One of my favourite minor characters I’ve written is a refugee. He emigrated from his people’s homeland to a foreign country, where he became fiercely loyal to his adopted culture. But then his new home country declared war on his people’s country, and all of a sudden he wasn’t welcome because he looked like the enemy. He had to return to the homeland, where he was rejected for being a “foreigner” who barely spoke the local language and didn’t observe their religion.
I included him because I didn’t want his people to be “the bad guys” purely because of the actions of their government. I wanted to show the plight of the common people caught up in a conflict that has nothing to do with them.
I should add that I wrote the character in question over five years ago. Now that subplot is more relevant than ever, and I really wish it wasn’t. Well maybe Hasan the Amorani will get a happy ending – you never know. I can’t say the same for thousands of people in the real world, because I’m not in charge of it. Sadly.