Safe haven
Today’s expression is “safe haven.” A safe haven is a place of safety amid danger, a place of safety amid danger. Do you remember how you heard it before? Many people considered Hong Kong a safe haven, where they could discuss political issues without fear of retribution from China. They felt it was a safe haven because it would be dangerous inside mainland China, but the rules were different in Hong Kong. Until recently, people could discuss political issues much more freely. They felt safe there, but would not have felt safe in mainland China, so they considered it a safe haven.
Where else can you find a safe haven? Sometimes within a city, you can find a safe haven. In a violent neighborhood, a church is often a safe haven. Whatever might happen outside—however bad it is—the violence stops outside the church grounds. A neighborhood might be dangerous, but the church is a safe haven.
Many states in the US have a law that says that mothers of newborn babies can, if they feel they have no other option, leave their babies at a designated place, either a hospital or a fire station or a place like that. Workers at that safe space will call for help and an adoption agency will find the child a permanent home. It’s called a “safe haven” law because the mothers who leave their newborns in this way will not be prosecuted. It’s not common, and it is a very sad thing. Most states with this law see this happen only a few times per year, if that. Some new mothers may be very young, they may be homeless, or struggling with mental health problems or addiction—whatever the reason, they feel they cannot go on and cannot raise their child. So they can take advantage of the safe haven law, give up their child, knowing the child will be safe, and knowing they will not face prosecution.
Safe haven is often used to describe investments. Many investors own stocks and bonds, shares in private companies, currencies, and other instruments. Many of these investments can rise or fall in value quickly. When there is uncertainty in the air, investors look for a safe haven. They look for a way to invest their money that is safer, less prone to big increases or decreases in value. Gold is sometimes seen as a “safe haven” investment. If you buy gold, you will not make a fortune from it. But you won’t lose a fortune from it either—at least that’s how the thinking goes.
The world’s most stable currencies are considered a safe haven. If you make a lot of money in Argentine pesos, you will want to have some of that fortune in a more stable currency. That’s why many people want to hold euros or dollars or they hold assets in the US or Europe. Where there is political or economic uncertainty, investors look for a safe haven. Many people in China have bought apartments in New York; they believe real estate in the United States is a safe haven.
Quote of the Week
Hong Kong cartoonist Kit Man said of the new security law, “A state that can be subverted by a blank piece of paper—is it made of tofu?” The protesters were holding up blank pieces of paper to demonstrate that they couldn’t tell what was legal or not, so they weren’t writing anything. That itself, according to the new security forces, was a subversion of the state. So the cartoonist said, if a state can be subverted by a blank piece of paper, is it made of tofu?
It’s a clever point, but I think he will find they are made of sterner stuff than that.
See you next time!
The safe haven law, by the way, figures in the TV series “Little Fires Everywhere”. It’s on Hulu in the US, but you can find it on Amazon in most other parts of the world. It’s a fantastic book, too. I won’t say anything about it, in case you watch, but it’s a good series and the safe haven law comes into play in that series as well. There’s also a movie called Safe Haven, a romantic comedy I think. It got one star on Rotten Tomatoes, so you’re better off watching “Little Fires Everywhere.”
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Use realistic expressions like a native speaker
