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Ending Statelessness in India

statelessness in indiaThe Indian government recently published its National Register of Citizens (NRC) for the State of Assam, cataloging the names and personal information of its citizens. The list has brought about controversy in light of the omission of an estimated four million residents of Assam, a state known for being a haven for Bangladeshi migrants and refugees.

These four million people could soon become stateless, which is an issue that The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) must look to solve if it plans to meet its goal of ending statelessness in India and throughout the world at large.

Legal Status is Being Threatened in India

March 24, 1971 was the cutoff date that the Indian government chose for proving legal status in Assam. Those that could not prove that they came to the state before this date—the day before Bangladesh declared its independence from Pakistan—would not be granted legal status in India.

The origin of the register is rooted in fear of the state’s Hindu-majority being altered by Muslim migrants. Now, the updated register almost solely excludes Bangladeshi refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War, the majority of whom are Muslims.

The NRC has granted some family members citizenship while omitting others, bringing into question the accuracy of the list and the thoroughness of the identification process. The Government of India has stated that the Registry is not final; although, many had already been detained and separated from their families even prior to the publication of this updated Registry.

Those that lose citizenship will be stripped of the right to legally own land, work and vote in India. It has been reported that Bangladesh will not accept deportees; therefore, many of those that are at risk will wind up stateless and could be held in detention camps in India.

The UN Refugee Agency is Working to End Statelessness

If these four million people are not granted legal status in any capacity, this would mark a step backward for The U.N. Refugee Agency since it aims to end statelessness by 2024. An additional four million stateless in India would represent a 40 percent increase in the number of stateless people in the world, according to Agency estimates.

There are still many intangibles to be considered before the Agency decides on a course of action. However, the formation of a sound, national, legal framework for asylum has long been needed, particularly in states like Assam. “The lack of a national refugee protections framework is an obstacle to providing effective refugee protection,” according to the Agency. Asylum legislation could be a vehicle of enfranchisement for those that otherwise would become stateless.

Previously, India had always respected The UNHCR’s mandates. Now, the Agency is considering performing refugee status determinations (RSDs) for those left off of the list as well as also looking to advocate for the individuals at risk by reaching out to civil society.

In the past, The UNHCR has looked to generate discussion and awareness about refugee issues among the common populous, Indian academics, the media, human rights organizations and other nongovernmental organizations. Changing the perceptions of and rhetoric around asylum seekers in India could prove to be the most vital intervention that the Agency could take.

The U.N. Refugee Agency relies heavily on the contributions of member states to carry out its functions. Further contributions will be needed to prevent statelessness in India and help the people of Assam and throughout the world find a stable and safe home. While the task ahead is daunting, The UNHCR has already helped an estimated 50 million refugees in the 65 years they have been operating. With the necessary resources and with the cooperation of the Indian government, their goal for 2024 is achievable.

– Julius Long
Photo: Unsplash

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How You Can Help Refugees

How to Help RefugeesImagine a situation where a person’s homeland is cannot host that person and their family anymore. The word “home” loses its meaning, and people find themselves forced to find somewhere else to live in. President Roosevelt once said, “Peace, like charity, begins at home.” Unfortunately, many people around the world cannot find peace because they have no home. Refugee crises have been an issue in the world for many years, and it is important to learn how to help refugees, even in the smallest ways.

According to UNHCR, 68.5 million people are forcedly displaced worldwide, and 25.4 million of them have refugee status. A recent example is the Syrian Refugee Crisis; according to the Amnesty International, there are approximately 4 million refugees from Syria that are spread to different countries.

Refugees crises are real problems, and actions must be taken to overcome them as soon as possible. Many different actions can be taken at a governmental level, but individuals can take actions to help refugees as well. 

Fundraising

Individual fundraising and donation is one thing that any individual can contribute to the refugee problem around the globe. There are numerous organizations operating in both international and national scale, and all of them are just a click away.

Various Types of Volunteer Work

Money is not your only source to find an answer to the question of how to help refugees. Many organizations that help refugees are not only open to donations, but also to volunteer work. If a person wishes to dedicate more than their money, they can dedicate their time to refugee-focused organizations to become a helper in the field.

Social mobilization of the refugees is also related to volunteer work. Integration of refugees to the daily lives of the host country is very important, but not easy. Refugees must learn the language of the host country, and people in the host country can contribute by helping to teach refugees the host country’s language. Many NGO’s operate for this purpose, and a person who is willing to help can also speak with the municipality of any region about creating a volunteer group project.

Organizations also allow a person to connect with a refugee in need to host someone to live together with, saving them from refugee camps. Refugees Welcome International is one such organization where a person can take a refugee as a roommate, allowing the refugee freedom from the hard conditions of a refugee camp.

Writing to Refugees

If a person is unable to dedicate time or money to refugee crises, they can contribute by contacting a refugee personally. Knowing that someone cares provides important motivation that keeps hope alive for millions of refugees around the world. Organizations like CARE allow anyone to directly send a personal message to a person in need. The message is simple: “I see you and I care.”

Legal Support

Support for the legal needs of refugees is a way that attorneys can contribute to helping refugee crises. For any attorney who is ready to take action on this issue, volunteer attorney positions are available in different organizations. International Refugee Assistance Project is one example of the many organizations that help provide legal services for refugees. 

There are countless ways for an individual to contribute to helping refugees around the world. When a person takes the first step to help, even if that means spreading awareness of refugee crises, they take the first step in making the world a better place. 

– Orçun Doğmazer

Photo: Flickr

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Three Organizations Helping Burmese Refugees in Buffalo, New York

Burmese Refugees in BuffaloIn the past decade, Buffalo has become home for refugees from all around the globe, but more than 8.000 of these refugees come from Burma. These refugees started arriving over a decade ago when resettlement agencies invited them to become Buffalonians after the George W. Bush administration made a near-secret diplomatic deal with Burma. Throughout Buffalo, there are numerous organizations helping Burmese refugees as they come in.

Organizations Helping Burmese Refugees in Buffalo, New York

  1. Journey’s End Refugee Services –  This organization’s mission is to assist refugees in becoming “healthy, independent, contributing members of the community.” This year alone Journey’s End has resettled 418 refugees in Buffalo. Refugees have to go through numerous interviews and screenings before they are put into the hands of Journey’s End, but once they are, they are given anything they could possibly need. Refugees arriving have a variety of needs, some need a translator, someone to take them out to get food and clothes, someone to find them a job and a home, but some refugees only need to be pointed in the right direction with little help along the way. The staff at Journey’s End is trained to deal with either extreme, as well as everything in between. This organization has turned thousands of people from terrified Burmese refugees into Buffalonians. Journey’s End has made it possible for native Burmese people to make a community and a home in Buffalo. It is where home begins again.
  2. International Institute of Buffalo – This organization believes that refugees and immigrants are critical to the economic strength, population growth, workforce and business growth, home ownership and the expanding cultural richness of Western New York. Their services include welcoming refugees into Buffalo, employment and housing support. The International Institute also works very hard to foster connections between those working with refugees and ethnic community leaders and native-born residents in order to get refugees more involved and more comfortable in the community. This social services organization also monitors the ethnic community organizations, including the Burmese Community Support Center. There has also been work with city block clubs to connect with foreign-born neighbors, as well as the establishment of the Buffalo Region Immigrant and Refugee Roundtable. This organization has made it possible for refugees to get connections around Buffalo, as well as giving them the chance to talk about what they are going through, so they feel less alone and more at home. The International Institute of Buffalo has gone above and beyond in order to make Burmese refugees, as well as refugees from all around the world, feel at home in Buffalo.
  3. Burmese Community Services – This is another organization helping Burmese refugees get settled into Buffalo, providing any assistance they might need along the way. It is tailored specifically towards Burmese refugees. Their services include aiding the poor and distressed, eliminating prejudice and discrimination, promoting the social welfare and defending human and civil rights secured by law. They also collaborate with stakeholders in Buffalo to address the needs of the growing population of Burmese people in the area. This non-profit organization also aids with school registration, food stamps, Medicaid, home energy assistance and re-certification of The Department of Social Services. This allows refugees to get help whenever they need it, no questions asked. Burmese Community Services provides a place where help can always be given to those Burmese refugees in need of it as well as a place for people of the same nationality to come together as a community.

All three of these organizations helping Burmese refugees have made a huge difference in their lives. These refugees have somewhere to go if they need help with almost anything. They have gone from terrified refugees to an integral part of the Buffalo community. Because of these organizations, there is a community for Burmese people to help them integrate into Buffalo, a place that they can call home. But, even though some Burmese people have been able to flee, a lot of people remain in terror and devastation in Burma. They can be helped by refugee organizations once they are in the U.S, but foreign aid is the only way to help Burmese people who are still living in fear of being killed every day.

– Megan Maxwell
Photo: Flickr

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TEDx Kakuma Breaks Down Barriers for Refugees

TEDx Kakuma
While the world sits in social turmoil determining how best to help refugees from countries such as Syria, TEDx is attempting to bring light where there is darkness. TED is a non-profit organization that works to share ideas with the masses, inspiring the individual to speak out and be heard.

TED has been prevalent in developed countries in North America and Europe since 1984; however, they have since expanded to include other nations from other continents. TEDx started in 2009 and is run independently. It reaches out to smaller communities around the world. While this expansion was sorely needed and widely welcomed, TEDx surpassed all former barriers by choosing to host TEDx Kakuma, a convention in a Kenyan refugee camp.

TEDx Kakuma

On June 9, 250 TEDx speakers spoke to a group of refugees that have found a temporary home in Kakuma, Kenya. The speakers presenting at the TEDx Kakuma conference included former refugees and scholars who have spent their life’s work studying developing countries, poverty and poverty reduction techniques.

By having these speakers physically come to the refugee camps, it not only provides the speakers with some firsthand experience and knowledge of the people and places they study but also provides the refugees with an opportunity to speak their truth and be heard. Collaboration and such a meeting of the minds is a strong and beneficial way to connect the world, showing us that whether we be the refugee or the TEDx Kakuma speaker, we work for betterment together.

Holding a TEDx within the refugee camp is essential to reminding refugees of something sorely and too often overlooked – their humanity. Speakers, such as athletes from The Refugee Olympic Team and others who grew up in refugee camps, provided the opportunity for hope to grow and for the refugees to be inspired.

Providing A Platform For Refugees

Many of the speakers at the TEDx Kakuma convention represented a program called the LuQuLuQu campaign, showing the strength of refugees all over the world. The program focuses on the displaced due to poverty, violence, war or oppression. The U.N. Refugee Agency, the founders of the campaign, work to protect the rights of those often ignored providing a voice when there often is none.

Providing this platform to refugees in the Kakuma camp allows hope to grow and to foster growth away from poverty and towards a better future. By introducing this campaign in a refugee camp instead of at a regular TED convention where only a few privileged individuals have access to it, TEDx Kakuma is working to end poverty and discrimination at the source rather than focusing on it from a distant perspective.

Refugee status cannot be solely attached to poverty within a nation; however, it can be linked as a common factor. When nations don’t work to provide protection for their citizens, more refugees are created and more poverty spreads into refugee camps. By providing TEDx in a refugee camp such as Kakuma, Kenya, TEDx is working to bring more minds into the poverty discussion. More importantly, TEDx is providing those who are struggling with the opportunity to be a part of the conversation, a factor sorely needed to end poverty.

– Kayleigh Mattoon
Photo: Flickr

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Hope for the South Sudan Refugee Crisis

South Sudan Refugee Crisis

Founded in 2011, the young nation of South Sudan has been fraught with civil war for the past few years, resulting from the conflict between President Kiir and his former Vice President Machar. More than just a political struggle, the rift between Kiir and Machar is connected to ethnic tensions between the Dinka people and the Nuer people; Kiir belongs to the Dinka, and Machar to the Nuer. Ethnic tensions have long existed in the region, but the conflict between the two political officials has ignited these tensions, creating civil war.

The South Sudan Refugee Crisis

The violence created by these warring political leaders has forced civilians to flee the country to escape the bloodshed, resulting in the South Sudan refugee crisis. The number of refugees continues to skyrocket, with over two million refugees reported in 2017. The majority of these refugees are children, many of whom are malnourished and suffering physical and emotional trauma.

Many of these refugees have come to bordering Uganda, itself the site of recent conflict as Joseph Kony used guerilla warfare and child soldiers against the Ugandan government throughout the 1990’s. Former refugees of Uganda often found themselves in the region that is currently South Sudan.

Uganda’s Capacity for Refugees

Having driven Kony out of the country, Uganda not only welcomes the return of its people but is known for its welcoming refugee policy. The country has become a haven for victims of the South Sudan refugee crisis, hosting around a million refugees.

However, Uganda’s friendly refugee policy—which allows refugees the chance to own land and travel freely about the country—is taking a toll. As Uganda hosts more and more refugees, it faces overcrowding and an inability to quickly meet the demands of all the new people. The country’s refugee camp Bidi Bidi, home to over 270,000 people, is the largest refugee camp in the world. To avoid too much congestion at Bidi Bidi, other refugee camps are opening around the country, but the process of being welcomed in Uganda may take several days. This raises the question of Uganda’s limit as the civil war continues in its northern neighbor, South Sudan.

Hope for South Sudan’s Refugees

There is hope, however, for the victims of the South Sudan refugee crisis. As numbers increase in the refugee camps in Uganda and its eastern neighbor, Kenya, the EU has announced a €34 million aid package to help alleviate the burden of hosting the refugees. The majority of the money, following the majority of the refugees, will be headed to Uganda. The aid is meant to help the influx of new refugees from South Sudan, as well as incoming refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The EU’s assistance will also provide clean water, food and education for the large child population among the refugees.

Whether or not the large influx of refugees in Uganda will continue remains to be seen. On June 27, Kiir and Machar, the leaders of the civil war in South Sudan, agreed to a “permanent” cease-fire under the threat of U.N. sanctions and an arms embargo. If the cease-fire is not violated, the priority of the international community, as well as the South Sudanese government and the warring factions, will be to address the humanitarian crisis and provide aid for the displaced and starving civilians.

With an air of tepid optimism, the EU has also announced €45 million in aid for South Sudan to help the displaced people. This aid is designed to provide food, water and shelter for refugees, and to protect young women from gender-based violence. Should the cease-fire last, refugees will be allowed to return home after five years of conflict and violence, ending the strain on Uganda’s resources. Even if the cease-fire is broken, this moment of peace provides humanitarian aid workers a brief period to focus on civilians and alleviate some of the issues that have been plaguing South Sudan during the war.

– William Wilcox

Photo: Flickr

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9 Facts About the World’s Refugee Crisis

Refugee CrisisOn June 20, the world stood in solidarity with migrants and asylum seekers in observation of World Refugee Day, a time to consider the refugee crisis.

The occasion came at a pivotal time in the U.S, as public outcries about border practices separating families reached a high. This refugee crisis stems from the Trump administration’s use of separation as a deterrent for crossing the border in combination with the administration’s Zero Tolerance Policy, which requires immediate arrest for those crossing illegally. More than 2,300 kids have been separated from their families.

Nine facts about refugees

  1. More people have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict than at any other time since World War II. The world is facing the biggest refugee crisis to date.  At the end of 2017, 68.5 million people were forcibly displaced as a result of persecution on grounds of race, religion, political opinion and violence or conflict.
  1. Half of the refugees are under the age of 18. In some countries, including the U.S., migrant kids are even forced to represent themselves in a court of law.
  1. Under international law, refugees are not allowed to be forced back to their home countries. This law places an obligation for the state to not return a refugee to “the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality or membership of a particular social group or political opinion.”
  1. Developing countries host 86 percent of the world’s refugees. The most popular host countries are Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran and Ethiopia.
  1. More than half of the world’s refugees come from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. Approximately one in five displaced persons come from Syria, where conflict has created an intense refugee crisis.
  1. Saudi Arabia does not register migrants as international refugees. This may not seem like a big deal, but the policy forces migrants to go through the Saudi visa process, during which the government can deny visas and deport individuals. If the individuals were registered as refugees, it would be illegal for the Saudi government to deport them under international law.
  1. Australia’s military blocks refugees before they reach its shores. The practice is coined as Operation Sovereign Borders. Military officials patrol waters to intercept migrants and send them to India or Indonesia. If migrant boats make it to Australia, its passengers are not allowed to stay on the mainland while their asylum cases are processed. Instead, they are sent to processing centers on the island of Naura. Human Rights Watch has begun to shut down such facilities.
  1. In one French town, it is illegal to feed refugees. The northern regions of France used to be home to a refugee settlement called the Jungle, which served as a temporary camp for thousands of migrants seeking asylum across the English Channel in the U.K. In 2016, however, authorities closed the site due to health and terrorism concerns. To ensure the camp remain dismantled, the city’s mayor enacted decrees banning organizations from giving food to any migrants.
  1. Germany has welcomed asylum-seekers in a way to revitalize run-down towns. The German law guarantees the right to asylum for all persons who flee political persecution.  Additionally, any unaccompanied migrant under the age of 18 is provided with a legal guardian to act on his or her behalf and to help navigate the asylum process.

With numbers of refugees rising, the world is faced with a great task of amending practices and treating all persons with respect. Many point to dealing with the root issue of migration rather than adjusting policy and procedure. This view is misinformed, however, as intervention in the home country is often very difficult, controversial and unsuccessful. Instead, we ought to come together as cohabitants of the planet to bring about positive change surrounding this global refugee crisis.

– Jessie Serody
Photo: Flickr

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Humanity Helping Sudan Project & Refugees of South Sudan

refugees of South Sudan
On July 9, 2011, South Sudan was granted independence from Sudan and became the first African country to secede since Eritrea’s division from Ethiopia in 1993. This succession was the result of a 2005 peace deal that would end Africa’s longest-lasting civil war. As of December 2013, a civil war in South Sudan began when President Salva Kiir accused the previous vice-president, Riek Machar, of planning to overthrow him.

Violence and Insecurity in South Sudan

Once this accusation was made, Machar led a rebellion that took control of several towns and killed thousands. Those that were left in the midst of this civil war were forced to flee to surrounding nations for protection and aid.

In fact, the civil war has caused over 1.5 million South Sudanese to be displaced; in fact, approximately 63,000 people are forced to leave their homes per month. That being said, one of the largest problems South Sudan faces right now is food insecurity. According to World Food Programme statistics, 40 percent of the country’s population needs food assistance. Looking at the bigger picture, this can be credited to lack of land, resources and labor, as a majority of these assets go to defense systems.

The Humanity Helping Sudan Project

The Humanity Helping Sudan Project (HHSP) aims not only to raise awareness for the world refugee crisis but also to create and implement strategies for self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability. This includes, but is not limited to, access to clean water, small-scale farming and fishing and refugee education.

The founder, Manyang Reath Kher, a former refugee of the South Sudanese civil war, spent 13 years as a refugee in various camps between the borders of Sudan and Ethiopia. When he traveled to the United States, he began to raise awareness for the world refugee crisis, especially of the conditions of refugee camps.

HHSP is an organization that guides the refugees of South Sudan out of refugee camps and equips them with the necessary skills to rebuild their lives. For instance, refugees are given portions of land and taught how to farm crops, fish from the rivers and maintain livestock. In addition, this population is also encouraged to attend school to learn skills (including how to build wells and maintain irrigation systems) in hopes of self-sufficiency.

734 Coffee and Future Progress

On the other hand, 734 Coffee, also founded by Kher, aims to raise awareness of the faces and stories of the refugees of South Sudan that create its coffee by finding ways to display the commonly unnoticed refugee impact on its coffee.

When addressing those in poverty, it is important to remember poverty is not solely about money but is rather multi-layered with aspects such as food insecurity, homelessness and advocacy ability. HHSP conveys such facets by using several projects to help the refugees of South Sudan rebuild their lives. These people are given the skills necessary to become self- sufficient in both the short and long terms, and their inspiring and impactful stories now have more of a means to circulate the world as well.

– Jessica Ramtahal
Photo: Flickr

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A Way Forward: Alternatives to Refugee Camps

Alternatives to Refugee Camps
Refugees are a reoccurring topic in the global news cycle recently and yet their living situations are rarely understood. The common picture on the news of long lines at refugee camps is a sad one that illustrates the unfortunate conditions displaced people often live in. Fortunately, it does not need to be this way. According to the U.N.’s official policy, alternatives to refugee camps should be pursued whenever possible as they increase the freedom of their inhabitants, build a sustainable community and reduce costs.

The Problems with Camps

While camps are one of the first things that come to mind when talking about refugees, they are far from an ideal setting. The most glaring issue with camps is that they restrict the freedom of their residents. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the defining feature of a camp…”is some degree of limitation on the rights and freedoms of refugees…”. This usually refers to restrictions on things like moving around, starting businesses or even protection services.

While restricting the freedom of refugees is bad from a human rights perspective, it also has negative implications for the countries hosting them. A key failure of camps is the inability to create a community. This makes it difficult for refugees to reintegrate to either their host or home countries after they leave the camp.

Despite these problems, there are always going to be situations where camps are unavoidable. Thankfully, by finding alternatives, the U.N. and other organizations would be better equipped to make the few necessary camps as hospitable as possible.

A Way Forward Through Alternatives

In contrast to camps, the U.N. says alternatives “will be defined by the degree to which refugees are able to exercise their rights”. One common feature of alternatives is that they allow refugees to hold jobs and participate in the local economy. This allows refugees to have somewhat of a normal life while they are displaced and lets them live with dignity in a community.  Refugees also integrate better back into their home communities when they have greater freedoms while displaced.

A shining example of this is an alternative employed with Sudanese refugees living in Nigeria. The group of refugees came from a tribe of nomads. Having restricted movement in a camp would have been such a disruption for their way of life that it would have been hard for them to reintegrate into their communities. The UNHCR recognized this and set them up in a situation where they could continue to move nomadically with their livestock. Out of this situation, a community market formed organically, allowing the refugees to live richer lives and integrate back into their home easier.

Alternatives can also provide an answer to conflicts that arrive between host countries and refugees. The clash of cultures that often occurs can alienate refugees and disrupt the host country’s citizens. A camp only exacerbates this problem by further isolating each group without taking either’s concerns into account. A key focus for alternatives is to pay attention to everyone’s perspective. The Nigerian example illustrates this well since the nomadic culture of the refugees allows them to live peacefully rather than struggling against being kept in a camp.

Alternatives to refugee camps should be pursued whenever possible. Protecting the freedom of refugees is vital to maintaining their dignity and helping them reintegrate once they can go back to their homes. While some sort of camp will always be necessary, the worst parts of them can be avoided and alternatives offer a bright path forward.

– Jonathon Ayers
Photo: Flickr

Italy Has Closed Its Ports to Migrant Ships and Refugees

closed its ports

Recently, Italy‘s newly formed government has closed its ports to migrant ships. The new political atmosphere is run by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the League party, known for its strong anti-immigration beliefs.

In particular, a rescue ship named Aquarius, which was carrying 629 rescued migrants on board from 26 countries in Africa, was denied entry into an Italian port on June 10. The ship was forced to stay out at sea until another European country, Spain, gave the ship access to its ports the next day.

The new Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, who is also the League’s leader, made the decision to close Italy’s ports. In the past, Salvini has called Sicily “the refugee camp of Europe,” and his actions reflect Italy’s struggle with the high numbers of refugees arriving each week. The Italian government wants Europe as a whole to play a larger role in accepting refugees.

Why Italy Has Closed its Ports

Since 2013, 690,000 immigrants have arrived in Italy. While some may be legal, many are not and 500,000 of them still reside in Italy. Among them are denied asylum seekers and those who have overstayed their visa.

In 2017 alone, 120,000 migrants arrived and the Italian government has estimated that €4.2 billion is the cost of taking them in, roughly $4.9 billion. That figure is divided between caring for asylum seekers, who are generally not allowed to work, as well as paying for sea rescues and providing medical assistance. This is one of many contributing factors as to why Italy has closed its ports.

Italy’s Changing Relationship to Refugees

In 2017, Italy formed a deal with Libya to enforce Libya’s coastguard in order to keep migrant ships from entering Italy. Since the deal, in the first five months of 2018, the number of migrants reaching Italian ports has dropped to 13,808. This is down 84 percent compared to the same period of time in 2017.

Part of Salvini’s campaign was to repatriate at least 500,000 migrants during his five-year term, as Italians have grown increasingly afraid of migrants and associate higher crime rates to the influx of migrants. Italy has closed its ports as a way to combat this sentiment.

International and National Response

As the nation has closed its ports, mayors across the south of Italy have spoken out against this decision and have pledged to open their ports to these rescue boats. However, without the direct support of the Italian coastguard, it is unlikely that much can be done.

This sentiment, however, gives hope to the changing attitudes toward helping these migrants. It demonstrates that opinions are changing and that people are more interested in saving the lives of refugees, rather than keeping them out.

As a response to Italy having closed its ports, European leaders and humanitarian groups have denounced this decision. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees appealed to Italy and Malta, stating that issues such as these should be addressed after the rescue and that the lives of the migrants should have been put first. Furthermore, Spain and France have offered to help take in the migrants.

As a solution, the European Council President Donald Tusk has proposed regional disembarkment platforms outside of the European Union. This would allow a more manageable way to differentiate between economic migrants and migrants in need of protection. As a result, the strain would be taken off countries such as Italy and allow for a more efficient system, which would benefit E.U. countries, the migrants and public sentiment toward this issue.

– Trelawny Robinson
Photo: Flickr

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Local and Global: UNHCR Works to Help Refugees and So Can You

help refugeesJune 20 marked the 18th anniversary of world refugee day. There are currently 68.5 million forcibly displaced people worldwide. Of those millions, 25.4 million people are classified as refugees.

World Refugee Day holds a long history of support for those in need. This day is celebrated in order to give all an opportunity to help refugees and to create a public awareness for millions of lives that are in need of saving.

Since the beginning of World Refugee Day in 2000, the refugee crisis has increased greatly. Growing from 12 million in 2000 to more than 20 million in 2018, refugees can be found seeking shelter in many countries.

The United Nations

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has taken steps to fight the refugee crisis. The UNHCR provides assistance and support to refugees all over the world. Present in 128 countries and 478 locations around the world, the UNHCR is helping those wherever they can.

For example, in Ukraine, the UNHCR is working with the Ukrainian government to help strengthen the asylum system and gives medical, material and social assistance to those refugees and internally displaced people. In Ukraine, there are currently 1,800,000 people who are internally displaced and 3,253 refugees from other countries.

Along with working with the government and giving assistance to those in need, the UNHCR in Ukraine provided 843 homes with winter cash assistance in 2018.

Another recent effort presented by the UNHCR was their assistance in Montenegro. On April 3 the UNHCR paired with the Red Cross and opened the first Community Centre for persons seeking international protection.

Education

The UNHCR doesn’t only just provide physical materials and goods; they also are committed to bringing education to refugees all over the world.

By the end of 2016, the UNHCR had encouraged 64 out of 81 countries to put policies in place to support the inclusion of refugee children in the respective countries education system. After this push, more than 984,000 refugee children were enrolled in primary education.

Of that 984,000 refugee children, 250,000 were not attending school at the time.

How to Help

While the UNHCR is continually working to better the lives of refugees all over the world, there is still plenty of work that can be done on the individual level for refugees. Here are five ways that anyone can get involved no matter where they may be.

  1. Volunteer a skill: Having a specific skill or talent can be used for good to help refugees. Whether knowing how to budget extremely well or how to create a website, there are refugees in local communities who would appreciate learning a new talent or skill to help them with their future endeavors.
  2. Spread awareness: Hold fundraisers, raffles, yard sales or meetings to spread the word about the refugee crisis. There are some that may know there is a problem, but don’t know much more than that. By putting on events and spreading the word, education about this crisis will increase awareness.
  3. Call the House Representatives and the Senate: Calling local state representatives is a quick and easy way to let one’s voice be heard. Placing a call to a member of the House or Senate will let them know that this is an issue that you care about and want to address.
  4. Support business and organizations run by refugees: Moving to a new country and facing the economic challenges of that country can be one of the hardest things for refugees. Supporting their family can be difficult for refugees in a new country. Make an effort to buy from refugees to help them get started in a new place.
  5. Donate: Donating can be one of the easiest ways to help refugees in need. Donations can be for organizations that go out into the field and provide physical goods or they can be for organizations, like The Borgen Project, that push elected officials to support and pass laws to help those in need.

While the refugee crisis continues to grow, it is important to know that anyone can take part in getting laws passed to protect refugees or can offer kindness to those who are adjusting to drastic life changes.

– Victoria Fowler
Photo: Flickr