After New Orleans was hit by hurricane Katrina, there was lots of talk about whether people who lost their homes should be called “refugees”.
Some thought that the word was “bad” and that it should be reserved for foreigners from war-torn countries. Some quoted legal definitions. Others argued that by describing hurricane victims as refugees we become more understanding of people going through hardship.
What we have decided to do is to go to the very heart of this debate, by finding out what it is that we talk about when we talk about refuge.
Our very simple idea is this: to get loads of people to say what the word “refuge” means to them. The more definitions we find, the closer we all get to understanding what people we call “refugees” are about.
To start with, a few wanna-be word-smiths have posted their views of “refuge” on www.wordia.com (which is the place for defining the words that matter to you). The next step is for you to get inspired and upload your definition.
Once we collect loads of definitions, we can start redefining dictionaries.
A whole bunch of writers have approached the many definitions of refuge as part of the Simple Acts campaign. Anthony Robinson, Caroline Moorehead and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown have all written pieces exploring what refuge means to them, whilst Chris Cleave asks us to question our understanding of refuge through a daily commentary everyday during Refugee Week.
Have a butchers here…
What does refuge mean to you?
Here are a few things that some friendly peeps (including Mr Collins) have told us refuge means to them:
noun, shelter or protection, as from the weather or danger
noun, any place, person, action, or thing that offers or appears to offer protection, help, or relief
noun, another name for traffic island
verb, to take refuge or give refuge to
It is a shelter from the storms of life.
Castles in the air - they are so easy to take refuge in. And so easy to build, too. - Henrik Ibsen
It is a hug from someone who loves you.
It is Cheers. A place where everyone knows your name.
It is an empty cinema on a Thursday afternoon and a film that will transport you away from the gripes of everyday life.
A hot bath, trash magazine and a glass of Rioja.
When we take refuge we make a genuine link with the path leading towards the experience of sanity. - Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche
A place inaccessible to an enemy.
Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between notes and curl my back to loneliness. - Maya Angelou
