Archive for category: Refugees and Displaced Persons

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Refugee Camps: Temporary Solutions to Long-Term Problems

Refugee camps

Refugee camps are supposed to be temporary living settlements for displaced people fleeing violence and persecution from their home countries. While the accommodations within refugee camps are built on short-term solutions, the idea of “temporary” for refugees grows obsolete as their living situations become more permanent.

A refugee spends an average of 12 years living in a camp according to the New York Times. These camps face their own significant problems. In the last 10 years, the number of displaced people in the world tripled. Over 60 million people are now displaced, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Refugee camps are constantly subjected to insufficient funding and support from the international community, overcrowding, scarcity of food, shortage of clean water and poor sanitation.

Without adequate food, refugees are susceptible to chronic malnutrition, which increases their risk of disease or illness. While the UNHCR recommends a daily minimum of 20 liters per person per day, many refugee camps fail to meet these standards. A lack of clean water and poor sanitation systems result in more diseases, such as diarrhea and cholera.

Proactive health measures, however, are being taken. To combat malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies, some refugee camps have implemented community gardens. At the Meheba refugee camp in Zambia, for example, refugees can grow their own food and add fruits and vegetables to their diets. Calls for improvements in both the latrine and sufficient waste disposal systems have also been made, as these will not only improve sanitation but also prevent disease.

The Kilis Refugee Camp in Turkey resembles more of a permanent shelter. There are no tents, but sturdy containers instead. The camp has amenities that many others lack; electricity, maintenance, a clinic and grocery stores. Within the grounds, there are also schools and counselors.

However nice the camp is, the prolonged stay of many of the refugees makes it more difficult to maintain psychological well-being. The placement of refugee camps away from society and the increasing length of stay by their residents make it hard for the people to remain engaged. Without employment and integration, refugees cannot practice their skill sets or feel connected to the local community.

UNHCR Engineer and Physical Planning & Shelter Officer Anicet Adjahossou found that one solution to strengthen community building within refugee camps was to work with anthropologists and refugees to redesign the standard refugee camp grid format into a new housing layout.

In 2012, Adjahoosu worked with UNHCR at the Dollo Ado refugee camp in Ethiopia to organize the homes into sets of U-shaped enclosures. The innovative arrangement prompts more family interaction and allows for larger communal areas. Also included were locations for schools, water distribution points, markets and health centers.

In addition to improving the living conditions in refugee camps, more aid must be given to prevent and end conflicts, so that we do not continue to see an increase in people forced to flee their homes in search of safety. Luckily, it appears that advocates like Anicet Adjehossou are taking the lead.

– Erica Rawles

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Iraq Refugees

Iraq refugees

Former bustling cities like Ramadi, Iraq are now left in shambles and deserted due to the atrocities of war. Recently, the city of Fallujah has been liberated from ISIS control. However, 85,000 residents have been uprooted. Even within their country’s borders, many Iraqi refugees are under refugee status because of the enormous problem of internal displacement. Here are 10 facts about Iraq refugees:

  1. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Syria as the country with highest Iraqi migration with 253,607 Iraqi immigrants. Closely followed by Germany with 115,041 migrants from Iraq.
  2. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has received 21 percent of the funding requested for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and Iraqi Refugees. The overall appeal requested by the UNHCR is $584 million, yet they’ve only received $127.7 million despite the recent release of Fallujah.
  3. Within three months about 20,000 people from Mosul and surrounding districts have been displaced largely because Mosul and the surrounding areas have been ISIS strongholds since June 2014.
  4. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported allegations of summary executions, beatings of unarmed men, enforced disappearances and mutilation of corpses by Iraqi government forces and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) over the two weeks of fighting since May 23. On June 4, 2016, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi launched an investigation and announced “unspecified arrests” of the culprits and proceeded to transfer them to the judiciary system for further punishment. No information is available on the investigation since the announcement was made.
  5. Since January 2014, 3.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been reported in Iraq, 85,000 IDPs from Fallujah and surrounding areas since May 2016, and 24,000 IDPs from Mosul and surrounding areas since March 2016.
  6. More than 600,000 displaced children have missed an entire school year. UNICEF intends to spend 11.9 percent or $12 million of the 2016 Requirements for Iraq on child protection.
  7. One of the most disheartening facts about Iraq refugees is that one in five children – 3.6 million – in Iraq are now at serious risk of death, injury, sexual violence, abduction and forced recruitment into armed groups, according to the latest report from UNICEF. This number has increased by 1.3 million in just 18 months.
  8. Minority groups in Iraq have been exposed to some of the worst treatment during the war. Rudaw reports “Christian, Yezidi, Kaka’i, Turkmen, and Shabak minority groups in Iraq have been subjected to [genocide],” rape and torture amongst a plethora of other cruel treatments. Most have suffered the struggles of displacement and looting, according to the report conducted by Minority Rights Group. All minority groups have fallen greatly in numbers of population in Iraq because of the extreme violence against them as a community.
  9. More than 86,000 Iraqis arrived on the shores of Greece in 2015 alone. Even though they’ve escaped the clutches of the Islamic State, living conditions in Greece have been difficult plagued with famine, illness, and harsh weather conditions.
  10. The UNHCR estimates that more that 85,000 people have evacuated Fallujah since military operations began in May. Many citizens that have fled Fallujah recently are camped out in the dessert that is reaching temperatures of 115 F. With access to drinking water scarce and low immunization rates the risk of disease is becoming more prevalent.

Though the 10 facts about Iraq refugees are disheartening, triumphant work has been accomplished thus far. UNICEF has reported two million people newly displaced by conflict received Rapid Response Mechanism kits within 72 hours of the trigger for response and 131,200 children received structured, sustained resilience or psychosocial support programs.

In recent news, Mosul is the next city to be perused by the Iraqi government to release the residents of Mosul from ISIS rule. If the mission is successfully completed, it would be a severe moral and strategic loss for ISIS and a triumph for Iraq refugees wanting to return home.

– Mariana Camacho López

Photo: Pixabay

10 Facts About Myanmar Refugees

Facts About Myanmar RefugeesMyanmar was previously known as Burma until the ruling junta changed the country’s name in 1989. It is an ethnically and religiously diverse country with a history of conflict and violence. This history has resulted in thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing and/or settling in Myanmar’s borders. Here are 10 facts about Myanmar refugees:

  1. According to The Border Consortium, a total of 108,407 refugees fleeing political upheaval, civil strife and economic stagnation in Myanmar were living in refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border as of April 2015.
  2. In addition to refugees, the IDMC estimates that there were up to 662,400 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Myanmar as of March 2015.
  3. The Rohingya Muslims are Myanmar’s largest group of stateless people and number 1.45 million as of 2014.
  4. The government does not recognize the Rohingya as a “national race” and has stripped them of their citizenship.
  5. Under the Rakhine State Action Plan that was drafted in October 2014, the Rohingya must demonstrate their family has lived in Myanmar for least 60 years to qualify for a lesser naturalized citizenship and the classification of Bengali, or they are put in detention camps and face deportation.
  6. Bangladesh struggles to accommodate the 29,000 Rohingya Muslims living as refugees in Cox’s Bazar.
  7. None of the countries harboring large refugee populations from Myanmar have signed the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Several countries changed their policies in order to cultivate better relations with the Myanmar government.
  8. As a result of not signing the Geneva Convention, refugees found outside refugee camps in Thailand are treated the same as illegal immigrants.
  9. Thai authorities have not allowed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to register more than a few refugees since 2006. Without registration, refugees cannot apply for resettlement or for most university scholarships abroad.
  10. Mae La is the largest refugee camp in Thailand. Established in 1984, the camp houses 50,000 refugees. Although over 90 percent of the refugees are Karen, Mae La is the most ethnically and religiously diverse camp along the Thai-Myanmar border. The Border Consortium—a union of 11 international NGOs that provide shelter, food and non-food items to Myanmar refugees—oversees and runs the camp.

While these 10 facts about Myanmar refugees are not an exhaustive list, they provide insight into how thousands of underprivileged people live in a system that seems to work against them.

– Alexis Pierce

Photo: Reuters

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World Refugee Day: Understanding the Plight of Refugees

Refugee
June 20, 2016 was recognized by organizations, communities and leaders alike as World Refugee Day. According to a report conducted by the United Nations, there is a record number of 65.3 million refugees who were displaced due to war by the end of 2015. This is more than the population of France, California, and Texas combined, with more than half of these refugees being children.

With such a high traffic of refugees being displaced globally, understanding the truth about this displaced population is more relevant than ever. Recent studies have shown an increase in anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments in classrooms and the workplace. One such study, conducted by the Southern Poverty Law Center revealed in a survey that included over a third of American teachers reported an increase of anti-immigrant sentiments in their classrooms.

However, these sentiments are often caused by general fear and media misrepresentation rather than the refugees themselves. In fact, refugees are very beneficial to the communities they move in to, offering an increase in both civic participation and great economic contributions. World Refugee Day sheds light on these facts and aids in the perception of refugees.

A recent study of refugees residing in Columbus Ohio showed that these displaced families and individuals made economic contributions of about $1.6 million. Moreover, these refugees also contributed to social diversity as well which is ultimately conducive to building a more globalized identity.

Refugee settlement and mentor programs, such as those conducted by The Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans (CCANO), which spur acceptance, tolerance and the chance at assimilation for many displaced individuals and families result in amazing rewards for the communities that establish them.

According to a study by The Refugee Integration Survey and Evaluation (RISE), which focused on the integration progress of refugees over a span of five years, most refugees offer valuable and productive roles in the communities they are displaced to. Programs such as those conducted by CCANO simply quicken the process. And events, such as those in Rochester, New York on June 18, 2016, held in honor of World Refugee Day, allow refugees to share their stories as well as their cultures, reminding us that these displaced people are first and foremost, people.

– Jenna Salisbury

Photo: Flickr

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Refugees in Lebanon Benefit from Double-Shift Schools

Refugees In Lebanon
In the past years, Lebanon has accrued approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees, aside from the large population of Palestinian refugees already present. While the country has provided a hospitable environment for those restarting their lives, there are many issues with access to food, shelter and education for refugees in Lebanon.

Recently, Lebanon has created an education system called “double-shift” schools located primarily in Beirut. The double-shift model has two shifts of students attending class each day, allowing Lebanese schools to reach beyond the already-enrolled students. The new afternoon shift gives Syrian refugees, who are not yet at the same education level as their Lebanese peers, an opportunity to receive quality education.

Education has been made free for both Lebanese and Syrian students to eliminate any discrimination against refugee students. Lebanon is able to thank international aid for allowing them the ability to provide education to all students. These international donors have paid up to $600 for each student to attend a double-shift school.

Some schools are able to accommodate up to 700 refugee students in the afternoons. Among the 259 schools offering double-shift education, there are now 85,000 children enrolled.

The increase in provided education for refugees in Lebanon also increases the access to food that many children are often without. The U.N. World Food Program has begun providing food access in schools for up to 10,000 children. The refugee children are provided with a snack, fruit and a box of either milk or juice when attending class. With access to regular meals and education, refugee students are able to pursue many of the same opportunities as their peers.

Though Syrian refugees have been unable to pursue sufficient education after being displaced, efforts are being taken to improve these issues largely through international aid. Providing basics such as food and education for refugees improves the ability to live normal lives for many of the children.

– Amanda Panella

Photo: Flickr

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How Three Berliners Have Made Refugees Welcome

Refugees WelcomeRefugees Welcome, a non-profit organization founded by Germans Mareike Geiling, Jonas Kakoschke and Golde Ebding, provides an online platform for people to lend a room to an asylum-seeking refugee.

Often called the “Airbnb for refugees,” the organization aims to help refugees integrate into their new communities and create a more welcoming culture, according to The Independent.

Founded in Germany in 2014 in response to the growing refugee crisis, Refugees Welcome has quickly spread to eight other European countries and Canada. It is also supporting groups in more than 20 additional countries to set up the platform there. As of mid-July, Refugees Welcome has already placed 791 refugees in shared flats.

To offer a room to a refugee, individuals must register online through the organization’s website. There they fill out basic information such as how much space they have available and for how long. Similarly, refugees fill out a questionnaire to facilitate the matching process.

Once a match is made, the potential new roommates have the chance to meet up to see if they will be a good fit. Rent and utilities are paid for with micro-donations made to Refugees Welcome or by government programs.

According to The Independent, “Although people have offered the group entire empty houses and flats, Ms. Geiling said that would defeat one of the key aims of the initiative – to integrate.” Geiling further expressed that the program is “about living with people and getting to know them.”

In typical refugee situations, overwhelmed officials frequently place refugees in unorthodox living places such as old schools or shipping containers. In an NPR interview, Kakoschke notes that in these cases, refugees cannot work or learn the local language and often become depressed due to the stagnant nature of their living situation.

The Refugees Welcome website explains that through their program, refugees have an opportunity to learn the local language more quickly than they would in typical accommodations granted to refugees, and they can more easily acclimate themselves to their new country.”

The website adds, “You, on the other hand, will get to know a different culture and help a person in a difficult situation.”

– Laura Isaza

Photo: The Independent

 

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Ten Facts on Refugees from Afghanistan

Refugees from AfghanistanRefugees from Afghanistan have been fleeing to nearby countries since the Soviet War in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Many of these refugees have been unable to return to Afghanistan because of their vulnerability to the security issues that plague the area.

While many refugees from Afghanistan reside in Pakistan or Iran, the prospects for local integration are unfortunately low, as they have little to no access to legal status services. This is just one of many obstacles that refugees face, so here are 10 facts that illuminate the struggles of refugees from Afghanistan:

    1. Afghanistan, Somalia, and Syria contribute more than half of all refugees in the world.
    2. Aside from refugees displaced outside of Afghanistan, there are approximately one million people who are internally displaced as well.
    3. Iran and Pakistan are home to the largest Afghan refugee population, according to the UNHCR’s mandate. Iran hosts nearly 900,000 refugees, while Pakistan hosts over 1.5 million.
    4. The majority of these refugees from Afghanistan live on the average wage of less than $2 per day, which can buy little more than ten pieces of bread.
    5. The UNHCR distributes food to many refugees outside of Kabul, while the World Food Programme sends electronic food vouchers to approximately 4,500 displaced families inside Kabul.
  1. There are over 3.5 million people living in camps just outside of Kabul, which consist of little more than mud huts and run-down tents.
  2. Many NGOs have built schools and clinics in these camps to assist the refugees when their government does not.
  3. Between 2002 and 2012, UNHCR created the largest voluntary repatriation program that helped 3.8 million refugees from Afghanistan return back to their home out of Pakistan.
  4. Since 2002, over 5.7 million refugees have been able to return to Afghanistan.
  5. When some refugees cannot return, the Refugee Contact Croup on Iran has worked with the Iranian government to help refugees become resettled in their new homes.

There are many misconceptions surrounding refugees from Afghanistan. Refugees encounter many struggles while fleeing from insecure areas. However, the assistance of NGOs and local communities can ease their worries and help them to acclimate to their new lives or return to their home countries.

– Amanda Panella

Photo: Flickr

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Amnesty International, Kurdistan to Protect Human Rights

Amnesty International
On May 4, Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Shalil Shetty met with the President and Prime Minister of the Kurdistani Regional Government, or KRG, to discuss the humanitarian crisis in the region and collaborate to prevent human rights abuses by all parties.

This meeting, taking place in Kurdish Iraq, came just months after Amnesty International published a report in January accusing the KRG of rights abuses. Amnesty International’s report earlier in the year accused Kurdish allied forces of demolishing Iraqi homes and preventing Arab Iraqis from returning to their communities after they were recaptured from the Islamic State.

The report argued that displacements without military justification could be considered a war crime, but also acknowledged that many of the territories had been disputed prior to the Islamic State, with many ethnically cleansed of Kurds by Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Amnesty International also acknowledged that the alleged abuses were occurring in the context of an unprecedented security, humanitarian and financial crisis for the Kurdistani Regional Government. Still, they asserted that the government cannot allow that to justify turning a blind eye to abuses within its territories.

More than a million foreign refugees and internally displaced persons are currently seeking shelter in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The KRG immediately responded to Amnesty International’s report, contending that it is the policy of its armed forces not to allow immediate return to recently recaptured territories for civilians of any ethnicity, due to proximity to continued conflict and due to the Islamic State’s tendency to leave IEDs behind when it withdraws.

In a further expression of concern for human rights, the KRG promised to conduct a full investigation into the reports compiled by Amnesty International. They granted AI and other rights groups full access to its territories in order to conduct their own independent investigations to ensure the protection of human rights.

Shetty thanked the KRG for its commitment to preventing abuses in the face of tremendous adversity, and acknowledged the long history of Kurdish cooperation with AI and other rights groups.

– Hayden Smith

Photo: Flickr

 

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Ecuador Looks for Education Solutions Following Earthquake

Ecuador

UNESCO’s Santiago regional office is working with the Ecuador Education Ministry, UNICEF, Plan International and Save the Children to find temporary solutions to improve Ecuador’s education sector in the months following its worst natural disaster in decades.

The earthquake that struck Ecuador on April 26 left parts of the country in ruins, killed more than 650 people and left many more injured, according to The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

Their report states that some 73,000 displaced people live in organized shelters and camps, either with host families or in random sites around the country.

The goal is to establish temporary educational spaces that allow the continuation of classes and educational activities in secure spaces so that the primary and secondary education of children is not further disrupted following the earthquake.

“Education is a lifeline for children going through the trauma of chaos and destruction,” said Grant Leaity, UNICEF Representative in Ecuador. “It helps give them a daily routine and a sense of purpose and puts them on track for psychological recovery.” Education is key for these children, both short term and long term.

According to UNICEF, over 280 schools were damaged by the earthquake. This left approximately 120,000 children out of education.

UNICEF is currently working with the Ecuadorian government to help children return to their regular routines by providing 50 temporary learning spaces for 20,000 children. The organization also aims to distribute basic school supplies to 60,000 children and teenagers in 700 different schools.

– Michelle Simon

Photo: Flickr

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4 Movies About Refugees That You Need To See

RefugeesFilm is undoubtedly one of the most compelling forms of storytelling and some of the most powerful yet untold stories are those of the refugees.  Many millions have left their homelands and travelled across the globe throughout history, inspiring film-makers to capture their journeys. Here are four movies about refugees—two older, fictional films and two newer, real-life stories—that portray the experiences of refugees in an important and meaningful way. Although this list is only comprised of four movies about refugees, hundreds of documentaries, feature films and shorts are available online and in stores.

Fiction

In This World (2002): Shot like a documentary, In This World portrays two Afghan refugees’ land journey. Unlike many other fictitious films about refugees, this film shows a fairly complete picture of a refugee’s journey, which includes the endless hours of waiting, hours of panic, and brief, beautiful moments of hope.

Welcome (2009): A beautiful, artistic and rather unsentimental picture of one Iraqi Kurd’s attempt to swim the English Channel in order to gain asylum, this French film portrays the stark situation of many homeless refugees living in France at the time and the legal dangers that awaited the French people who helped asylum-seekers.

Documentaries

The Land Between (2014): Documenting the everyday lives of Sub-Saharan migrants trapped between their homelands and the prospect of a new life in Europe, The Land Between addresses one of the most important questions of all migrant crises, whether past, present or future: why, and how, do people risk their lives and everything they own?

Neuland (2015): Neuland explores the lives of immigrants and refugees from all over the globe as they acclimate to life in Switzerland. Following the students in one class, the film shows the hardships and joys of building a new life in a foreign country.

In addition to many other full-length fictitious and real-life movies about refugees, many organizations, like Amnesty International, compile short films to spread awareness about refugees. In the end, whether short or long, real or imagined, movies about refugees provide an invaluable window into the lives of victims from all over the world.

– Sage Smiley

Photo: Flickr