Museum and refugee; keeping culture
Giving voice to Refugees: The Museological Agenda
‘Indian Perspective’
In most of the countries being a refugee is being cursed, almost all developing countries are struggling with entire problems, major one of them is immigration from their neighboring undeveloped or developed countries. India also is not apart of this condition. Indian administration already has a policy from the aftermath of 1st world war (1921-22), real movement of refugee protection and upliftment had started from 1948 with the universal human right declaration which proclaimed all basic human rights. The foremost authority of refugee laws came into its existence in 1951, but still India lacks a cohesive national policy for handling refugee inflows, resulting in mass rejections at the frontier while policy directions are awaited or non-recognition of refugees was proposed, but the proposal has never been considered by parliament. The law would protect refugees from being forced home to face unsafe condition or persecution. It would also establish a Refugee Commission to monitor the treatment of refugees.
Every day thousands of people form neighboring countries try to cross the border illegally or legally. Now the present condition has thrown an issue amongst the Indian museologists to participate, to be active and to deal for a productive result. Indian museums didn’t take any sincere and major step on the big immigration issue yet; barely any immigration museum; asylum training and education centre has been established across the nation. Some NGOs are working in the field but primarily they emphasize on personal benefits rather than immigrants welfare. It’s a time for museums professionals to wake up, to start a new mission to safeguard the entire as well as migratory culture with the collaborative efforts with government. Scenario and environment of immigration in developing countries follow routine law of wake up, find job, and find bread by their major population. Major group of families belong to lower middle class, which are fighting for daily needs every day. These countries have adopted Multiculturism by the best, but each ethnic group is successful to conserve its identity and tradition. Museum have a wide spectrum of jobs here concerning the issue; they just need to start debate, surveys, researches, projects and above all efforts to get support from government so that asylum seekers could began to feel the sense of place and belonging.
Cultural India is famous for its guest welcome; asylum seekers, immigrant refugees and their heritage as well, always been welcomed in India. Proposed primary and propagative museological strategies in Indian regarding could be as following
Primary ‘Initiatives’
1. museums recommend the following
a. To propose and pass a flexible National law that will provide uniform treatment and regulation of all refugees living in India.
b. To establish a central commission with a committee of museologists and social workers to oversee refugee affaires, even if the law gives responsibility to state government to provide for refugees.
c. Should not misuse the law to stop the asylum seekers by dismissing them as economic migrants without due process
d. Government should sign the 1951 refugee convention, 1967 protocol and allow the UNHCR (united nation high commissioner for refugees) to play an appropriate role.
2. Recognition, reallocation and registration of refugees, according to age, sex, nationality with details of their traditions, demo recordings of their art and intangible heritage. Those who have been disappeared in the country should also be relocated with the appropriate help for their livelihood.
3. Let the asylum seekers live their life in their way and they can carry the survival of their heritage in vary natural form. So very first need is to provide them job, food and shelter.
4. Some of the TV channels like Discovery, National Geographic etc. actively participate in such regards. They are always keen to captures the issues like this. Museums strictly need to realize the threat of extinction of migrated heritage and try ot commit some projects with these channels. The channels can help best in recording the intangible heritage as well as they can raise the issues beyond the museum limits.
5. Big and famous museums of the nation can have a asylum heritage promotion corner, where product of refugee art could be sold, sales profit could be used for the establishment of some new and promotion of old asylums. Products as safeguarded tangible heritage could be the part of museum collection.
6. Asylum village are the best key for the lock of New Museology, these village could be open air refugee museums, with their own economy. Such museums could be established in the premises of major cities near border of nation. In a very natural way asylum village could represent the diversity, richness, complications and problems of migration.
7. National museum needs to plan some conferences, debates and competition across the nation to aware and get support from the population and administration as well.
8. Psychologically it has been proved that culture is the miscible among all the humanity characters, so asylum seekers also adopt the culture of host country but firstly they need to be educated about the culture and its diversity inside the host country.
Secondary ‘Propagative’
A. Recording of intangible heritage
B. Support to those NGO’s who really work in favor of refugees
C. Planning and implementation of infrastructure regulated by central government.
Giving voice to Refugees: The Museological Agenda
‘Indian Perspective’
In most of the countries being a refugee is being cursed, almost all developing countries are struggling with entire problems, major one of them is immigration from their neighboring undeveloped or developed countries. India also is not apart of this condition. Indian administration already has a policy from the aftermath of 1st world war (1921-22), real movement of refugee protection and upliftment had started from 1948 with the universal human right declaration which proclaimed all basic human rights. The foremost authority of refugee laws came into its existence in 1951, but still India lacks a cohesive national policy for handling refugee inflows, resulting in mass rejections at the frontier while policy directions are awaited or non-recognition of refugees was proposed, but the proposal has never been considered by parliament. The law would protect refugees from being forced home to face unsafe condition or persecution. It would also establish a Refugee Commission to monitor the treatment of refugees.
Every day thousands of people form neighboring countries try to cross the border illegally or legally. Now the present condition has thrown an issue amongst the Indian museologists to participate, to be active and to deal for a productive result. Indian museums didn’t take any sincere and major step on the big immigration issue yet; barely any immigration museum; asylum training and education centre has been established across the nation. Some NGOs are working in the field but primarily they emphasize on personal benefits rather than immigrants welfare. It’s a time for museums professionals to wake up, to start a new mission to safeguard the entire as well as migratory culture with the collaborative efforts with government. Scenario and environment of immigration in developing countries follow routine law of wake up, find job, and find bread by their major population. Major group of families belong to lower middle class, which are fighting for daily needs every day. These countries have adopted Multiculturism by the best, but each ethnic group is successful to conserve its identity and tradition. Museum have a wide spectrum of jobs here concerning the issue; they just need to start debate, surveys, researches, projects and above all efforts to get support from government so that asylum seekers could began to feel the sense of place and belonging.
Cultural India is famous for its guest welcome; asylum seekers, immigrant refugees and their heritage as well, always been welcomed in India. Proposed primary and propagative museological strategies in Indian regarding could be as following
Primary ‘Initiatives’
1. museums recommend the following
a. To propose and pass a flexible National law that will provide uniform treatment and regulation of all refugees living in India.
b. To establish a central commission with a committee of museologists and social workers to oversee refugee affaires, even if the law gives responsibility to state government to provide for refugees.
c. Should not misuse the law to stop the asylum seekers by dismissing them as economic migrants without due process
d. Government should sign the 1951 refugee convention, 1967 protocol and allow the UNHCR (united nation high commissioner for refugees) to play an appropriate role.
2. Recognition, reallocation and registration of refugees, according to age, sex, nationality with details of their traditions, demo recordings of their art and intangible heritage. Those who have been disappeared in the country should also be relocated with the appropriate help for their livelihood.
3. Let the asylum seekers live their life in their way and they can carry the survival of their heritage in vary natural form. So very first need is to provide them job, food and shelter.
4. Some of the TV channels like Discovery, National Geographic etc. actively participate in such regards. They are always keen to captures the issues like this. Museums strictly need to realize the threat of extinction of migrated heritage and try ot commit some projects with these channels. The channels can help best in recording the intangible heritage as well as they can raise the issues beyond the museum limits.
5. Big and famous museums of the nation can have a asylum heritage promotion corner, where product of refugee art could be sold, sales profit could be used for the establishment of some new and promotion of old asylums. Products as safeguarded tangible heritage could be the part of museum collection.
6. Asylum village are the best key for the lock of New Museology, these village could be open air refugee museums, with their own economy. Such museums could be established in the premises of major cities near border of nation. In a very natural way asylum village could represent the diversity, richness, complications and problems of migration.
7. National museum needs to plan some conferences, debates and competition across the nation to aware and get support from the population and administration as well.
8. Psychologically it has been proved that culture is the miscible among all the humanity characters, so asylum seekers also adopt the culture of host country but firstly they need to be educated about the culture and its diversity inside the host country.
Secondary ‘Propagative’
A. Recording of intangible heritage
B. Support to those NGO’s who really work in favor of refugees
C. Planning and implementation of infrastructure regulated by central government.
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