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Ten Facts About Refugees in Iran

Refugees in Iran
There are more refugees and displaced people now than ever before in history. An estimated 65.3 million people are displaced, with 21.3 million of those being refugees. Here are 10 facts about refugees in Iran.

  1. As of October 2016, the Islamic Republic of Iran was the fifth top refugee-hosting country in the world. The number of refugees in Iran come in after Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan and Lebanon.
  2. Iran only has a small number of refugees that flee to find resettlement elsewhere. Iran has taken on a significant role in the refugee crisis, taking in around 979,400 refugees, most of which have fled from Afghanistan and Iraq.
  3. At the end of 2015, Iran constructed and renovated three schools for the benefit of refugee and host communities. In 2016, UNHCR supported Iran in building four more additional schools and providing literacy classes for approximately 3,000 refugees, both children and adults.
  4. The Supreme Leader of Iran declared, in 2015, that every child in Iran is required to attend school, no matter their documentation status. This allowed around 48,000 undocumented Afghans to enroll in the education system. Over 350,000 Afghan and Iraqi students enrolled for the 2015–2016 school year and that number is only expected to grow.
  5. UNHCR has worked together with Iran’s Ministry of Health to provide Primary Health Care (PHC) to all refugees. PHC includes vaccines, family planning, and care specifically for mothers and children. There were 83,000 refugees enrolled in Iran’s national health insurance program in 2015.
  6. The Iranian government and UNHCR are working together to provide prevention and rehabilitation to those who have been victims of violence. Assistance is given to sexual and gender-based violence victims as well as those victims to substance abuse.
  7. Around 6,000 refugees were set to receive legal assistance from the Iranian government in 2016. UNHCR also invests in infrastructure in areas of Iran that have the largest refugee populations.
  8. Iran’s government has recently shifted its view on formal skills training for refugees. Skills learned in this training will assist in providing the refugees with self-reliance tools. This will not only be valuable for them during their time in Iran, but also if they choose to return to their home country. Around 3,500 refugees were to be enrolled in formal skills training in 2016.
  9. There were 157 health centers and 24 educational facilities planned to be constructed, rehabilitated, or adequately equipped in Iran in 2016.
  10. Iran and nine other developing countries host more of the world’s refugees than any of the world’s wealthiest nations. These 10 countries account for only 2.5% of the world’s economy. Amnesty International said that the wealthiest nations do the least in providing host communities and resources.

Over 20 million refugees, including refugees in Iran, are under the age of 18. Every day, nearly 34,000 people are forced to flee their home countries worldwide. Some organizations that assist Iran and other developing countries in their support of refugees are UNHCR, Amnesty International, and World Relief — among many others.

– Shannon Elder

Photo: Flickr

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Ten Reforms in the Last Decade to Improve Education in Taiwan


Students coming out of Taiwan have routinely placed high on international test scores. However, a common concern about this region of the world is that there is too much emphasis on memorization and examination, stifling students’ creativity to create graduates who can test well but lack the critical thinking necessary for many of the world’s jobs.

The Ministry of Education in Taiwan has tackled this concern with a variety of reforms. Here are 10 reforms that have been implemented in the past decade to improve education in Taiwan:

  1. Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, which oversees education in Taiwan, stated that their goal is to replace the right to an education with the right to learn, to place focus on citizens and to make education “learner-centered.”
  2. As a response to the country’s low birth rate, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education announced in 2015 that they would be merging universities to better accommodate students who pursue higher education in the country.
  3. In 2009, Taiwan introduced a new reading program called “Happy Reading 101,” which increased the amount of time allocated for reading in schools, expanded elementary and junior high libraries and encouraged schools to promote reading-friendly activities. After the implementation, Taiwan improved its reading performance on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), jumping from 23rd in 2009 to 4th in 2012.
  4. To place less pressure on students hoping to continue their education, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education began promoting an “exam-free pathway” to high school. This pathway encourages high schools to look at residency status, civic involvement, extracurricular activities and other factors when accepting students, rather than on test scores alone.
  5. Education in Taiwan now focuses on implementing decentralized curricula to better serve students, with many schools developing Curriculum Development Education Committees to make education student-centered.
  6. In 2014, the Ministry of Education added three years of mandatory schooling to be completed after junior high. The implementation of compulsory secondary education ensures that each student is prepared for their next step in life, be it the vocational or academic track.
  7. According to World Education News and Reviews, arts education in Taiwan is now available to all students, with classes such as music and fine arts being added to the curriculum.
  8. Taiwan has made improvements to schools’ vocational education and training (VET) programs, which help prepare students who choose the vocational track in high school for their career goals.
  9. Taiwan’s Ministry of Education supported e-learning and began encouraging schools to prepare students for a technological world in 2014.
  10. In 2015, the Ministry of Education cut the application process for high school in half and began requiring high schools to admit at least 50% of students based on results of the Comprehensive Assessment Program. The Ministry hopes this reform will place less stress on students as they apply to secondary schooling.

Though these reforms are relatively new to the system of education in Taiwan, the country has already seen improvement. More students have become enrolled in higher education institutions and been given more opportunities to continue their education. In fact, the Ministry of Education reports that the college acceptance rate has steadily risen from 20 percent in the 1970s to over 90 percent as of 2012. Also, according to World Education News and Reviews, the literacy rate in Taiwan has steadily increased throughout the years, going from 86 percent in 1998 to 98.5 percent as of 2014.

Taiwan only hopes to improve the country’s education with goals “to re-orient education toward positive social values, to reshape the education system into an effective model, to reset reasonable resources, to reconstruct partnerships and to solidify learning scholarship” between now and 2023.

– Jacqueline Artz

Photo: Flickr

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Human Capital: Ending Poverty in Trinidad and Tobago

Poverty in Trinidad and Tobago
Since 2014, Trinidad and Tobago has taken a special interest in improving human capital through the On-the-Job Training Global Initiative (OJT).

Human capital consists of the skills, knowledge, values and health of a population. An investment in human capital would, for example, come in the form of education benefits, medical care, job training or other ways that add value to a person. On a small scale, these intangible assets are everyday factors to singular individuals. On a large scale, the amount and quality of human capital can make dramatic changes to a country’s economic status for generations. This is especially seen in the increase of entrepreneurs.

The OJT Global Initiative, a partnership between the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training (MTEST), initially resulted in 21 individuals being selected to take part in the U.N.’s competitive internship. The program teaches a specially designed curriculum with the goal of creating global citizens.

Richard Blewitt, U.N. Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Trinidad and Tobago, described the importance of the program in an official statement released with its induction. He said, “As you are aware, today’s youth and adolescents are faced with many new and emerging challenges. To effectively respond to and address those challenges, the U.N. seeks to ensure our programming work encompasses; promotes and facilitates opportunities for employment, and entrepreneurship, political inclusion, citizenship, protection of rights, education and reproductive health, and advocacy, to name a few.”

The OJT Global Initiative was first announced in January of 2014 as a two-year initiative. However, since then, the MTEST has maintained the program by pairing up citizen trainees between the ages of 16-35 and employers in a variety of careers — including culinary, agriculture, environmental, finance, engineering and other industries. In addition to gaining valuable experience in their chosen fields, trainees also receive competitive stipends and opportunities to work with new technology and network with industry peers. The program benefits local businesses as well by offering them reimbursement of stipend rates, access to suitable candidates and the chance to practice corporate social responsibility.

The World Economic Forum publishes annual reports of the Human Capital Index (HCI) by country. From 2013 to 2016, Trinidad and Tobago went from ranking 76th in the world to 67th. Programs like the OJT Global Initiative and the MTEST’s strong focus on training, education and entrepreneurship could be a heavy contributor to this rise in HCI over just three years.

The most recent numbers, published by the UNDP in 2007, show that the rate of poverty in Trinidad and Tobago is 16.7% for a population of 1.3 million citizens. This published rate is above the 34% given in 1992. However, The Guardian attributes this reduction to the fact that squatters, students, taxi drivers and the homeless are not accounted for in the labor force. Another major contributing factor to this is expressed in the large wage gap between men and women — with women having an average income of TT$9,000 to a male’s average of TT$18,000. This is attributed to women holding a substantially higher portion of low-wage jobs. The hope of programs like the OJT Global Initiative is to facilitate opportunities for better employment and entrepreneurship, thus reducing problems like the gender wage gap.

Fighting poverty around the globe is a combination of factors. By developing and sustaining programs such as the OJT Global Initiative, countries strive to provide higher levels of education, training and experience for their citizens. Like this program, investments in human capital have the ability to provide a country with economic benefits for generations.

– Tammy Hineline

Photo: Flickr

Poverty in Taiwan

Poverty in Taiwan

Taiwan, located in East Asia, is bordered by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast and the Philippines to the south. It is home to approximately 25 million people and boosts a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of more than $32,000 in 2022.

Calculation of Poverty

The calculation of poverty in Taiwan is different. Families are considered poor if their monthly income is below a threshold set by the city or province. This means only 1.3% of the population or about 300,000 people, lived below the poverty line or were considered vulnerable in 2021. Each city in Taiwan has a different monthly income that is considered as a minimum. For example, while a family’s minimum income should be $171 to meet their basic needs in Kinmen County, the minimum is about $587.46 in Taipei City as of 2023.

Taiwan’s Poverty Alleviation Efforts and Challenges

The low percentage of poverty in Taiwan is not a coincidence. It is the result of the efforts of the Taiwanese government alongside various civic organizations, private foundations and academic institutions. For example, in 1999, the government spent $5.08 billion on social welfare programs. However, the government’s standards for calculating poverty rates have problems. In 2004, the Taipei Times reported an interesting example. In Taiwan, the government provides 13 benefits and services, such as living subsidies, medical grants and emergency funds, to low-income households.

These services are given on an “all or nothing” basis, so if a family rises slightly above the poverty threshold, they lose their rights to all of these services. The article reports, “Given this ‘all or nothing system,’ low-income households do not wish to rise above the poverty line, for if they do, they would really fall into poverty.”

In 2011, the government raised the poverty line. With this, an additional 588,000 people became eligible for social assistance and subsidies. The article “Changing Times Force Taiwan to Raise Welfare Spending” notes the tradition of taking care of one’s elders, which means taking care of them financially, as a reason for the necessity of raising the poverty line.

From a cultural standpoint, the article notes that the tradition of extended families living together (typically three generations under one roof) is beginning to break down.“The family is no longer as close-knit as they once were. Grown children, for example, do not necessarily care for their elderly parents,” reports Cindy Sui.

Taiwan Fund for Children and Families

Despite some of these structural problems with government subsidies, many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are working to help those who are not regarded as poor but who, nevertheless, are barely getting by. The Taiwan Fund for Children and Families is one of the most prominent organizations. It was formed in 1950 and now has a force of 8,000 volunteers. The organization promotes and advocates for the well-being of children, youth and underprivileged families.

Although the percentage of people living in poverty is very low, there is concern among the Taiwanese that the poverty line is not set high enough. Considering the cultural and financial conditions, certain areas require improvement.

– Dilara Alemdar

Photo: Flickr
Updated: May 30, 2024

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Ten Facts About Mozambique Refugees

10 Facts About Mozambique Refugees
Mozambique, on the southeast coast of Africa, gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Conflict marred much of the country’s recent history, first during a protracted liberation struggle, followed by a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992. Tension between the ruling Frelimo party and its opposition, the former rebel movement Renamo, has remained high. Clashes between government forces and armed elements of Renamo contribute to the flow of refugees from Mozambique to neighboring countries.

Here are 10 facts about Mozambique refugees:

  1. Mozambique has a history of a massive displacement of people. By 1992, 1.5 million Mozambicans fled the country due to the civil war, representing 10% of the population at that time.
  2. Mozambicans fled to neighboring Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Most of the refugees returned to Mozambique after the end of the war in 1992.
  3. Recently there has been an increase in the number of people fleeing Mozambique. Since 2015, 12,000 Mozambicans have fled from violence in their communities due to the longstanding conflict between Frelimo and Renamo. Tensions between the two parties have risen in the run-up to the 2014 Presidential election, and have only continued to escalate since then.
  4. Mozambicans are fleeing several forms of political violence reportedly perpetrated by government and opposition forces. A recent Freedom House report shows that Mozambicans are fleeing due to the perception that government and opposition forces are targeting them. This includes killings, assaults and the burning of homes, intended to create fear and punish sympathizers.
  5. For many Mozambique refugees, Kapise village in Malawi is the first port of call. At the peak of the current refugee crisis in March 2016, the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) recorded 250 people crossing the border from Mozambique to Kapise village every day. At this time, the makeshift camp at Kapise housed 6,000 Mozambicans in conditions that Doctors Without Borders classified as well below minimum humanitarian standards. The refugees have to compete for scarce resources with the 150 Malawian families already living in the village. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and Doctors Without Borders provided essential services in Kapise, such as water boreholes, food and healthcare. This has helped improve life in Kapise but conditions remain tough.
  6. In March 2016, Malawi reopened the Luwani Refugee Camp to house the influx of Mozambicans. Luwani Refugee Camp previously housed Mozambique refugees from 1977 to 1992 during the civil war and was finally closed in 2007. The Malawian government authorized UNHCR to reopen Luwani Camp and move Mozambique refugees there from Kapise village. Refugees have access to better facilities and services including healthcare, education, sanitation, security and self-sustaining activities like agriculture.
  7. Mozambique refugees are not the only Africans seeking asylum in Malawi. Dzaleka camp in Malawi is already hosting some 25,000 refugees from other African regions including the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region.
  8. Some 3,000 Mozambicans also fled to Zimbabwe in 2015 and 2016. Many of the refugees that fled to Zimbabwe are living in makeshift camps and face severe food shortages. WFP classifies Zimbabwe as a low-income food-deficit country with 30% of the rural poor considered “food poor.” Zimbabwe and Malawi are both currently suffering the effects of a prolonged El Niño-induced drought. Mozambique refugees thus place an additional burden on already limited resources in these countries.
  9. Mozambique refugees in Malawi and Zimbabwe are largely dependent on food assistance from the WFP. The WFP works to achieve and maintain food security among refugees in the region through monthly food distributions in refugee camps. The WFP, however, has had to cut food rations since 2014 due to funding shortages.
  10. Mozambique itself is a destination for other African refugees. Mozambique currently hosts some 15,000 refugees originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Somalia. The majority of these people live in Maratane camp in the north of the country.

Frelimo and Renamo have engaged in mediated peace talks since mid-2016 and a ceasefire agreement was reached over Christmas and later extended to March 2017, which provides hope for a resolution to the instability in the country.

– Helena Jacobs

Photo: Flickr

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Six Things to Know About Poverty in Palau

Palau_Poverty
The Pacific islands are susceptible to poverty due to their remoteness, geographic spread, frequency of natural disasters, high level of exposure to overseas markets, small internal markets and limited natural resources. However, of these Oceanic nations, the island of Palau seems to be struggling the least. Here are six facts about poverty in Palau.

  1. Palau has one of the highest standards of living in Pacific countries, with a GDP of $232.9 million, an adult literacy rate of 97% as of 2015 and a life expectancy of 69. However, the Micronesian nation still relies heavily on United States foreign aid through the Compact of Free Association. The compact includes a wide range of federal programs set to continue until 2030.
  2. Of the population of 21,864, an estimated 24.9% individuals are affected by poverty in Palau. Most of those affected are among the rural population, who rely on small-scale agriculture and fishing for their livelihoods.
  3. The mortality rate for children under the age of five is 22 per 1,000 live births. In comparison, the United States’ child mortality rate is roughly six per 1,000. Skilled health personnel attend nearly all births.
  4. In 2016, the amount of Palau’s population considered obese was 55.3%. A 2006 school health survey found 35% of children were either overweight or at risk. The prevalence of obesity and malnutrition can be attributed to the introduction of the western diet, which provides consumers more calories for less money and nutritional value.
  5. For nearly two decades, Palau has sought legal reform regarding domestic violence. While there are statutes prohibiting and punishing violent behavior, no statute specifically addresses domestic violence. However, the Palau Family Protection Act aims to offer protection and deter further acts of family maltreatment, including violence, abuse and neglect. The Act also seeks to expand police officers’ ability to assist victims and enforce the law effectively.
  6. Following the El Nino weather phenomena in 2016, Palau declared a national state of emergency due to drought conditions. UNICEF provided the Ministry of Health with pre-positioned emergency health and nutrition supplies including a comprehensive health kit that could serve 1,000 people. In response to the drought, household water containers were distributed to community health centers to be used for drinking water storage.

Greater commitment to development initiatives has played a key role in keeping poverty in Palau at bay. In a broader context, the principles of emphasizing foreign aid and diplomacy can possibly be applied to other Oceanic nations and eventually strengthen the autonomy of those respective nations.

– Casie Wilson

Photo: Flickr

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Top Three Diseases in Guinea

Diseases in Guinea
Although experts thought Ebola had been eliminated in Guinea, there have been fears of the disease coming back after a few cases were documented in the past two years. People are still skeptical after the largest Ebola outbreak in March 2014 even though experts have claimed that the outbreak ended at the end of 2015. However, with the country still lacking in health resources, diseases in Guinea, which could otherwise be preventable and treatable in another developed nation, are rapidly distributed. Here are the top three diseases in Guinea.

  1. Malaria: According to the Center for Diseases Control, 10% of deaths in Guinea are caused by malaria. In 2015, tens of thousands of malaria cases went untreated. Because of the ebola outbreak, people avoided health clinics for fear of being sent to an isolated Ebola treatment center. People might have died from malaria more than Ebola, and the entire population is at risk for malaria. To try to control this disease, the President’s Malaria Initiative distributes insecticide-treated nets (ITNS) and supports malaria diagnostics, as well as treatments at health facilities.
  2. HIV/AIDS: AIDS plagues so many parts of Africa, and Guinea is no exception. Four percent of deaths are caused by HIV or AIDS, and almost 7,000 children are living with HIV. AIDS has been considered a death sentence since only 27% are receiving antiretroviral medication. Hopefully, treatment will come to more people. The countries of Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia and Tanzania have been receiving antiretroviral treatment programs from the Global Fund since 2010.
  3. Lower Respiratory Infections: Currently, lower respiratory tract infections are the leading cause of death among children under the age of five. Forty-two percent of these deaths occur in Africa, and the infections can cause pneumonia, influenza and bronchitis.

Guinea has one of the poorest populations in West Africa. Little of its people have access to good healthcare. Diseases in Guinea can be curable and treatable if organizations continue to provide healthcare to treat these diseases.

– Emma Majewski

Photo: Flickr

Hope For a Stateless People

Stateless People
Statelessness is a phenomenon that affects an estimated 10 million people globally. Those affected have been denied citizenship and are refused self-identification and other government documentation necessary for acquiring rights granted by the state.

Photojournalist Greg Constantine stumbled upon the issue of statelessness in 2002. In response, he created the project Nowhere People and for 10 years traveled to the impoverished communities where statelessness is most common. Utilizing his photojournalism skills, Constantine has been able to put a face to the issue of statelessness and share the stories of those affected by it. His mission, he explains, “aims to show the human toll the denial of citizenship has claimed on people and ethnic groups,” and to “provide tangible documentation of proof that millions of people hidden and forgotten all over the world actually exist.” The Nowhere People project has aroused awareness and drawn in advocacy from various organizations that share the same mission.

One of the many organizations fighting statelessness is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In 2014, the UNHCR launched the Campaign to End Statelessness — #IBelong — within 10 years. Through establishing coalitions with governments, organizations and stateless groups, the UNHCR has been able to erect a global alliance that offers supportive assistance for stateless people.

The UNHCR emphasizes that political support and involvement must occur in order for statelessness to end. Suggested political involvement of the states includes law and policy reform, the protection of children from statelessness, ending any discrimination that prohibits nationality, providing protection for migrants and appropriately providing identification documents.

Due to early efforts of the UNHCR, four million stateless people have been granted nationality since 2003. Following the launch of the Campaign to End Statelessness, the UNHCR has succeeded in expanding its budget and in 2015, held a budget of $68 million. Additionally, they have been able to send out specialists to foster relations and work collectively with other organizations and national governments.

Stateless people face insecurities every day surrounding their livelihood. Basic human rights are jeopardized, safety is uncertain, poverty is a reality and opportunity is hindered. Projects such as Nowhere People, along with the efforts of UNHCR and other allied organizations, not only offer hope that those experiencing statelessness will one day obtain nationality but also provides a nearer future for efficiently managing the progress of moving out of poverty.

– Amy Williams

Photo: Flickr

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Top Five Preventable Diseases Caused by Poverty

Top 5 Preventable Diseases Caused by Poverty
While the causes of some diseases are debatable, a lot are easily preventable. However, because of a lack of access to healthcare and poor sanitation, a lot of people in developing nations die from these preventable diseases. With education and better healthcare, the people of these nations could be saved.

  1. Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) and Other Prenatal Conditions: Neonatal tetanus is the result of unclean birthing practices. The illness can cause extreme pain to the infant at birth, often leading to its death. However, with cleaner birthing practices and immunizing the expectant mothers with the inexpensive Tetanus Toxoid-Containing Vaccines, babies and mothers can be saved. Organizations such as Circle K and UNICEF have been working for many years to eliminate this disease and have been highly successful. The number of countries containing the disease went from 21 in 2015 to 18 in 2016, and the number of newborns dying from MNT has decreased by 96% since the late ’80s.
  2. HIV/AIDS: HIV/AIDS kills about 7.2% of developing countries’ populations, and by the end of 2007, 33.2 million people were living with HIV. HIV is also the leading cause of death in Africa. Many organizations are continuing their prevention practices by allowing access to affordable condoms, HIV testing and counseling as well as sexual health education in schools and communities. There is also hope for a cure as scientists are still researching for a vaccine. In 2016, a vaccine trial called HVTN 072 tested if the HIV infection could be prevented among South African adults. Research regarding a vaccine gets more in-depth each year.
  3. Measles: There are many preventable diseases that can be stopped with a vaccine. However, in developing countries, health services for those vaccines are either unavailable or inaccessible. While measles is very rare in industrialized countries like the United States, the illness has a 40% mortality rate among children in developing nations who contract it. In 2003, measles took the lives of more than 500,000 children.
  4. Malaria: Another one of the diseases preventable with vaccines, malaria kills more than one million people a year. It is especially prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa.
  5. Tuberculosis: The countries of India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa account for 60% of total deaths caused by tuberculosis. It is one of the top 10 causes of death in the world, yet it is also a treatable and preventable disease. Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria in the air which eventually affects the lungs. People living with HIV are more at risk of dying from the disease. To treat this disease, patients take a six-month course of four antimicrobial drugs.

In our developed worlds with advanced medical work, people don’t usually have to worry about these types of diseases affecting them. Developed nations, however, need to continue allowing healthcare to their people in order to truly eliminate these preventable diseases.

– Emma Majewski

Photo: Flickr

Ten Facts About Bosnia and Herzegovina Refugees

10 Facts About Bosnia and Herzegovina Refugees
With the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Eastern Europe was impacted by a sudden wave of mass displacement and migration as a result of oppression. Bosnia and Herzegovina became embroiled in the Bosnian War in 1992. The consequences of the war were widespread and continue to have implications to this day, especially as the Balkan region is drawn into the migrant exodus in Europe.

In the scramble to obtain Bosnian territory, the careful balance of power collapsed. The Bosnian Serbs yearned for Bosnia to be a part of a Greater Serbia. Non-Serbs, such as the Bosnian Croats and Muslims, soon called for Bosnian independence. Ethnic relations soon spiraled out of control, especially after the siege of Sarajevo. In the push for a Greater Serbia, the President of Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadzic, began ubiquitous ethnic cleansing campaigns. Here are 10 facts about the Bosnia and Herzegovina refugees who fled from this crisis.

  1. From 1989 to 1992, 2.3 million people fled their homes as a result of the collapse of the six republics of Yugoslavia, according to the UNHCR. Of this figure, 600,000 individuals came from the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Villages, towns and cities were destroyed during the war, and cases of rape were widespread, giving rise to a great exodus.
  2. The escalation of the conflict led to deficiencies in infrastructure, amenities and services between 1989 and 1992. Greater Serbia suffered extreme food shortages. An aggregate of 12,000 residents were killed in Sarajevo during the course of the conflict.
  3. Bosnian visa application skyrocketed in 1991. However, may were denied visas due to the magnitude of applications that were received. Applications in Belgrade shot up 60% during this period.
  4. In 1995, the Dayton Accords were finally signed, resulting in the split of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the Bosniak Croat Federation and the Bosnian Serb Republic. This brought about a cessation of hostilities. NATO, the U.N. and the EU were key parties that helped the former Yugoslavia republics gain their regional footing.
  5. Moreover, in 1995, the UNHCR mobilized funds amounting to USD $458 million for resettlement and humanitarian assistance. With the integration of various governments in Europe and other bodies, the UNHCR is helping refugees return home after 20 years.
  6. In the same year, 1995, more than 130,000 Bosnia and Herzegovina refugees were successfully resettled in the United States. A majority of them live in Chicago and Missouri. This was one of the most successful and significant examples of mass emigration and resettlement of the time.
  7. In the year 2015, the UNHCR and the EU helped execute a revised strategy of the Dayton Peace Agreement. The move is currently yielding good results with regards to human rights, social protection, housing and the status of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
  8. In March of 2016, Radovan Karadzic was finally convicted of crimes against humanity for his role in the persecution of 7,500 Muslim Bosniaks in the Srebrenica enclave along with the oppression of ethnic groups. He had previously spent 13 years in hiding before facing the U.N. International Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
  9. In November of 2016, Open Democracy highlighted that more than one million refugees were choosing to return home after twenty years of living abroad. With a majority Muslim population of 27,000, the town of Kozarac is the heart of the resettlement process. The town is still currently in transition as people try to reinvent their lives.
  10. On Oct. 14, 2016, photojournalist Miquel Ruiz showcased 24 images of the genocide in Sarajevo as a memorial to Bosnia’s tumultuous past. The photos included life during the siege, refugee camps and the remains of the victims of the Srebrenica massacre in 1995.

The combined effects of political turmoil, poverty, displacement and resource shortages plagued the lives of Bosnia and Herzegovina refugees, and they have continued to be affected to this day.

– Shivani Ekkanath

Photo: Flickr