Archive for category: Refugees and Displaced Persons

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Refugees and World Refugee Day 101

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Every year on June 20, refugees around the world are recognized for the bravery and strength of fleeing their homelands in search of a new peaceful life. Established in 2000 by the UN General Assembly, World Refugee Day not only celebrates the achievements of displaced peoples but also raises awareness on global issues pertaining to those who are driven out of their countries of origin due to war, threats of violence, and persecution.

Worldwide, there are 43.7 million displaced individuals, among whom nearly half are children. While they may choose to resettle in their motherland, many refugees choose to stay in the country from which they seek asylum. Even in countries such as the United States, however, refugees are vulnerable to a host of problems.

Due to the violence or trauma they may have experienced, refugees are prone to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among a number of other psychiatric disorders. The highest occurrence rates recorded for PTSD and depression are 86 percent and 31 percent, respectively. Refugees may also experience culture shock in attempting to adjust to their new environment. Conversely, instances of discrimination from host nation members are not uncommon.

Despite their employment rights being clearly stated in international law, refugees may still face employer bias and discrimination in the workplace. Thus, they often have no choice but to turn to less than reputable means of earning an income whether that be prostitution, child labor, or criminal organizations.

What can be done to help? –Though a month has passed since World Refugee Day 2013, UNHCR works hard year-round to provide refugees with basic healthcare services, food, clean water, access to employment and education, and reunions among the families that have been divided by conflict. Beyond the UN, multiple civic organizations, including the International Rescue Committee and the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, aim to protect standards for refugees’ rights. Volunteer opportunities and donations are always welcome and have the potential to create an indelible impact on millions of lives.

– Melrose Huang
Sources: UNHCR, Yemen Times, US Department of Veterans Affairs, International Rescue Committee
Photo: David Mixner

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American Refugee Committee International 101

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About
The American Refugee Committee (ARC) is an international nonprofit organization that has provided humanitarian assistance and training to millions of beneficiaries over the past 35 years. The ARC works with refugee communities in eight countries around the world – Haiti, Liberia, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Thailand, and Uganda. The people ARC serve have experienced devastating circumstances leaving many of them with nothing. ARC provides them with a number of resources including shelter, clean water, sanitation, healthcare, skills training, education, protection and whatever additional support needed for new beginning.

The Mission
The ARC works hand in hand with its partners and constituencies to provide unique opportunities to refugees, displaced people, and host communities. The goal is to help these people survive conflict and crisis and rebuild lives of dignity, health, security and self-sufficiency.

Programs and Services
Conflict and disaster have devastated numerous countries throughout the world, forcing many innocent victims to flee for safety, sometimes with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. ARC programs are formed by listening to the people they serve, understanding existing problems, designing practical responses, and training survivors to endure the work even after the peace is restored. The ARC also provides a number of beneficial services including gender-based violence prevention and response, economic opportunity development services, and reproductive healthcare services.

What is ARC Doing?
Recently many of ARC’s aid workers have been helping Syrian refugees who have fled the civil war. The camp, located in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, is currently sheltering more than 100,000 people. The camp only represents a small portion of refugees who have been forced out of their homes by the Syrian conflict that has been taking place for more than two years. ARC officials expect the organization will remain in Jordan for while to help provide water and sanitation for another refugee camp that is being planned there. The new camp will potentially handle as many Syrian refugees as the original camp.

How You Can Help
The smallest act of kindness can make a huge difference. Any amount of effort or support can be helpful to people with nowhere to go. There are a number of ways to get involved:

  1. Send an E-Card: Email a family member an ARC E-Card on a birthday or holiday. The E-Card includes a photo of a refugee and their story.
  2. Volunteer: Help raise awareness of the circumstances of refugees. Reach beyond your community by volunteering or interning at an ARC overseas location.
  3. ARC Events: Attend an event and learn more about the work of ARC and the global refugee crisis.
  4. Introduce ARC: Tell people you know about the work of ARC. Introduce them friends, family, peers, everyone!
  5. Make a Donation: Even a small donation can save lives.

– Scarlet Shelton

Sources: ARC Relief Twin Cities
Photo: Global Impact

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No Education for Adults Seeking Asylum

No Education for Adults Seeking Asylum
In the last few years, Australia has become very popular with young adults seeking asylum from their dangerous and crime-ridden homelands. The total number of requests for asylum has risen from 668 in 2008-2009 to 7379 in 2011-2012, with about 65% of the people screened last year aged 30 or younger.

The result of this increase has been that the country’s border patrol has increased and possibly gotten out of hand. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s current policy holds that those arriving at the country by ship who are on bridging visas lose their right to attend school at the end of the school term during which they turn 18. So, the second someone becomes an adult, they lose the right to a proper education.

Those who are seeking asylum in Australia are generally suffering persecution in their country of origin due to race, religion, gender, economic standing, or political affiliation. Many of them may be refugees and are unable to seek an education as a result. They travel to Australia with hopes that they may be able to improve their lives and flourish outside the harsh environment they had been living in.

A 17-year-old Hazara boy fled to Australia after he was persecuted in Afghanistan and Pakistan by extremists groups due to his race and therefore unable to go to school. Leaving his family and life behind, he came to seek education and work in a better place. But he has been left in a lurch thanks to the Australian government. He told The Global Mail, “When I was in my country I worked so hard, I like to work … part of the time work … to study as well. I like that. Now I am not allowed to work and study.”

Upon his arrival in the country, he was not allowed to enroll in school because he would soon be turning 18. He is also not allowed to work, but is provided a small government stipend to meet basic needs. The Red Cross pays for him to study English several hours a week, but otherwise, he just waits for his asylum claim to be processed.

The government argues that children of mandatory school age, 5-17, are put through school regardless of their asylum status but that it would be unreasonable to expect adults to stay in school because of the extra costs that are incurred as a result. However, the education of young adults is arguably just as important as that of children. Going to school provides the asylum seekers with a focus for their lives, makes them feel like part of a community, and provides them with a chance at bettering themselves before either settling down in Australia or getting repatriated back to their own country.

There are schools that are known for going against the government’s demands and allow adult students to stay and continue their education, but without citizenship, those seeking asylum are still unable to get government assistance for higher education or get jobs while they wait.

And things could be even bleaker than initially imagined. The Prime Minister announced on the 19th that all those arriving by boat would be removed to Papua New Guinea and would not be allowed to permanently settle in Australia. Those who are found to be refugees may stay in Papua New Guinea but otherwise must leave. There is no word on what this would mean for those currently waiting for ruling on their asylum requests in Australia, but it is clear that soon education will not be the only thing at stake for those fleeing their country and seeking help in Australia.

– Chelsea Evans

Sources: The Global Mail, Asylum Trends, New York Times
Photo: Harris

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Problem of Safe Drinking Water for Refugees

Problem of Safe Drinking Water for Refugees

Drinking water is a major problem for many parts of Africa, particularly in refugee camps, where minimal living conditions make it difficult to secure safe drinking water. The recommended minimum amount of water a person needs in an emergency situation is 15 liters a day. In Ab Gadam, a refugee camp in southeast Chad, UNHCR struggles to provide refugees with 10 liters per person per day. Currently, in Ab Gadam the drinking water is filtered from a nearby lake, however, when the rain comes, this source of water will be cut off. UNHCR is trying to find new solutions to be able to meet this challenge.

“It is really serious…we need to increase the supply – and that is what we are working on,” said Dominique Porteaud, UNHCR’s senior water and sanitation officer. He made it clear that if a solution was not found people would turn to alternative, unsafe ways of obtaining water that could lead to disease.

Zenab, a refugee living in Ad Gadam with five children, knows all too well the effect unsanitary water can have. After having to flee their village in the troubled West Darfur region, she and her family spent weeks in the border area. While there they dug small holes in the ground to find drinking water. This drinking water was not filtered and caused Zenab’s two-year-old son Ali to get sick. After entering the Ad Gadam camp, Ali is still sick but is now receiving treatment.

As the rain season quickly approaches UNHCR has been looking at several different approaches to supply safe drinking water to the refugees of Ad Gadam. Some of these measures include increasing the number and size of water storage tanks and continuing the search for productive boreholes.

UNHCR has already developed a water treatment plant, which chemically sanitizes water brought in from the nearby lake. The plant can produce enough clean water to supply refugees with 10.5 liters per day, which is still short of the minimum recommended. Refugees have also begun to find their own source of clean drinking water. Zenab and her family collect rainwater that they use to clean clothes, pots and pans, and bathe.

To inform people about the dangers of unsafe drinking water, UNHCR has begun to run awareness programs that stress the importance of clean water, sanitation and hygiene. “It is important that everybody, including the children, know about the best use of water and the dangers of drinking dirty water,” says Barka Mahamat Barka, a UNHCR water and sanitation expert.

– Catherine Ulrich

Sources: UNHCR, UN
Photo: Contribute

Syrian Refugee Camps: Escape or Endangerment?

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For many females in the Syrian refugee camps, the fear of death that propelled them from their home is now replaced by the fear of sexual assault in what is supposed to be their area of sanctuary. Rape and sexual assault have become major issues in the Syrian civil war, especially in the Zataari refugee camp in Jordan, where the problem has become more concentrated and centralized.

Because there is such a harsh stigma surrounding rape and the blame often lies on the victim rather than the assailant, most women do not report any incidence. The female victims often remain silent in fear of retribution from the perpetrators as well as the shame and anger that would fall on their family members.

In response to this problem, many women have entered into unwanted marriages for protection. These marriages are called “sutra” marriages and are becoming increasingly common as the Zaataari camp continues to be flooded with new refugees from across the border. This is often orchestrated by the male members of the family who, feeling they cannot offer their daughters adequate protection, marry them off to someone they believe can.

One Syrian American Medical Society volunteer estimates that the instances of child marriage in Syrian refugee camps are 60% higher than in Syria. Sexual exploitation in the Zaatari camp is so prevalent that a number of refugees have created monitoring groups that have uncovered several “marriage brokers” who infiltrated the camp posing as workers. These individuals are merely escorted off the camp if reported.

CNN recently published an article sharing numerous experiences of women inside the camp. One woman, named Ruwaida, who was a wedding dress designer back in Syria, now designs dresses for girls as young as 13. She says that girls rarely got married that young in Syria, but that it has become commonplace in their new temporary home.

“I feel like I have a child between my hands and she is having to take on a responsibility that’s bigger than she is,” Ruwaida says. “I feel her life is over, her life is ending early.” Another encounter documented was with 14-year-old Eman, who married at 13 and became a mother before her body was even fully developed. She said, “I wouldn’t have gotten married, it’s because of the situation.”

– Kathryn Cassibry

Sources: CNN, Standpoint Magazine
Photo: PressTV

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Jesuit Refugee Service USA Gives Voice to Refugees

Jesuit Refugee Service USA Gives Voice to Refugees
Jesuit Refugee Service is a non-profit Catholic organization that works “to defend the rights of refugees and migrants throughout the world.” The U.S. division of JRS employs advocacy efforts to fight for “just and generous policies and programs” that will benefit refugees and ensure their protection during times of conflict.

JRS/USA partners with JRS branches across the world along with other aid organizations to make the voices of refugees heard and to propose actions that will properly address their situation.
Though JRS/USA focuses on select domestic issues such as U.S. detainees’ right to religious expression, the organization has pinpointed the following international advocacy issues to focus on during 2013:

  • International Detention: JRS/USA works to assist refugees and asylum seekers who risk being detained. The use of detention to limit asylum seekers has increased over the past ten years, and JRS/USA advocates against the unnecessary detainment of those seeking asylum.
  • Haiti and Dominican Republic: JRS/USA is currently fighting against the unfair treatment of refugees and immigrants that is occurring in the Dominican Republic. The government of the Dominican Republic recently enacted policies that have resulted in “the denial and/or revocation of the nationality of Dominican-born persons of Haitian ethnicity,” and mass deportations of people of Haitian descent are occurring. Dominican-born persons of Haitian descent face xenophobia, arbitrary detention, and denationalization.
  • Colombia: Colombia is home to five million internally displaced people, and 500,000 Colombians have fled to countries such as Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela. Most of these refugees lack access to basic services, and legal barriers prevent them from fully integrating into their countries of asylum. U.S. and global funding for the protection and assistance of Colombian refugees and internally displaced people remains insufficient, so resettlement efforts have not been successful. JRS/USA advocates for increased funding for Colombian refugees and internally displaced people and fights to increase the number of Colombian refugees resettled in the United States.
  • Migrants and Asylum Seekers: JRS/USA advocates for more generous international standards for the treatment of refugees and those who have been internally displaced. JRS/USA also fights for improvements in U.S. treatment of asylum-seekers, detained immigrants, and other displaced people.

Most U.S. citizens agree that certain standards of treatment towards refugees and internally displaced people should be upheld, but they disagree about the role the U.S. government should play in upholding these standards. JRS/USA seeks to highlight the difference U.S. policymakers can make in the lives of those threatened by their own government or country of origin.

– Katie Bandera

Source: Catholic Sentinel, JRS/USA
Photo: JRUSA

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What the UNHCR is doing for Refugees

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Abdel is a refugee in Choucha Refugee Camp, Tunisia. He arrived there in 2011 after years as an orphan in Libya. Originally from Cote D’Ivoire, Abdel’s parents had to flee that country for unspecified reasons, and his mother died before he turned five years old.

During the Libyan uprising against Muammar Gaddafi in February 2011, Abdel was held captive for ten months, during which time he and his father were forced to watch his sister’s rape and murder. After the ten months, he was freed and fled to Choucha in the city of Misrata, which at its peak held tens of thousands of Libyan refugees (most of which have been relocated to other countries).

Abdel soon decided that he could not tolerate sitting around in the camp all day, being bored and lonesome. That drive inspired him to apply for a pilot skills training program organized by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Danish Refugee Council, located about 87 miles from Choucha.

Abdel’s enrollment not only gave him something to do other than sit in Choucha, it also gave him a bit of hope for the future. In an interview, he admitted that for the first time in years he is sleeping well and that he’s looking at opportunities to continue his studies beyond Choucha.

In his class, Abdel is learning to make jewelry. The refugees eat and sleep in dormitories during the program, and the close quarters allow them to form friendships that help with feeling lonely or helpless. The program consists mostly of young males, but as the classes have begun to soar in popularity, young women have started to apply as well.

Abdel isn’t the only success story of the pilot programs. Danish Refugee Council project officer Gianmaria Pinto expressed in an interview that at the last session before the end of year break, all of the refugees were excited about that prospect of learning and did not want to return to Choucha.

Choucha is scheduled to close at the end of June 2013. Spokesperson for UNHCR Ursula Aboubacar insisted during a press conference in Tunis that the closing of Choucha will give the 900+ refugees still living there a better life. Though many of the refugees have nowhere to go and are still waiting to be relocated, the closing of Choucha will force them to make arrangements to support themselves.

Choucha housed many North African refugees in a time of violent tumult, and in the cases of young men and women like Abdel, has even given them skills and resources that they can use to generate some sort of revenue or self-worth. UNHCR and the Danish Refugee Council have put together a program that will help refugees and Tunisians alike get on their feet and build futures for themselves that, if all goes well, don’t reflect their pasts.

– Lindsey Rubinstein

Sources: Libya Herald, UNHCR
Photo: Demotix

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The Voluntary Relocation of Tibetans

The program is known as the New Socialist Countryside, and has provided up to 2.1 million Tibetans with running water, electricity, and access to improved healthcare and education in the past 7 years. Run by planners in Beijing, the program is ostensibly aimed at raising living standards and improving the economy of Tibet, one of the poorest regions within China.

However, a recent report by Human Rights Watch suggests that the program has had a severe effect on the traditional Tibetan way of life. Says Sophie Richardson, China Director for Human Rights Watch, “…while it may be true that some Tibetans have benefitted, the majority have simply been forced to trade poor but stable livelihoods for the uncertainties of a cash economy in which they are often the weakest actors.”

Having observed the income disparity between rural and urban dwellers, the Chinese government has relocated nearly three-quarters of Tibetans to urban areas. However, upon arriving in cities, rural Tibetans can’t compete with immigrants from other regions of China, nor with educated locals who speak Mandarin. As such, large portions of the population are being moved, supposedly voluntarily, but not being given a support structure once resettled that would allow them to survive in a setting wholly foreign to their previous nomadic lifestyle.

There are many claims for the motives of the government, including protecting the ecologically fragile grasslands of the Tibetan plateau, and facilitating improved utility distribution for the population, but at the same time the thought lingers that the relocations have more to do with control of the population and improving rural incomes to avoid unrest.

120 self-immolations have taken place in Tibet in the past five years. Sadly, civil unrest is an ongoing theme in Tibet, and with governmental policies such as New Socialist Countryside, improvement is a double-edged sword.

– David Wilson

Sources: NY Times, Huffington Post

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IKEA Designs Better Homes for Refugees

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IKEA has teamed up with the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to improve living conditions for refugees. The Swedish company is developing a program that will build modular shelters for displaced people throughout the world.

Like IKEA’s furniture, each shelter is produced in a ready-to-assemble format. The shelters are made of durable materials and can be constructed in four hours. They are expected to be low-cost and to last longer than current refugee tents, which are only made to withstand six months of use. The IKEA shelters are designed to be more durable than the tents, with a guaranteed life of three years, and to provide better protection for the refugees. UNHCR states that on average, refugees live in their shelters for 12 years.

Each IKEA shelter will come with a solar panel to produce electricity. IKEA hopes that the electricity will make tasks like sewing and cooking easier and will allow children to do homework at night. The shelters will also have specially-made walls constructed with materials that can “deflect heat during the day and retain it at night.”

UNHCR states that 26 shelters have already arrived in Ethiopia. The next nations expected to receive the IKEA shelters will be Iraq and Lebanon in efforts to help create more durable living situations for refugees from the civil war in Syria.

Each IKEA shelter currently costs $8,000, however UNHCR hopes that each unit cost will be reduced to $1,000 in the future. Each refugee tent costs $500, meaning the IKEA shelters will be twice as expensive, but are guaranteed to last six times as long.

While IKEA is helping to fulfill the housing needs in refugee camps, UNHCR is bringing health care, education, and job training to those in need. Together, IKEA and UNHCR are looking to help the 35.8 million refugees throughout the world who strive for a better future.

– Jordan Kline

Sources: IKEA Foundation, Public Radio International, News 24
Photo: FC

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Refugees: The Forgotten Problem in Central Africa

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In Central Africa and the Great Lakes region, countries with already large numbers of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are burdened with refugee influx from neighboring conflicts. Many of the IDPs and refugees in Central Africa are served by U.N. camps across the region. Others are housed by local populations or public buildings. With recent outbreaks of violence humanitarian services have become unavailable in  regions.

In April, a UNHCR spokesman gave the number of Central African Republic (CAR) refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at 30,000. Many of these were forced to flee the violence in the capital Bangui. UNHCR also estimated that the number of IDPs in CAR reached 173,000. While this situation is grim the added strain on refugee camps and humanitarian services is exacerbated by the refugees crossing into CAR. Driven by conflict in the Western Darfur region and recent fighting in the DRC capital of Goma, Sudanese and Congolese refugees are seeking care in CAR. In April UNHCR estimated 21,000 refugees from the DRC and Sudan have sought refuge in CAR.

Despite peace talks currently taking place between the DRC government and the M23 rebel forces, the environment in the DRC remains uncertain and rife with tension. Rebel troops briefly held the capital, Goma, in November 2012 but lost control again to the government after a short period. The current standoff between the two sides has boosted the potential for forced recruitment in the countryside. Citizens fleeing the conflict and young men trying to avoid forcible recruitment spill into neighboring countries. In the last six months of 2012 UNHCR estimates that 60,000 Congolese refugees fled to Uganda and Rwanda. Many more were internally displaced.

Recent violence in the DRC has led the U.N. to deploy troops with one of its strongest mandates yet: counter insurgency operations. Despite a 20,000 U.N. peace force deployed in the region the rebel forces took and held Goma for 10 days last November, committing many atrocities including mass rape. The new U.N. deployment, consisting of troops from South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi is intended to prevent new atrocities. The effectiveness of this newest deployment is uncertain. Troops will be engaging in joint operations, requiring coordination in an unfamiliar setting and already logistics and bureaucracy have delayed troop deployment.

Other military forces also have a presence in CAR. South Africa deployed 200 soldiers in January this year with the potential to deploy an additional 200. These forces will assist in training the CAR army and are not intended to engage directly with rebel forces. Ugandan soldiers with U.S. Special Forces support are also deployed in CAR. The Economic Community of Central Africa has authorized forces to deploy in the country as well. And France recently boosted their troop presence in CAR from 250 to 600.

The global and regional community recognizes the need for military intervention in the region demonstrated by the troop deployments. Whether this leads to a cessation in violence or even a lasting peace is uncertain.

– Callie D. Coleman

Sources: IRIN, The Economist, UNHCR
Photos: IRIN