According to all the various canon sources, has Wakanda ever accepted refugees?
More generally speaking, what are its immigration policies?
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1Well, in the MCU they were hidden until the last year or three. That would seem to preclude any refugee policy.– AdamantCommented Mar 6, 2019 at 16:39
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22They seem quite content to let their African neighbours starve to death– ValorumCommented Mar 6, 2019 at 16:40
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4The real question is: have refugees ever accepted Wakanda?? And when I say “The real question”, I mean “A completely different question”.– Paul D. WaiteCommented Mar 6, 2019 at 17:07
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8in the MCU - Bucky could be considered a refugee, no?– NKCampbellCommented Mar 6, 2019 at 20:46
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Well, they did, but that was forever ago...– MachavityCommented Mar 6, 2019 at 21:08
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1 Answer
In the MCU, we learn that Wakanda is (almost) entirely isolationist. With the exception of Bucky, who's living at a remote farm just inside the border, seemingly as a personal favour to Steve Rogers, the Wakandan leadership seem unwilling to accept any outsiders being part of their society, period.
T'CHALLA: Nakia thinks we should be doing more.
W'KABI: More, like what?
T'CHALLA: Foreign aid, refugee programs.
W'KABI: You let the refugees in… they bring their problems with them. And then Wakanda is like everywhere else. Now if you said you wanted me and my men… to go out there and clean up the world, then I’ll be all for it.
In the comics, Wakanda's response to refugees at their borders was initially to simply turn them away with violence. When they tired of that, they constructed a gigantic wall to stop them from getting in in the first place.
After the existence of Wakanda became widely known, they did accept in a small number of refugees. Mismanagement of the camp and a heavy-handed response to low level violence (largely caused by placing refugees from warring factions in the same areas of the camp) led to increasing amounts of violence and, ultimately, a full blown humanitarian crisis.
You see, back in Wakanda, things were a little TENSE. The client had set up a refugee camp in the kingdom's border region where tribesmen seeking ASYLUM from regional ethnic wars would be SAFE.
Safe from their governments -- but not from EACH OTHER. They kinda brought their war WITH them. The client often found himself interceding in skirmishes between the refugees, which aggravated the Wakandan people that much MORE.
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31It's hard to resist the urge to make a political quip about this.– jpmc26Commented Mar 6, 2019 at 19:55
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3@jpmc26 - Yes, it's almost too deliciously apt. Like eating a cake made out of frosting– ValorumCommented Mar 6, 2019 at 20:40
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4@Meg - probably the sale of 'Make Wakanda Great Again' merchandise– ValorumCommented Mar 7, 2019 at 14:07