From the very beginning of the revolution that began in 2011 the Syrian people have been calling it a Revolution of Dignity.
For more than four decades of Assad rule, dignity was something that had been denied anyone who did not fall into the category of the regime’s chosen people.
The longing for it inspired many revolutionaries threatened with death to adopt the slogan “Death with dignity is preferable to life with humiliation.”
It also inspired many refugees to risk their lives in the quest to find a place where they would be able to live in peace with at least a modicum of dignity.
It is also what makes the fact that asylum seekers in Cardiff, Wales were issued brightly colored wristbands that they were required to wear at all times so difficult to comprehend.
Clearsprings Ready Homes, a private firm contracted by the British government to house newly arrived asylum seekers, told them that they must wear the wristbands at all times or they would not be fed.
Some migrants said that wearing the wristbands had exposed them to being harassed and abused by local residents which was belittling and humiliating.
The policy came under criticism last week following news that some refugees elsewhere in Britain had had their doors painted red also making them targets for vandalism and racial abuse.
After being put under pressure by legislators who warned it singled migrants out for possible harassment and abuse, Clearsprings Ready Homes said it decided to end the practice Monday.
We are hoping that all such policies will be carefully thought out from a humanitarian perspective before being applied in the future.
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