10 Facts About Refugees From Timor-Leste

Refugees From Timor-LesteTimor-Leste, also known as East Timor, is a Southeast Asian country comprising the eastern portion of the island of Timor. Timor-Leste has a population of about 1,211,000. Here are 10 facts about refugees from Timor-Leste:

1. Once a Portuguese colony, Timor-Leste was invaded by Indonesia in 1975 and endured years of political violence until 1999, when the overwhelming majority of Timorese people – 80 percent – voted for independence from Indonesia. In 2002, Timor-Leste became the first new sovereign nation of the century; it remains Asia’s newest – as well as one of its poorest – nations. The period between 1999 and 2002 in Timor-Leste was plagued with violence, as forces loyal to Indonesian rule fought with independence seekers. Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Timor-Leste left the country during this time. Today, many refugees from Timor-Leste have returned home, but many remain in other Southeast Asian nations and other countries around the world.

2. Nearly a quarter of a million refugees from Timor-Leste fled the country following the violent independence referendum in August 1999. According to the World Bank, in 2015 there were only 20 refugees from Timor-Leste living in other countries.

3. Evidently, the official count of the number of refugees from Timor-Leste has sharply dropped over the last two odd decades. The greatest reductions happened between 1999 and 2003, when the number of Timorese people with refugee status in other countries fell from 162,472 refugees to 127 refugees, according to the World Bank’s count.

4. The reason the number of refugees from Timor-Leste has plummeted so significantly is that many Timorese have returned to their newly-independent homeland, and others have gained residency or non-refugee status in their respective host countries.

5. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the UN agency responsible for tracking and providing humanitarian assistance to refugees. UNHCR opened an office in Dili, the Timor-Leste capital, in 1999 during the political crisis regarding independence. The agency assisted hundreds of thousands of refugees from Timor-Leste and displaced persons within the country, providing medicine, resources and travel to the refugees. In 2012, the UNHCR closed its office in Dili, considering its campaign regarding refugees from Timor-Leste a success. The closure was marked by a public ceremony, in which former President of Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta, thanked the agency for its tremendous work during the young country’s humanitarian and political crisis.

6. The UN helped repatriate 220,000 refugees from Timor-Leste during its work with the country – the real reason that today’s official count of refugees from Timor-Leste is so low.

7. Former President José Ramos-Horta himself was a refugee from Timor-Leste. During the occupation of Timor-Leste by Indonesia from 1975 until 1999, Ramos-Horta was a strong proponent of Timorese independence, although he never took up arms himself. He presented the case for Timorese independence while living as a refugee in Australia and the U.S., and in the 1980s began a process of negotiations with Indonesia, culminating in his presentation of a peace plan to Indonesia in 1992. His peace plan included an agreement between Indonesia and Timor-Leste on humanitarian cooperation, and allowing international organizations like the UN to work in Timor-Leste. His work as a refugee from Timor-Leste and his peaceful advocacy for Timorese independence won him the Nobel Peace Prize, which he shared with Timorese Bishop Carlos Belo.

8. Not all of the refugees from Timor-Leste fled the country of their own volition. Thousands were forcibly removed from the country by government and pro-Indonesian forces and pushed into Western Timor, controlled by Indonesia. This was done to quell the independence movement in Timor-Leste. Many of these refugees were also repatriated by the UN, but about 100,000 chose to remain in the Indonesian province of East Naru Tenggara following full Timorese independence in 2002.

9. The refugees from Timor-Leste in Indonesia received little to no assistance from the Indonesian government, but private groups, international agencies and religious organizations provided help. For example, Holy Spirit Sister Sesilia Ketut, an Indonesian nun, donated money to refugees to help them start weaving businesses and make a living while in Indonesia. Sister Sesilia started the Forum for Women and Children in 2000 to help more than 300 widows living in Indonesia who had lost their husbands in the fight for Timorese independence. She provided business training, helped the widows with their children and even personally helped repatriate more than 400 refugees from Timor-Leste.

10. Because of its own history regarding refugees, Timor-Leste has vowed to never stop helping asylum seekers who come to Timor-Leste fleeing conflicts around the world. Former President Ramos-Horta said, “We are always ready to live up to our responsibilities. That’s the best way to thank UNHCR and all the countries that all these years have assisted our refugees.” Although a small country where relatively few seek asylum, Timor-Leste has laws in place to process refugee requests and assist refugees from other countries.

– David Mclellan

Photo: Flickr

10 Facts About Comoros Refugees

10 Facts About Comoros Refugees
The Comoros is a small island north of Madagascar. It is one of the least populous countries in the world, with a total population of 826,009. The number of Comoros refugees has decreased tremendously since 2001. Here are 10 facts about Comoros refugees and why the number has diminished significantly.

  1. Eighty-three percent of asylum applications from Comoros refugees were rejected in 2016. The most successful were the refugees in France, because of the two countries’ close diplomatic relations.
  2. In 2016, zero Comoros refugees were accepted into other European countries, such as Italy, England, Greece and Germany.
  3. Approximately 294 people applied for asylum in 2016.
  4. In 2004, 13.5 percent of the population of Comoros lived on less than $1.90 per day. This has improved, impressively, with the help of a poverty reduction strategy created by the country’s president in 2012.
  5. Many of the human rights problems reported in 2001 had to do with meager prison conditions, restrictions on freedom, corruption, discrimination, child abuse and child labor. The reported restrictions on freedom encompassed religion, movement and the press.
  6. These reported human rights violations were valid reasons for seeking asylum. However, conditions in Comoros have improved in the last decade. In regards to freedom of the press, the Comoros’ press freedom index was at 24.33 in 2016, down from 24.52 the previous year (the lower the number, the more freedom, meaning freedom of the press has improved recently).
  7. The child mortality rate fell to 73.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. In 2004 it was 99.4, and in 2001 it was 100.8.
  8. Life expectancy in 2001 was 59.5 years, and a decade later it was 62.2. In 2015, life expectancy has increased to 63.6.
  9. The rate of literacy among adults in 2000 was 68 percent. By 2015, it rose to 78 percent.
  10. The overall prosperity score for Comoros is showing a steady increase. In 2007, the score was 43.12. In 2016, the value was at 47.71.

Using various measures of a country’s overall success, child mortality rate, life expectancy, literacy rate, and overall prosperity, we see improvements in life in Comoros. Citizens of Comoros are no longer fleeing persecution or meager conditions. These 10 facts about Comoros refugees display the progress made in the last decade and a half.

– Lucy Voegeli

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Refugees in Gabon

Refugees in Gabon

Gabon is a Central African country with a population of about 1,763,000. President Ali Bongo Ondimba, son of the former President Omar Bongo, was elected in 2009 and has run the country since. The period immediately following his election was marked by violence, primarily due to claims that election fraud took place. According to Amnesty International, Gabon is home to many cases of human rights abuse. However, conflicts in surrounding countries gave rise to a population of people seeking refuge in Gabon. Here are 10 facts about refugees in Gabon:

1. In Gabon, there were 943 refugees in 2015, according to the World Bank. This places the country behind neighboring countries Cameroon (342,973 refugees) and the Republic of the Congo (44,955 refugees). Neighboring country Equatorial Guinea’s official refugee count is zero.

2. The peak population of refugees was in 2000 at 17,982 refugees. The refugees came to Gabon fleeing civil wars and political violence in surrounding countries during the 1990s.

3. Most of the refugees fleeing to Gabon are from the Republic of the Congo. In 1997, civil war broke out between paramilitaries loyal to former President Denis Sassou Nguesso and military forces loyal to liberalizing President Pascal Lissouba, driving tens of thousands of refugees into Gabon.

4. Refugees in Gabon have come from at least 25 different countries including Angola, Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, and Togo.

5. Refugees do not live in refugee camps, but rather in Gabonese cities. About 80 percent of refugees in Gabon live in these urban areas, with many concentrated around the capital of Libreville.

6. Refugees have some freedoms in Gabon that are not always guaranteed in other African countries. They obtain special refugee ID cards and can move freely throughout Gabon. They are even allowed to choose where they seek residency. Furthermore, the Gabonese government has allowed UN entry into Gabon to provide humanitarian services for people seeking refuge. These include providing medical treatment, courses on integrating into Gabonese society and helping refugees voluntarily repatriate themselves.

7. Refugees face high unemployment rates and can have difficulty in finding work. The country’s businesses can prefer to hire other Gabonese people over refugees, and the Gabonese government even requires businesses to prove that there are no Gabonese available for a position before hiring a refugee.

8. Refugees in Gabon sometimes face harassment and detention by local police. Although the country has laws protecting them, refugees can be mistaken for illegal immigrants, or encounter police unfamiliar with the protection laws. The UN had to step in and secure the release of wrongfully detained refugees.

9. The Gabonese government – in partnership with the UNHCR, the UN’s agency responsible for refugees – gradually revoked the refugee status for refugees in Gabon. Refugees who wish to remain in the country must apply for permits to become migrant workers or apply for permanent residency somewhere in the country.

10. The population of refugees in Gabon has decreased every year since 2011 when the Gabonese government announced the end of refugee status in the country. Hundreds of refugees have voluntarily signed up for repatriation every year since that time, and, with help from the UN, have safely returned to their respective countries.

– David Mclellan

Photo: Flickr

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Jordanian Education System Struggles to Educate Refugees

Over the past several years, thousands of Syrian refugees have been fleeing their homeland to escape war and heading to Jordan, where the refugee-friendly Za’atari camp resides.

Za’atari opened in 2012 and currently houses 80,000 Syrian refugees, including families in need of a proper education system for their children. Although Jordan implemented a provision in 2016 which provided 75,000 new schools specifically for Syrian refugee children, thousands of these children are missing out on the Jordanian education system.

Among these 75,000 new schools are 50,000 new public schools and 25,000 locations in non-formal school settings, all of which were meant to be designated learning spaces for Syrian refugee children living in Jordan.

Despite the significant number of schools available to Syrian refugees, there is a severe lack of teachers who are adequately trained and qualified to instruct these students. Additionally, Syrian refugee children who enroll in Jordanian schools face social restrictions due to bullying problems.

With nearly 27,000 students in need of education, Za’atari resources, including education, have become very limited, which has led many young people to child labor or early marriage to help their families’ financial situations. With so few of these kids in school, Save the Children has found that almost 50 percent of Jordan’s Syrian population rely on income provided by a child in the family.

However, Syrian refugee children who do not attend school are not the only ones who are facing problems. Those who do go to school are only attending for about three or four hours, as the morning hours get used for other children in Jordan.

Because Syrian refugee children have been missing out on education throughout their time living in Syria, they have much learning to be successful in the Jordanian education system. With such a limited number of school hours available to these children, catching up with the other kids of Jordan is nearly impossible.

As Syrian refugee students struggle to keep up with other kids in Jordan, some are dropping out of the Jordanian education system due to bullying and harassment issues. Girls specifically have been targeted and subjected to this abuse, which leads to these young girls dropping out and being forced into marriage at an early age.

Za’atari has recognized these issues and is working to solve them to make every Syrian refugee feel safe and included in the Jordanian education system. Parents and organizations throughout Za’atari have been seeking resources to better train teachers and obtain higher security in schools.

The efforts being made in Za’atari and other parts of Jordan have been met by an outpouring of support for Syrian refugees through Their World’s #YouPromised campaign.

Their World, a nonprofit working to provide education and necessary resources to children across the globe, started #YouPromised to ensure that the Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon receive the quality education that they were promised.

You can get involved with the #YouPromised project to amplify the voices of the Syrian refugee children struggling in the Jordanian education system by sending a message to world leaders.

With the work being done in Za’atari and the rest of Jordan as well as Their World’s #YouPromised campaign, Syrian refugee children are closer than ever to receive the quality education that they deserve.

– Kassidy Tarala

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Refugees in Turkmenistan

Refugees in TurkmenistanTurkmenistan is a landlocked state in Central Asia with a population of 5,439,000 people. Turkmenistan was a constituent republic within the Soviet Union until 1991 when it gained independence. The following year, Turkmenistan joined the United Nations. Like most nations, Turkmenistan hosts a refugee population. Here are 10 critical facts about refugees in Turkmenistan:

  1. According to the World Bank, 26 refugees officially registered in Turkmenistan in 2015. This puts the number of refugees in Turkmenistan substantially lower than neighboring countries such as Afghanistan (257,554), Iran (979,437), Kazakhstan (708) and Uzbekistan (107) when it comes to official accounts of stateless persons.
  2. For a number of reasons, no one really knows how many refugees in Turkmenistan there are. However, it is likely greater than the official count of 26. The U.N. once estimated that there are at least 40,000 Afghan and Tajik refugees in Turkmenistan.
  3. International organizations criticize Turkmenistan for its many human rights abuses, with the Human Rights Watch characterizing Turkmenistan as “among the world’s most repressive and closed countries, where the president and his associates have total control over all aspects of public life.” Reports of torture, suppressed speech and forcefully disappeared persons makes Turkmenistan an undesired destination for refugees. Still, war and political violence in countries like Afghanistan and Tajikistan render Turkmenistan preferable–albeit less than ideal.
  4. One such human rights abuse–and a barrier to estimating the number of refugees in Turkmenistan–is Turkmenistan’s policies regarding nongovernmental organizations and human rights organizations. Nongovernmental organizations are illegal in Turkmenistan, and organizations such as the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are not allowed entry.
  5. The government of Turkmenistan has strategically driven refugees in Turkmenistan from neighboring countries such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan back across borders. Many Russians have endured deportation as well.
  6. A pretext for deporting refugees in Turkmenistan is marriage; if a non-Turkmen refugee marries an ethnically Turkmen person, they will likely not receive citizenship in Turkmenistan and face deportation.
  7. Though refugees in Turkmenistan often can’t marry someone with Turkmen heritage, the nation still expects them to adopt a traditional Turkmen way of life. Ethnic Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kazakhs and others must speak the Turkmen language and dress in traditional Turkmen clothing. Even the children of refugees must abide by these standards or face punishment like expulsion from school.
  8. Despite being an ethnically diverse nation, ethnic Turkmen people receive favor and hold virtually all public offices in the country. The purging of non-Turkmen government employees, unofficial banning of inter-ethnic marriage and mandating that refugees in Turkmenistan adopt the Turkmen way of life are all part of Turkmenistan’s strategy of “Turkmenization,” a set of official government policies started by former President Saparmyrat Niyazov in 1992 to emphasize Turkmen heritage over that of other ethnic groups. All stateless people and refugees in Turkmenistan must conform to “Turkmenization” if they wish to remain in the country. This is to the point that Uzbeks in Turkmenistan sustain punishment for non-Turkmen religious practices.
  9. In 1995, Turkmenistan allowed the U.N. Refugee Agency to open an office in Ashgabat–an unusual move, considering Turkmenistan’s policies on nongovernmental human rights organizations. Since then, the U.N. has invested millions of dollars in improving conditions in refugee-hosting areas, giving the refugees access to medicine and even helping to register them as Turkmen citizens.
  10. The government has done some good when it comes to helping refugees in Turkmenistan. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, while upholding most of Niyazov’s “Turkmenization” policies, has granted more than 3,000 refugees Turkmen citizenship since 2007. Previously, President Niyazov granted about 10,000 refugees in Turkmen citizenship. However, the criteria for granting citizenship was suspected as ethnically based; refugees fleeing the Tajikistan civil war gained citizenship, but the government often denied citizenship to Afghan and Azerbaijani refugees. Now holding Turkmen citizenship, these former refugees in Turkmenistan can take part in civil society and vote. The U.N. protection officer in Ashgabat, Batyr Sapbiyev, called Berdimuhamedov’s decree an “outstanding humanitarian act.”

While Turkmenistan has long been an ethnically diverse country, it has been considerably hostile towards non-Turkmen people living in the country, including refugees. Proponents of “Turkmenization,” an ideological set of public practices and laws, claim that they are preserving Turkmenistan’s cultural heritage. The cost is the shunning of the Tajik, Uzbek and other cultures existing in close proximity to Turkmenistan. Refugees in Turkmenistan do have some reasons to be optimistic, as more and more are granted citizenship. They are expected, however, to conform to the Turkmen way of living if they expect to stay in Turkmenistan.

– David Mclellan

Photo: Google

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10 Facts About Suriname Refugees

Suriname RefugeesSuriname is small country on the northeast coast of South America. The following 10 facts about Suriname refugees only begin to touch upon the country’s history of refugees who fled the country for reasons of civil war, and of people from other countries who sought asylum in Suriname in recent years. Now, the country is adopting new practices to reach an international level of refugee acceptance and security.

  1. In 1991, 4,300 Surinamese found safety in refugee camps in the neighboring country of French Guiana, amid a raging four-year domestic civil war led by guerrilla commander Ronny Brunswijk.
  2. The French offered the refugees some financial aid, and planned to close the camps, sending those inside back to Suriname.
  3. Between 2007 and 2014, Suriname saw the number of refugees and stateless persons significantly decrease to the lowest the country had since the civil war.
  4. In 2014, there were a reported 17 outgoing refugees and people in refugee-like situations in Suriname. Only two cases of concern were documented as incoming asylum-seekers.
  5. In 2016, Suriname received 40 applications from Cuban refugees seeking security in the country.
  6. In the same year, 13 Surinamese applied for asylum in the Netherlands and Belgium, with the most successful acceptance rate in the Netherlands.
  7. Asylum-seekers and migrants found Suriname an attractive place of refuge because of its better wages in agricultural work, ease of border crossing, a perception of an accepting population and the prospect of a promising life working in Suriname’s gold mining industry.
  8. The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) recognized many positive developments in Suriname. In July 2014, the country passed the Draft Law on Nationality and Residency. The new law gives gender equality to both men and women regarding conferring their nationality, and it also protects people by preventing statelessness from loss of nationality.
  9. UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) saw active participation from Suriname in 2013 during the Regional Conference on the Protection of Vulnerable Persons in Mixed Migration Flows: Promoting Cooperation and Identification of Good Practices.
  10. In 2014, the government of Suriname participated in the thirtieth anniversary of the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, and the Caribbean Sub-Regional Consultation on Mixed Migration and the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons.

Suriname has come a long way since the thousands of refugees seeking shelter elsewhere as the civil war continued. These 10 facts about Suriname refugees show that the country has reduced reason to house stateless persons, and that positive developments and achievements in refugee situations has strengthened its people.

– Olivia Cyr

Photo: Pixabay

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Refugee Camps: The Elpida Home For Refugees

Elpida home for refugees
While the 2015 refugee crisis somewhat faded from the international media’s view, the flow of refugees and the vulnerability of their human rights remains a meaningful concern among the international community.

From the start of the year to July 2017, more than 100,000 asylum seekers arrived in Europe by sea and upward of 2,000 additional individuals did not survive the attempted crossing. Since the beginning of the crisis, asylum seekers who managed to reach Europe arrived to inadequate and sometimes even dangerous conditions.

At first, in 2015, this seemed to be a symptom of inadequate legislation. However, the fact that these inhumane conditions have persisted points to insufficient humanitarian funding and the deliberate neglect of refugees.

Emina Cerimovic, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, stated that “the mental impact of years of conflict, exacerbated by harsh conditions” and “the uncertainty of inhumane policies, may not be as visible as physical wounds, but is no less life-threatening.” This warning came at a crucial time, as Hungary continues to house asylum seekers in shipping containers despite protests from the United Nations, European Union and the greater international community. As time has gone on, conditions in refugee camps remained stagnant and residents became increasingly less independent. They are forced to rely on the entity running their center for more of their basic needs.

NPR reporter Soraya Nelson, who visited a camp on the Hungary-Serbia border, describes it as a detention camp with only one accessible exit, which enters Serbia, a country that also struggles to uphold just migration policies. According to Nelson, all other gates are heavily guarded. The idea is that “people will get so fed up, they might just decide to leave.”

The containers that make up the camp, while more sturdy than the tents provided in many E.U. refugee centers, are undeniably cramped and allow for little ventilation. Their structure provides no clear separation of families and also house unaccompanied minors, one of the most controversial groups within the asylum-seeking population.

Despite this failure, the Elpida Home for Refugees, located near the industrial Center of Thessaloniki, Greece, provides a model for the future. Elpida, which means “hope” in Greek, managed to bridge the gap between inhumane refugee policies and the humane treatment of refugees. The center was founded by American philanthropist Ahmed Khan in partnership with the Radcliffe Foundation and the Greek Ministry of the Interior as an experiment in refugee assistance.

The Ministry donated an abandoned textile factory to the cause when presented with the concept for Elpida: to provide refugees the independence and services they need to continue their lives. The 6,000 square-meter space was converted into 140 residential units, each for six people or less, with shared bathrooms and a communal kitchen, allowing residents to enjoy private space, prepare meals and participate in the community.

The Elpida Home for Refugees is based on the idea that refugees need assistance from the bottom-up instead of from the top-down as is provided elsewhere. Top-down assistance means asylum seekers receive a small designated space in an overcrowded, often outdoor facility, with limited access to proper nutrition, hygiene and medical care. In these scenarios, typical of most refugee camps, residents are entirely reliant on the government or NGO who operates the camp.

Alternatively, the bottom-up care provided by the Elpida Home for Refugees allows its residents to utilize the tools made available by the organization, such as access to medical care, education, and their own personal rooms, to reclaim their lives and become independent.

The cooperation between the Greek government and the Radcliffe foundation can easily be replicated by other countries and organizations and then even more asylum seekers may find Elpida’s “hope” when they are most vulnerable.

– Alena Zafonte

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Shay Mitchell Empowers Women and Children

Shay Mitchell Empowers Women and Children
Award-winning Pretty Little Liars Actress Shay Mitchell has been very active outside of her role as Emily Fields, continuing to do much more with her travel experiences than simply finding new foods or relaxing by the beach.

Mitchell empowers women and children who live in oppressive and poverty-ridden countries by interacting with them and learning what it is that these people face every day in order to survive.

One company that Mitchell supports is an ethical fashion and lifestyle brand called Raven + Lily. In her channel’s official YouTube video about her 2015 trip to India, Mitchell explains how Raven + Lily helps fight poverty by giving women a sustainable income.

Mitchell endorses the company by showing her viewers each product that Raven + Lily produces, how the employed women make them and how purchasing from these women will help give them a life that they deserve.

“Women in this Muslim community are not allowed to work outside their home,” Mitchell explains. She continues to state that Raven + Lily allows these women to work from inside their homes, respecting their culture yet giving them a stable and secure income.

Mitchell ended her trip by attending a festival of love and color, which is a local tradition where the citizens covered her in organic colors as they all danced together. This is one of the many ways that Shay Mitchell empowers women and children by participating in events that allow her to relate to everyday citizens on a fundamental level.

Mitchell told In Style magazine that the most difficult part of the trip for her was seeing the extreme poverty in India. She goes on to say that while it is overwhelming, the most important thing to do is to focus on helping these people one person at a time because every struggling citizen matters.

In July of this year, Mitchell posted a photo with children she met while in Syria in the Azraq Syrian Refugee Camp. “Kids should be kids,” she said in a recent Facebook post, talking about how resilient the children are and talking about how much that she missed them already.

During this time, Care.org posted a photo of Mitchell visiting with Syrian children whose dreams are to attend film school. This is in support of CARE’s refugee film school at the Azraq camp.

With Snapchat stories filled with smiling kids, a personal YouTube video showing support for Raven + Lily and verbal support for women and children living in oppression and poverty, Shay Mitchell empowers women and children by being an active advocate for better treatment of struggling citizens around the world.

– Noel McDavid
Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Refugees in Liechtenstein

Refugees in Liechtenstein
Located in Central Europe, nestled between Switzerland and Austria, lies the Principality of Liechtenstein. With only 62 square miles of territory and fewer than 38,000 citizens, one might assume that the country would refuse refugees, but this is not the case. Liechtenstein has willingly taken part in helping those fleeing from war-torn and oppressive regions. Here is what you need to know about refugees in Liechtenstein:

  1. World Data has reported that, in 2016, refugees sent a total of 52 asylum applications to Liechtenstein. A total of 39 decisions were reached.
  2. In 2016, 28% of all decisions reached were positive.
  3. As of 2015, the principality already accepted six refugee families from Syria, a sum of 23 persons.
  4. In 2014, Liechtenstein spent roughly $25 million on International Refugee and Migration Assistance and Development Cooperation, as well as Emergency and Reconstruction Assistance. In 2015, such expenditures were expected to increase significantly.
  5. Lichtenstein declared a willingness to participate in the EU relocation programs, not out of obligation, but out of its humanitarian tradition.
  6. The crown prince of Liechtenstein stated that, although they are willing to accept refugees, the principality must also “protect its culture.”
  7. Ambassador Fritsche of Liechtenstein stated that its small municipality is probably not a target for refugees because the country is not well-known. He theorized that this might be because Liechtenstein is not a full EU member.
  8. In 2015, it was made clear that if the principality did not allow refugees in Liechtenstein, the state would be booted out of the Dublin agreement, a cornerstone of asylum laws in the EU.
  9. Liechtenstein acceded to the Geneva Convention of 1951 and the Protocol of 1967, the world’s more recognized laws on refugees.
  10. Liechtenstein’s government protects against the expulsion of refugees in cases where their “lives or freedom” might be threatened.

Although Liechtenstein is a relatively small principality, their willingness to host refugees sets a clear example for nations around the world. Today, refugees in Liechtenstein are adjusting to a new way of life in a foreign land. In the future, perhaps they will come to call the country home.

– Shannon Golden
Photo: Flickr

Refugee Rights in Germany

Refugee Rights in GermanyGermany is currently the most popular European destination for refugees from the Middle East and Africa. In 2016, Germany received 745,545 asylum applications, the most applications to any country in Europe that year. The reason that Germany still continues to receive a high number of asylum applications is a result of the generous refugee rights in Germany.

The overwhelming majority of refugees to Germany come from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, countries whose citizens are confronted by war and extreme poverty. As of 2016, the German government granted refugee status to 42.1 percent of applicants, subsidiary protection to 25.3 percent of applicants, and humanitarian protection (asylum) to 4 percent of applicants. Only 28.6 percent of applicants were rejected. Though this may seem large, Germany still accepted over half a million refugees in 2016.

The procedure for refugees begins at the nearest reception center, whether refugees are found already in the country are allowed in by border security. Next, their application for asylum is submitted to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). As their application is under review, refugees are granted a certificate of permission to reside temporarily in the Federal Republic of Germany. Throughout the application process, refugees are housed in reception facilities, where they are provided with essential items such as food, clothing, heat and healthcare. Following the application process, BAMF caseworkers interview asylum-seekers with the help of an interpreter, questioning their reason for persecution and their intended travel route. The interview is transcribed, translated into the asylum-seeker’s language and given as a copy to the asylum-seeker. Decisions for refugee status are based on these interviews and asylum-seekers are notified immediately.

Refugee rights in Germany exist for several groups of people. The three types of status asylum-seekers to Germany can receive are subsidiary protection, asylum or refugee status. Subsidiary protection is given to refugees who prove they are seriously threatened or in imminent danger in their country of origin. Those refugees receive a residence permit for one year that can be extended for two additional years. Refugees who are granted asylum status are deemed to face serious human rights violations and political persecution in their country of origin. They receive a residence permit for three years, unrestricted access to the labor market and an opportunity for a settlement permit.

Refugee status allows the most refugee rights in Germany. Persons granted refugee status receive a temporary residence permit and are granted the same rights as Germans: social welfare, child benefits, child-raising benefits, integration allowances, language courses and other forms of integration assistance.

Refugees rights in Germany are generous as asylum is a constitutional right in Germany, making it a high priority. As the number of asylum-seekers to developed countries continues to increase, it is important to look towards positive examples, such as Germany, that provide safety, protection and justice for refugees.

– Christiana Lano
Photo: Flickr