Some Refugees Who Changed The World

They are destitute, desperate but determined. Thousands of them flee their homes every year, risking their lives in unseaworthy boats or crammed in trucks.

Refugees struggling to find a new life in Europe have seized the world's attention. In some places, they have faced a backlash from anti-immigration groups who claim they are a drain on resources.

But history is full of examples of refugees who went on to leave lasting contributions in the realms of science, arts, politics and sports.

Here are just some of the most prominent, in their own words:

Albert Einstein

The most important physicist of the 20th century was persecuted in Germany by the Nazis, who branded his groundbreaking theory of relativity "Jewish physics." He left for the United States in 1933 and never returned to Germany.

 

Marlene Dietrich

The cinematic icon and legendary cabaret singer rose to fame in Germany in the 1920s. She left to pursue a career in Hollywood in 1930 and watched with horror as the Nazis proceeded to seize power in her homeland. She rejected overtures from Hitler's regime to return to Germany, became an American citizen and performed for Allied troops during World War II.

 

Freddie Mercury 

The frontman of stadium rock legends Queen was born Farrokh Bulsara in 1946, the son of an Indian Parsee couple living on the African island of Zanzibar. The family fled the bloody revolution that shook the island in 1964, moving to suburban London where the aspiring musician eventually met his future band mates.

 

Gloria Estefan

The "Queen of Latin Pop" spent the first two years of her life in Havana, Cuba. But the Communist revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959 prompted her family to leave for Miami. Her father returned to Cuba to fight in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. Estefan went on to sell more than 100 million albums and win seven Grammys in a dazzling pop career.

 

Madeleine Albright 

The United States' first female Secretary of State was born in 1937 in the country then known as Czechoslovakia. Her family fled the Nazis during World War II and then, after returning, were forced to leave again after the Communist takeover of 1948.
And many more too numerous to mention. 

Refugees have so much talents and can impact positively to the world. Don't use their current state or conditions to judge them. Give them a chance.