Baby Artin and the death of innocents: Why Artin Nezhad’s tragic death needs to be a herald of meaningful change
The tragic news that the body of a toddler found on the coast of Norway in January has been confirmed as that of refugee Artin Nezhad, aged 15 months, brings the so-called refugee crisis once again into stark focus. Just six years after the death of toddler Alan Kurdi, it seems that despite the sterling efforts by some European nations to change the narrative on what it means to welcome refugees, the reality is that entire families can and do die in fear, far from safety, whilst people-smugglers grow rich from misery.
However, the very term ‘refugee crisis’ is loaded with cognitive dissonance that serves not only those who have the power to address the ‘crisis’, but to make decisions that will prevent such a crisis happening again. The most compassionate and visionary refugee policy doesn’t change the fact that, after coming to the brink of mutual destruction-twice-in the last century, we still live in a world where people are endangered in the search of safety that they are denied in their own country or state. More perhaps than any other migrant group, Asylum Seekers have the most vivid-but also the most undeniable- of ‘push factors’ to deal with: the need to live away from conflict. Framing it as a ‘crisis’ suggests a state of affairs that this exists and is caused by abstract circumstances, rather than being the -albeit unintended-consequences of flawed policy that prioritises the wrong things. The numbers don’t lie: Campaign Against Arms Trade reports that the UK has exported a minimum of £6.3billion of arms to Saudi Arabia since March 2015. Even without Saudi Arabia as a customer, the UK was still the second-largest arms trader, beaten only by the US, in 2020. Ordnance, Technology and Global Security Companies and Manufacturers such as have enjoyed consistent upward growth in their stock value: on September 2nd 2015, as three-year-old Alan Kurdi was found dead, face down on the beach, Lockheed Martin’s stock value was £209.77; by the day that Artin Nezhad was formally identified, the share value reflected a steady 78% increase over the previous six years to a value of £372.82 (source: www.macroaxis.com). The framing of situation as a ‘refugee crisis’ takes the focus away from the root cause: a crisis of conscience that sees Western markets flush with the profits of conflict. Such profits cannot be seen as anything other than a totem of a morally-bankrupt system that destroys and rebuilds at the cost of billions, yet creates nothing but an opportunity for those without compassion or meaningful sanction to profit.
We accept and respect the right of any sovereign nation to defend itself; we accept and respect the noble principles of the ‘responsibility to protect’ those who cannot defend themselves. And no-one can deny that the architects of this individual tragedy are those that accepted money from this family, created a false narrative about life in the UK and knowingly put them in danger. But these criminals are not the only ones who need to look to their consciences. The ‘pull-factor’ for the UK is fuelled by false narratives that come from more than one source: the ‘life of luxury’ trope played out in certain sections of the UK media must share some of the blame. This combination seeps under and undermines any formal narrative, especially for those disadvantaged by a language barrier, a mistrust of authority and a sheer need to escape insufferable circumstances. The complexities of migration, asylum and related issues require nuanced and informed consideration by Governments and populations: how much more complex must it be to evaluate logically from the position of a refugee, needing to protect their family? In the same position, any one of us would make the same choice.
It is up to everyone to challenge the false narratives, question the morality of the arms industry in the West, and turn away from the smoke and mirrors of ‘the refugee issue’ and stand face-to-face with the reality of people in desperate need, caught in conflicts they did not cause. Those that exploit them have no conscience: we must be better than that, and we must demand better of the leaders who represent us.
Like his sister and brother who also perished in the same tragedy, like Alan Kurdi and so many others, Baby Artin was an innocent; for the sake of everyone’s conscience, we call on all those in power to do all that they can to make his death the last.
9 JUNE 2021