idea of war, such as the one Russia is waging against Ukraine, is something I only read about in history books. But that is now shown every day in the media. Most disappointing is the lack of action taken by the United Nations or the United States, whom we took for granted as the ultimate world police to prevent such incursions on any sovereign nation. Coincidentally or not, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un all seem to have been empowered since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Yet, we should not give up hope. My experience with countless volunteers helping refugees proved to me that there are far more people ready to protect human rights and refugees than those causing them distress or harm. The support for the Ukrainians from the global public is an inspiring foundation for us to build awareness for refugees. With the easing of the COVID-19 lockdowns and global travel largely resuming, the world will get back to its normal way of life. We also hope with the growing support from the public, we will take on the challenges that are facing us.
Erin Kim is a high school senior at Geelong Grammar School and an Australian state debating champion team member.
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