Inspired by a photograph of a shipwrecked migrant in the Mediterranean in November 2017, that captured my attention in an article titled "CLIMATE CHANGE IS DRIVING PEOPLE FROM HOME. SO WHY DON’T THEY COUNT AS REFUGEES?[1]", I decided to make a sculpture of the image that stuck with me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The subject of the refugee crisis has been reverting my heart for the longest time and only to learn that refugees are no longer displaced alone due to war and violence but also due to climate change which is not included in the more than 65 million reported. To make matters worse, refugee status is only entitled to people who are forced to leave their homes due to war or persecution. Thus, the many who have been displaced because of climate change are not permitted to flee and seek help and protection as they do not qualify as a refugee. As the law on the case of the refugees was only legislated after the second world war to offer protection for the individuals who fled from zones of conflict.

 

The impactful image of the men in his life vest floating on the surface of the ocean that has been stuck with me and keeps reverting in my mind was the impetus for my sculpture. The sculpture here is not only calling out for help from divine providence but also from each one of us not solely for this individual life. But the sculpture is a clamour for humanity. Here we need to see the being battling for survival not what qualifies for protection and help.

 

[1] David Pike 30sc on December 22 and 2017, ‘CLIMATE CHANGE IS DRIVING PEOPLE FROM HOME. SO WHY DON’T THEY COUNT AS REFUGEES?’, Job One for Humanity, accessed 27 April 2018,http://www.joboneforhumanity.org/climate_change_is_driving_people_from_home_so_why_don_t_they_count_as_refugees.