Archive for category: Refugees

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Why Urban Diseases Are Affecting Refugees

Urban Diseases
People generally consider non-communicable diseases “urban” diseases due to the fact that they usually occur among older people who live in generally more developed and urban areas. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019, NCDs accounted for seven of the top 10 causes of death in the world. This study by WHO, which analyzed data from 2000 to 2019, observed a rise in deaths from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other NCDs. The study also showed that heart disease is killing more people over the years, with almost 9 million deaths from heart disease in 2019. Deaths as a result of diabetes have also increased by 70%.

In general, many consider NCDs to be more frequent in urban settings and often overlook them in refugee camps where the primary concern is communicable diseases arising from poor hygiene or diet. However, refugee camps such as the Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda are seeing a sharp increase in NCDs and are struggling to deal with this rising challenge.

The Case of Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda

The Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda is experiencing a sharp rise in cases of NCDs among refugees, as The Guardian reported that more than 1,200 people have been registered with NCDs by the camp’s health centers. The medical team continues to see new cases each month as well. The camp, which the UNHCR estimated houses around 47,700 refugees as of 2021, is facing increasing difficulties with this sudden onslaught of urban diseases.

In an interview with The Guardian, Dieudonne Yiweza, a senior regional public health officer for the UNHCR said that “Before, we could see (NCDs) were affecting older adults and elderly people. Now, they are affecting children and young people.” Yiweza also reported that patients between the ages of 10 or 15 were having strokes. Due to refugee camps already being low in supplies, professionals often overlook such cases until they cause serious disabilities. The limited resources, as Yiweza said, mean that health centers at the camp do not have the training to deal with such cases.

According to The Guardian’s profile on the camp, one of the reasons for this rise in urban diseases is simply the limited housing and bad diet at the camps. One community health supervisor, Liliose Mukankuranga, told The Guardian that “These people don’t have anything. They are sick but there’s no support and they have nothing to eat.” Poor diet combined with the living conditions of displaced individuals can all greatly increase the probability of contracting NCDs. Moreover, due to the unexpected nature of NCDs developing in refugee camps where the primary concern has always been communicable diseases, medical facilities are either underprepared or simply unaware.

Solutions

One medical doctor at the Mahama camp told The Guardian, “When people develop complications, they cannot afford care on their own. The interventions are very expensive. We need to be here raising awareness, starting treatment early to prevent complications.” The fact that many refugee camps do not receive enough funding and only have what they need to deal with communicable diseases means that medical professionals often overlook any presence of NCDs.

Some headway is occurring, as the UNHCR introduced Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) for urban refugees in 2019. The program aims to provide financial support for refugees to get access to health care facilities. Rwanda has also had prior success with HPV vaccination programs in 2011, as well as being on track to becoming the first country in the world to wipe out cervical cancer with a successful elimination program. Implementing similar policies to address other urban diseases could potentially help millions of refugees living in Rwanda.

– Umaima Munir
Photo: Flickr

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Health Care Access Among Asylum Seekers and Refugees

Health Care Access among Asylum Seekers
Historically, migrants, particularly asylum seekers and refugees, experience several barriers when it comes to accessing health care and also face increased risks of various illnesses and health complications. Difficulties faced by refugees have intensified amid the COVID-19 pandemic and with the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act, a piece of legislation that increases the standard of proof required to obtain permission to receive asylum and support in the U.K. By educating the public and advocating for vital policy changes, the U.K. is striving for improved health care access among asylum seekers and refugees.

An Interview with Dr. Dominik Zenner

Dr. Dominik Zenner is a general practitioner in London and also specializes in infectious disease epidemiology. Prior to this, he worked as the senior migration health advisor for the European Union and European Economic Area.

Dr. Zenner confirms the increased vulnerabilities of migrant populations to infectious diseases. He cites a systematic review from the 2018 Lancet Commission series on migration and health, which found that, on average, deaths from infectious diseases are higher among migrants than among native populations.

One can attribute these vulnerabilities to infectious diseases in part to migrants’ “origin and circumstances,” Dr. Zenner says. Furthering this vulnerability are barriers to effective treatment. According to Dr. Zenner, health workers in the U.K. may be “less familiar with some illnesses, including tropical diseases, risking a delay in diagnosis.”

The Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has likely increased existing vulnerabilities in both direct and indirect ways. Even before the pandemic, many migrants were unsure of their health care entitlements and how to access health care. The WHO ApartTogether survey shows that during the pandemic itself, one out of every six undocumented migrants did not seek medical support for themselves or their household when suffering from COVID-19 symptoms. However, twice as many respondents with citizenship or permanency accessed health care services when faced with these symptoms.

Dr. Zenner names “closures and inaccessibility” as significant barriers to health care, specifically “the shift to teleconsultations,” which can be more difficult for migrants to access. A study by his colleagues revealed an approximate 20% drop in consultation rates for migrants during the first year of the pandemic. This stands in sharp contrast to the approximate 9% drop in consultations for non-migrants.

Housing and COVID-19

Poverty, housing and COVID-19 are also closely connected, with the COVID-19 mortality rate increasing for those from low-income backgrounds. The living conditions of poorer people, such as densely populated living spaces, increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Dr. Zenner also discusses living conditions in refugee camps. These camps face “increased transmission of respiratory viruses, alongside decreased access to care, with high-density camps seeing the worst of this.” Some camps’ locations in remote areas may heighten risks, meaning that “emergency care and ambulances might not arrive there fast enough.” In general, Dr. Zenner states that camps are definitely “not ideal human habitats.”

The Nationality and Borders Act

The Nationality and Borders Act may exacerbate the health care access struggles faced by migrants. The act’s introduction of a higher burden of proof to gain refugee status could make it harder for asylum seekers to access health care support and security. Dr. Zenner highlights the concern of the increased difficulty gaining refugee status with these changes, which could lead to “adverse health outcomes and worse health care access for those seeking safety.”

Dr. Zenner’s travels and visits to refugee camps support his view that “health care access should be universal, not just in terms of legal eligibility but accessibility.” However, this is currently “not always the case for many migrants and definitely not for asylum seekers,” he says.

Roles and Responsibilities of the UK Government

Dr. Zenner says U.K. aid cuts have resulted in “research projects promoting our knowledge of infectious diseases being downsized or canceled, further limiting scientific advances.” He argues that access to care can be an even bigger issue than eligibility and that more signposting and support services for migrants are necessary. “The government should ensure that there is access to free care for everyone. We have witnessed tragedies; mothers unable to access maternity care and being criminalized when they can’t afford treatment. These tragedies are entirely preventable,” he says.

When asked about the U.K.’s divergence from WHO guidelines, Dr. Zenner says “for most areas, divergence is for good reasons.” For example, the U.K. has “conducted more TB screenings than initially recommended by WHO, but this turned out to be the right idea and set a precedent.”  In fact, the U.K. plays a key part in informing WHO guidance.

Provisions for Future Improvement

Some measures to improve health care among asylum seekers and refugees are visible in the U.K. These are available at a local level, from organizations offering mental health support services, and at a government level with the NHS Low Income Scheme, through which migrants and other disadvantaged groups can apply for financial aid to cover health costs.

Also, GP practices can register new patients without a passport and there is no obligation to ask for proof of immigration status. Doctors should not deny registration to those who cannot provide documents and the rules are flexible in this regard.

Dr. Zenner strongly feels that “the needs of migrants should be addressed as a matter of urgency,” not only to benefit individuals but also for public health reasons in general. This includes sustainable and robust funding and a recognition that there will be no equality until vulnerable communities receive sufficient support.

– Lydia Tyler
Photo: Flickr

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Reduce Poverty With Microfinance: UNRWA Helps Palestinian Refugees

Reduce poverty with microfinance
In order to implement its programs to help Palestine refugees in the Middle East, the United Nations created the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in 1949. UNRWA is working to help and protect all registered Palestine refugees in the area. The major part of the budget of UNRWA is coming from the U.N. Member States through voluntary contributions. UNRWA is a very unique agency as it is the first time that an organization has dedicated itself to helping a specific group of refugees for such a long time.

UNRWA is especially in charge to fight against poverty among the Palestine refugees. According to the numbers of the World Bank, more than 20% of the population of Palestinian territories are living below the poverty line of $5.50 a day.

For instance, in Lebanon, 70% of the active population of Palestine refugees living in the country did not have employment in 2019. Furthermore, the Palestine workers in Lebanon were the first victims of the crisis in Lebanon that occurred in 2019, as the Palestine workers were the first ones who experienced expulsion or a reduction of 50% of their wages.

Among the various tools that UNRWA uses to counter poverty among Palestine refugees and within the Palestinian territories, it utilizes its own Department focused on microfinance.

Microfinance, a Tool to Counter Poverty

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, Microfinance can be defined as “the activity or business of providing financial service to poor people or new businesses in poor countries.” As a matter of fact, microfinance services help organizations to support on a financial level poor people. Microfinance includes several financial tools such as loans and subsidies. With such financial resources, those poor people can improve their income as well as their livelihood. Indeed, they are using them for instance to create their own companies and cover their debts and so to have a new start in their life. This would only but allowing them to emerge from poverty to a more stable economic situation and ensure their financial sustainability.

When it comes to UNRWA, it established its own Microfinance Programme in 1991 in the city of Gaza to provide financial assistance to Palestine refugees but also to the poor and marginalized people among the locals. Then, the UNRWA Microfinance Programme was extended to the West Bank in 1994 and to Syria and Jordan in 2003 to help even more Palestine refugees and to reduce poverty with microfinance.

Microfinance is another tool that UNRWA uses to reach its goal entitled “A Decent Standard of Living.” This goal’s objective is to eliminate extreme poverty among Palestine refugees and marginalized groups in the Middle East and also to grant them new opportunities to develop their economic resources.

Microfinance, a Modern Financing Tool to Help Palestinian Refugees

The UNRWA Microfinance Programme developed many loans for Palestinian refugees and marginalized groups in the Middle East throughout the years. The goal was to reduce poverty with microfinance. Currently, the Programme has gathered nine different loans to help those in poverty implement small businesses and micro-enterprises or help families cover the education fees of their children.

About four of the nine loans focus on helping companies to grow and to create jobs. One of them is the microenterprise credit in order to help small businesses, less than five workers, which do not have access to credit. Another loan is the microenterprise credit plus, which aims to help small business to grow and develop. For small-scale companies with more than five workers, it is possible to ask for small-scale enterprise lending. The last loan within this category is targeting the owners of small-business by offering them some tips on how to develop their companies through small and medium enterprise business training, with donor grants paying for all costs.

Then, two of the nine loans are supporting the entrepreneurs by helping them with the creation and development of their startups. The Mubdarati – Youth Startup Loan is helping men and women between 18 and 30 to create their own businesses. The Start-Your-Business Loan Product provides funds to start-ups that people aged more than 30 years established.

The three remaining loans aim to help low-income families in covering costs for items like health care and education. The women’s household credit is supporting women in their daily life, helping them to establish activities that would generate income for them, which would help them increase household assets. As housing is an important right, UNRWA created the housing loan product to help poor families access property in 2006.

The last of the nine loans is the consumer loan product, which aims to help families pay for their children’s education or for health expenses.

The UNRWA’s Microfinance Programme’s Accomplishments

Since its creation in 1991, the UNRWA’s Microfinance Programme has granted more than 475,000 loans with a combined value of $531.41 million. Women have received 41% of this money and 28% has gone to youth since 1991.

Through those loans, the UNRWA is deeply involved in building a better economic situation for Palestine refugees in the Middle East and helping reduce poverty and unemployment with microfinance.

– Evan Da Costa Marques
Photo: Flickr

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Lending a Helping Hand: Ukrainian Refugees in Moldova

Moldova is Helping Ukrainian RefugeesA former republic of the Soviet Union, Moldova is one of Europe’s poorest countries, with a poverty rate of 26.8% as of 2020. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova faced economic hardship, widespread corruption and political instability, but made progress between 2006 and 2015 toward national poverty reduction.

However, since early 2020, Moldova has experienced a series of intense economic shocks beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic that led to an estimated loss of nearly 8% of jobs across the nation, disproportionately affecting young workers. In 2020, Moldova also experienced one of the worst droughts in recent decades, which reduced agricultural production by 34%. In late 2021, the European gas crisis adversely affected the nation for several months, which increased gas prices by 400%, until Moldova’s government signed a new contract with a Russian-controlled gas company. By February 2022, Moldova was beginning to recover from these shocks, but the sudden outbreak of war when Russian forces invaded Ukraine threatened Moldova’s immediate economic recovery and future trajectory.

How Moldova is Helping Ukrainian Refugees

Despite the nation’s challenges, Moldova’s government and citizens have made remarkable efforts to help Ukrainian refugees. Since the start of the war, more than 460,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing the invasion have traveled through Moldova, with nearly 100,000 refugees choosing to remain in the nation. The Moldovan government immediately set up facilities for refugees, offering medical and psychological assistance at the war’s onset. Officials also extended the right to live and work in Moldova to Ukrainian refugees, along with access to health care services and education. Notably, 95% of the refugees are staying with Moldovan families.

Humanitarian Organizations Supporting Moldova’s Efforts

UNHCR, the U.N.’s Refugee Agency, has assisted the Moldovan government through a series of measures, expanding its staff by nearly 100 members in the nation since the crisis began. The agency is helping Ukrainian refugees and supporting the work of local authorities in Moldova by offering access to information, health and legal services, child protection services, initiatives to prevent human trafficking and gender-based violence as well as offering transportation to European Union countries. A core component of the UNHCR’s response effort is a cash assistance program that allows Ukrainian refugees to receive around 2,200 Moldovan Lei (equivalent to $120) each month. The process is facilitated through enrollment centers and mobile teams that help refugees enroll, and the program has already helped more than 50,000 refugees in Moldova receive cash.

The World Bank has also implemented initiatives to help Moldova build economic resilience and mitigate the impacts of the war in Ukraine. In June 2022, the World Bank allocated $159.24 million to Moldova as part of an Emergency Response, Resilience and Competitiveness Development Policy Operation (DPO). Moldova’s government remains committed to its social and economic developmental reform agenda, and this relief funding will allow the government to support the country’s immediate needs while also providing momentum for long-term recovery efforts.

– Oliver De Jonghe
Photo: Flickr

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The Basics of Climate Migration

Climate Migration
As global temperatures continue to rise, those in the hottest regions of the world face an impossible choice. They can either endure malnutrition, economic malaise and political instability or run the gauntlet of relocating to greener pastures. Affecting more than 20 million people every year, climate migration poses a serious threat to countries in Central America, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. As people relocate domestically and internationally, they strain their new community’s and their own recourses, leaving both vulnerable.

Exacerbating Already Existing Issues

In Guatemala, climate migration exacerbates many of the issues it already faces. Rapid increases in temperature as well as prolonged droughts followed by violent flooding have destroyed agricultural harvests, forcing many into overcrowded urban centers or seeking refuge in the United States. Since much of the country’s economy is dependent on agriculture, this will increase malnutrition and poverty rates, damaging an already struggling nation.

These effects will only become worse as temperatures continue to rise, with 1.5 million people expected to flee Mexico and Guatemala every year by 2050, according to The New York Times.

Similarly, climate migration in other regions can cause dramatic economic and political harm. Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable to this, as increased temperatures quicken a process known as desertification, in which arid land becomes unusable while coastal regions succumb to rising sea levels and more frequent natural disasters.

For the Philippines and many island nations, marine life degradation and higher sea levels threaten the livelihoods of millions reliant on the sea, creating a host of political and economic issues, according to the OECD report. This will only lead to increased climate migration and further internal disruption.

Affecting the Progress

Looked at from a larger perspective, climate migration threatens to undo decades of progress in the fight against global poverty. Both the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have highlighted the current and potential threat that climate migration poses. In regions like the Sahel desert, water shortages have catalyzed armed violence, displacing more than 3 million people, according to UNHCR. Should the international community ignore this pressing issue, climate migration could become an even greater issue.

Solutions

However, it is not too late to curb the effects of climate migration. With the threat of mass environmental exodus, more organizations have spotlighted the issue, urging nations to protect climate refugees. The Biden Administration emphasized climate migration in a report before the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) released a report in 2021 on how countries like the United States could prevent climate migration from worsening. One proposed suggestion was that the U.S. should allow those fleeing climate-related disasters to seek refugee status.

As more focus is drawn to this alarming phenomenon, increased research is allowing scientists to make estimates as to where climate migration will be strongest and how to fix the issue in the long run, according to The New York Times. Environmental protection policies and aid toward refugees are solutions that tackle the problem from important angles and are becoming more prominent as migration due to weather becomes a larger part of the fight against poverty.

– Samuel Bowles
Photo: Pixabay

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Migration in Brazil

 Migration in Brazil
As one of the largest and most populous nations in the Americas, Brazil has long served as a safe haven for immigrants around the world. In fact, migration in Brazil includes people from Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. Immigrants in Brazil, in turn, have brought many economic and cultural benefits to the nation.

First Wave of Brazil Migration

Brazil’s first wave of non-colonial immigration began in the late 1800s; from 1870 to 1930, between 2 and 3  million migrants from Europe, Asia and the Middle East sailed to the nation in search of a new home. The abolition of slavery spurred the influx of foreigners. Landowners around the country believed that immigrant laborers would help Brazil form a wage-based economy similar to European countries. However, in 1891 Brazilian elites also sought to “whiten” their nation by enacting racist laws which welcomed European immigrants while banning those from African and Asian nations. Brazilians saw Japanese immigrants as an exception to this rule. They viewed Japanese immigrants as essentially European in their mannerisms and industrial habits. In 1935, a federal deputy commented, “The Japanese colonists are even whiter than the Portuguese.”

Continued Brazil Migration

Brazil has aggressively sought out foreign workers to grow its economy. After World War II, for example, the government encouraged workers from Spain, Syria and Lebanon to move to the country, correctly assuming that the laborers would aid Brazil’s industrial sectors. By 1970, 115,000 Spaniards and 22,000 Syrian-Lebanese called Brazil home.

In the following decades, the nation saw a wave of Korean immigration. These families, like those before them, saw Brazil as a land of social mobility. They purchased cheap visas into Bolivia or Paraguay and used the relaxed border laws to enter Brazil.

Informality Supports Undocumented Immigrants

Brazil’s attitude towards immigrants stands out in its informality. While undocumented immigrants do not always receive encouragement to enter Brazil, there remain no current policies that discourage them. In addition, Brazil’s government has frequently created legalization programs that help unregistered citizens gain documentation. The three most recent of these programs gave more than 100,000 foreigners the right to permanent residency in Brazil.

More than 40,000 of those 100,000 foreigners originated from Bolivia. The country of 11 million has struggled for years financially, and as a result, many have flocked to the surrounding nations of Chile, Peru and Brazil. Currently, more than 130,000 Bolivians officially reside in Brazil, although the Brazilian Embassy in the Bolivian La Paz estimates that in total, more than a million Bolivians live within Brazilian borders. This leaves a vast majority of these immigrants undocumented and subsequently subjected to long hours and low pay in the clothing factories and sewing shops where they typically work.

Venezuela: The Largest New Immigrant Population

The largest immigrant population currently residing in Brazil, however, is not Bolivian but Venezuelan. Venezuela is currently experiencing the largest recorded refugee crisis in the history of the Americas, due to political turmoil and widespread poverty. Brazil’s government has been generally supportive of these immigrants. In August 2018, for example, when the state of Roraima requested to close its border with Venezuela, the Brazilian Supreme Court denied the request on constitutional grounds.

Currently, Brazil houses more than 260,000 Venezuelan refugees. The government has granted asylum to more than 20,000, and a two-year residency permit was made available to purchase in 2017 if certain applicants do not qualify for asylum. A 2020 program titled Operação Acolhida (“Operation Welcome”)  funds more than 10,000 plane tickets to help Venezuelans travel to Brazil and is helping 50,000 to get to cities around Brazil. 

Mutually Beneficial into the Future

Brazil has gained many cultural benefits from the enormous amount of immigrants living within its borders. School children and adults alike enjoy Japanese manga and anime; similarly, Brazilian jiu-jitsu would not have been possible without the sumo wrestling the Japanese brought. Kibe, a simple croquette that bars and street carts around Brazil sell, comes from the Middle East via Lebanese immigrants. Stores owned by Korean families provide many items in a typical Brazilian’s wardrobe. 

Some organizations worry that as President Jair Bolsonairo continues to lead the country, Brazil will become less hospitable to migrants. One of the president’s first moves in office, after all, was to pull out of a United Nations migration accord that had been signed the previous month. “We will never withhold help to those in need, but immigration cannot be indiscriminate,” he wrote on Twitter. Still, it seems that the principles of migration in Brazil have generally stayed the same under Bolsonairo. The nation continues to house many from struggling Latin American countries; this February, it also became the first nation in the world to grant humanitarian visas to Ukrainians. 

Migration in Brazil has been a symbiotic process for many years. Brazil has been hospitable towards immigrants, more so than most large countries; and those immigrants have repaid the nation through their work and their culture. One hopes this relationship is able to remain mutually beneficial long into the future.

– Finn Harnett
Photo: Flickr

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How NGOs in Ukraine Alleviate Poverty During War

NGOs in UkraineUkraine has a long history of political turmoil and foreign interference since it achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. From the annexation of Crimea in 2014 to Russia’s covert war in the Donbas, Russia has consistently engaged in undermining the territorial and political integrity of Ukraine. Remaining in line with these actions, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladamir Putin authorized a military invasion, or what he dubs a “special military operation,” against neighboring Ukraine. During the first week of the invasion, 1 million refugees fled the destruction and warfare taking place in Ukraine. In light of the destruction that the Russian invasion caused, NGOs in Ukraine are trying to funnel much-needed aid from international donors to Ukrainians.

Medical Assistance

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to an abysmal shortage of necessary medical supplies. Ukraine is “facing shortages of zeolite,” a necessary material for the manufacturing of medical oxygen, and by March 1, 2022, UNAIDS announced that Ukraine has “less than a month’s” supply of HIV/AIDS medication. In addition, Ukraine has had to abruptly pause efforts to contain Polio “as health authorities shift to emergency care.”

With the lack of medical supplies, NGOs in Ukraine, including Doctors Without Borders and Project HOPE, have been funneling medical aid to alleviate the critical medical shortages in Ukraine. Doctors Without Borders is organizing kits of both medicine and medical equipment to alleviate Ukraine’s medical shortages from Doctors Without Borders’ logistical bases in Bordeaux and Brussels. To increase the supply capacity for medical assistance, Doctors Without Borders is also establishing warehouses in Western Ukraine.

Project HOPE, with more emphasis on supporting Ukrainian refugees, is operating in Eastern Europe to deliver crucial medical supplies to fleeing Ukrainians in coordination with government agencies. In Moldova, Project HOPE has been coordinating with Moldova’s Ministry of Health to deliver medical supplies for Ukrainian refugees, which includes an Interagency Emergency Health Kit designed to assist 10,000 individuals for a span of three months. The Interagency Emergency Health Kit consists of one ton of medical resources, such as medical supplies, topical treatments, oral therapeutics and medical devices.

Refugee Assistance

Aside from NGOs in Ukraine delivering medical assistance, NGOs are also operating outside of Ukraine in Eastern Europe to support refugees. In particular, “CARE’s partner organization” is operating with aid workers on the Slovak-Ukrainian borders to establish heated tents for people to rest as well as sanitation facilities and portable toilets. For refugees, emergency relief teams are also providing “crisis intervention and psychosocial assistance” services.

The organization People in Need is also providing heated tents, designed to provide a space for Ukrainian refugees to rest, capable of holding up to 200 individuals. The organization is also providing water, hygiene items, food and SIM cards for communication on the Slovak-Ukrainian border. Furthermore, People in Need has also established facilities for Ukrainians waiting for border control near Velky Berezny to vet them.

The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is critical: the U.N. estimates that an additional 4 million individuals “may flee Ukraine.” While the Russian invasion of Ukraine is dim, there is hope as NGOs in Ukraine are providing aid and local organizations are working to alleviate the refugee flow from Ukraine into Eastern Europe.

– Alexander Richter
Photo: Flickr

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The Situation for Refugees in Thailand

Refugees in Thailand
In February 2021, a military coup in Myanmar removed the country’s democratically-elected President from power and instated an autocratic regime that the Tatmadaw controlled. In response, citizens organized massive protests against the military institution which continued into 2022. Politicians and reporters have given Myanmar significant attention following the political upheaval, as refugees leave in droves to neighboring countries like Thailand, continuing a migration trend that has persisted for decades. Additionally, as of January 2022, UNHCR has estimated that there were 91,408 Myanmar refugees in Thailand. However, crossing the border is not a solution in and of itself, especially since Thailand’s government offers limited protections to those seeking asylum.

The Dynamics Between Myanmar-Thailand

Myanmar is far from the only dictatorship in Southeast Asia. Thailand shares a fluctuating political record. Despite ongoing student protests, the current “semi-democratic” regime allows the monarchy and military to maintain a tight grip on domestic politics. Not only has the government subjugated its own people, but it exacerbated the poor conditions of refugees in Thailand.

In addition to certain political similarities, the leaders of the Tatmadaw and the Royal Thai Army have worked together to govern illegal activities along their shared border. Additionally, unlike other Southeast Asian countries, which have largely condemned the junta in Myanmar, Thailand has committed to a diplomatic approach to its conflict-ridden neighbor and has “refrained from criticizing the junta” despite its human rights abuses, according to The Diplomat. This dynamic also shows through the close relationship between Myanmar’s coup leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and the late president of Thailand’s Privy Council, General Prem Tinsulanonda.

Thailand’s Treatment of Myanmar Refugees

Since the nature of Thailand’s government, people fleeing Myanmar receive no guarantee of personal safety. Refugees are unable to legally work, leaving them wholly dependent on aid and the camps where they live lack necessary resources including food, education and health services. On top of that, Thailand’s Immigration Act categorizes all refugees in Thailand as illegal immigrants, which makes them vulnerable to arrest and deportation regardless of international norms, according to UNHCR.

As a result, Thailand has sent thousands back to Myanmar. This number includes a group of more than 3,000 who had settled in tents on the Thai side of the Thaung Yin River. These people involuntarily returned to Myanmar territory, where they could face political or ethnic persecution on top of poor living conditions with limited access to clean food and water.

While the close ties between Thailand and Myanmar’s governments coincide with their shared human trafficking agreements, both states exclude Rohingya migrants from their policies. This creates an environment rife with human trafficking in both states, as government officials knowingly and illegally traffic refugees into third countries.

Solutions

The international community could take action to protect those fleeing Myanmar, and in some ways, it already has. A joint statement from several aid agencies called on international governments and organizations to meet the needs of Myanmar citizens and refugees. The statement drew attention to all the displaced people and asylum-seekers lacking shelter, food, water and other basic needs. It also called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Thailand is a founding member, to “formulate a clear action plan” that would lead to “the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar,” according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

Furthermore, UNHCR urged Thailand to extend greater humanitarian aid to asylum-seekers in its borders and offered assistance, as did several humanitarian non-government organizations.

In addition, the U.S. Senate is currently deliberating the BURMA Act of 2021, or S.2937, which would protect refugees’ basic rights, provide access to higher education in refugees in Thailand and provide humanitarian aid to social and ethnic groups in Myanmar and Thailand. The U.S. has already led bipartisan efforts to encourage democracy in Myanmar and it seems that it will continue to do so in 2022.

– Lauren Sung
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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The Different Types of Displaced Persons

Displaced Persons
Mainstream news mentions the term “refugees” a lot. At many points, such as during the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexican border and when the Taliban took control of the government in Afghanistan, the word appeared often in the media. However, there are many different types of displaced persons, with each type having its own definition. Additionally, many displaced people are living in poverty.

The Correlation Between Displaced Persons and Poverty

A correlation exists between displaced persons and poverty as those who leave their homes or their native countries are unable to support themselves while trying to find a new place to make a life for themselves. According to a U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimate, in 2020, 82.4 million people experienced displacement throughout the world due to reasons including persecution, conflict and violence. About 48 million internally displaced people, 26.4 million refugees and 4.1 million asylum seekers made up that number.

On the topic of education, child refugees are more likely to be out of school than children living in ordinary circumstances. Out of the 7.1 million school-age refugees around the world, only 3.4 million of these children attended either primary or secondary education. In terms of gender inequality among refugees, for every 10 refugee boys in primary school, there were fewer than eight refugee girls. In secondary school, the number diverges more with fewer than seven refugee girls in school for every 10 refugee boys. Currently, there are 3.7 million school-age refugee children not in school.

Types of Refugees

  1. Refugee: The news often uses the term refugee as a coverall term. However, UNHCR defines a refugee as “a person forced to flee their country because of violence or persecution.” People may be refugees if they have a strong fear of persecution for reasons including race, religion, nationality, political opinion or participation in specific social groups. The leading causes of people becoming refugees are conflict and violence as well as ethnic and religious intolerances. Out of all of the refugees in the world, 68% are from Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar. In the United States, the government has expanded the definition of a refugee from the definition that the UNHCR provides. The United States considers a refugee a person situated in a country that is not the U.S., a person whom the U.S. considers to be of “special humanitarian concern,” someone who has faced or may face persecution in their home country, a person without proper resettlement in any country or one who “is admissable to the United States.”
  2. Internally Displaced Person: An internally displaced person is a person who became displaced within their home country. In-country fighting and/or natural disasters are the two major causes of internally displaced persons. Unlike refugees, internally displaced persons are not able to receive protection under international law since they are still under the protection of their government. Because these people are still in their own country, they cannot receive certain aid. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Colombia, Syria and Yemen contain the most internally displaced people globally. In total, 48 million people are internally displaced around the world.
  3. Stateless Person: A stateless person is someone who does not have citizenship in any country. “People can become stateless for several reasons including sovereign, legal, technical, administrative decisions or oversights.” Without a nationality or citizenship to claim, the person does not receive any political, social or economic rights that citizens usually obtain. The UNHCR’s estimated number of stateless persons is 4.2 million, however, some believe that this number could be much higher due to limited data.
  4. Asylum Seeker: An asylum seeker is someone who leaves their own country to seek protection or sanctuary in another country. Once they arrive in another country, they apply for asylum which grants them “the right to be recognized as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance.” According to the UNHCR, countries only accept refugees if they can prove that their fear of persecution is legitimate. In 2020 alone, 1.1 million new asylum claims emerged.

Refugees International

Refugees International is a nonprofit that focuses on aiding and protecting displaced persons. It began in 1979 to provide support for people who experienced violence in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. However, since then, the organization has expanded across the world. The group operates by traveling around the world to see and speak to refugees firsthand in order to best provide the policy and solutions necessary to solve the problems leading to these crises.

The world’s displaced persons deserve to receive protection just like citizens of any country and that protection should not only be from their country of origin or their temporary place of retreat. Fortunately, organizations like Refugees International are providing aid to displaced people across the globe, bringing hope for a better tomorrow.

– Julian Smith
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Increase in Refugees from Afghanistan

Refugees from Afghanistan
After 20 years out of power, in August 2021, the Taliban seized the capital of Kabul after the collapse of the Afghan government. With many Afghans opting to flee the country in search of safer and more stable pastures, the nation’s neighboring countries are experiencing an increase in refugees from Afghanistan. Although the reign of the Taliban brings increased instability to the country, Afghans were already fleeing the nation years prior. In fact, apart from fearing that “[the Taliban] will impose harsh rule, neglect to provide basic services and abuse human rights, “many Afghans are leaving due to the severe humanitarian crisis in the nation. Due to these worsening conditions, countries and organizations are trying to assist vulnerable Afghans.

Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan

In October 2021, Afghanistan’s poverty rate stood at 72%, but the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) expects this rate to increase to a staggering 98% by the middle of 2022. Moreover, about 19 million Afghans are suffering from acute levels of food insecurity. Because of these conditions, people are fleeing Afghanistan in search of a better life. According to the UNHCR, almost 6 million Afghans face forced displacement. Estimates indicate that there are about 3.5 million internally displaced Afghans and roughly 2.6 million Afghan refugees residing in other nations. Compounding issues further, Afghanistan is facing a severe drought that has already led to the malnourishment of 50% of Afghan children.

The Taliban Takeover

The Taliban is a group of religious students from Afghanistan who aim to seize power to “restore peace and security and enforce their own austere version of Sharia, or Islamic law.” The Taliban began taking over parts of Afghanistan in 1994. In 1996, the group took over the capital of Kabul, and by 1998, had garnered control “over most of the country.”

During its time in power, the Taliban imposed harsh laws “forbidding most women from working, banning girls from education and carrying out punishments including beatings, amputations and public executions,” among other horrific punishments and restrictions. In 2001, a United States-led invasion is able to remove the Taliban from power. Unfortunately, “the Taliban reemerge” in 2006. In April 2021, after “President Biden announces the withdrawal” of U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of September 2021, the Taliban gains traction taking over more areas. By August 2021, the Taliban seizes the capital of Kabul.

Halting Aid to Afghanistan

With the Taliban in power, Afghanistan is facing a colossal economic crisis. Afghanistan was heavily dependant on international aid even before the Taliban takeover — 40% of its GDP comes from foreign aid. The World Bank has stated that “about 75% of public finances were supplied by grants from the U.S. and other countries.” Now, the Afghani currency has lost all its value.

In August 2021, when it became apparent that the Taliban would seize Afghanistan, global powers, such as the United States, chose to halt foreign assistance to Afghanistan, as did the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Furthermore, before, families relied on money from family members outside of the country. However, Western Union and MoneyGram removed their assistance and services in Afghanistan, causing the deprivation of money from families abroad.

Evacuating Afghans

Days after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the United States began the evacuation process of Afghans. In truth, the United States helped evacuate about 125,000 people for relocation. Unfortunately, thousands of Afghans who hoped to leave the country did not have the opportunity to evacuate, even some with passports. Many of the evacuees received special visas for “their service alongside coalition military forces” or their work “with foreign-funded programs.” A more minimal number of evacuees able to board the planes as refugees from Afghanistan were “Afghans seeking visas or asylum based on their fear of persecution due to their identity.”

Refugees from Afghanistan Receive Assistance

Due to the influx of refugees from Afghanistan, the United Nations has requested that countries nearby “keep their borders open.” In September 2021, several governments pledged to “resettle refugees from Afghanistan,” including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico and Costa Rica. The countries specify maximum intake numbers, with some only accepting Afghans who fall into a specific vulnerable group or who hold specific jobs. The U.S. also pledged to take in 62,500 Afghans by the end of September 2021.

Amid a crumbling nation and citizens facing dire conditions, the international community is giving hope to Afghans for a better future with several countries willing to assist in the relocation of refugees from Afghanistan.

– Kayla De Alba
Photo: Flickr