Refugee
Facts
What is a refugee?
Frequently
Asked Questions about refugees
Some famous refugees
Statistics: How many refugees are there?
What
Happens to Refugees after they Flee Their Homes?
Refugees Starting over in the
U.S.
Sponsoring Refugees
WHAT IS A REFUGEE?
Refugee:
According to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,
signed by 127 nations, a refugee is someone who has left his or her country
because of a "well-founded fear" of persecution for reasons of
race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion.
Asylum-seeker:
A person seeking refuge from such threats. International law
recognizes the right to seek asylum, but does not oblige states to provide
it. Whereas "refugees" apply for protection while outside the
US; "asylees" first come to the US and then apply for
protection.
Internally
displaced persons (IDPs): People who have been forced from
their homes but remain within their national borders. Because they are
still under the jurisdiction of governments that might not want
international agencies to help them, IDPs might still be vulnerable to
persecution. There are six million more IDPs than refugees -- 21 million
in all -- a growing concern to refugee aid groups.
WHO
ARE REFUGEES?
Refugees fleeing from persecution,
armed conflict and political upheavals come from all walks of life. Some
of the countries that have produced the greatest numbers of refugees and
internally displaced persons include Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Colombia,
Congo, the former Yugoslavia, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Algeria, North Korea,
Turkey, Nigeria, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, and many more countries. In
countries with internal conflicts, no one is guaranteed safety. Refugees
are farmers, shopkeepers, students, scientists, journalists, businessmen,
politicians, mothers, children, doctors, and the elderly.
Meet
some Famous Refugees
To learn more, you can "meet
a refugee" on the following websites:
American Refugee
Committee
Church
World Service
World Relief
STATISITICS: How many
refugees are there?
There are over 14.5 million
refugees and asylum seekers and nearly 25 million internally displaced
persons worldwide.
The following websites contain
more specific statistics on various refugee populations around the world:
Church
World Service
USA
for UNHCR
UNHCR
Immigration and Refugee Services-US
Committee for Refugees (IRSA-USCR): Read the IRSA-USCR World
Refugee Survey 2002
WHAT
HAPPENS TO REFUGEES AFTER THEY FLEE THEIR HOMES?
Say "refugee," and
what comes to mind are camps -- sprawling "tent cities," neither
home nor country, where refugees wait while officials figure out what to
do with them. This can take some time -- nearly two-thirds of all refugees
have been refugees for five years or longer -- but almost all crises end
with one of three "durable solutions":
Voluntary repatriation:
Refugees who think the danger has passed can return to their homes.
Forcibly returning refugees -- known as refoulement -- is against
international law.
Local integration: Refugees
are integrated into the countries in which they first sought asylum. As
refugee numbers have escalated, local settlement opportunities have
dwindled.
Resettlement: The third
durable solution is permanent resettlement in a third country. Generally
only about .5 percent of all refugees are even considered for
resettlement.
REFUGEES
STARTING OVER IN THE U.S.
Every year, more than 70,000
refugees are resettled in the United States. Meet some of these refugees
at http://www.interaction.org/pub/connect/starting.html
SPONSORING
REFUGEES
Learn how you can help to sponsor a refugee who is being resettled in
the United States:
Church
World Service
International Rescue Committee
Immigration and Refugee Services
of America
Hebrew Immigration Aid Society
You can also contact the
Refugee Coordinator in your state. There is a state-by-state listing at:
More
"FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS" about refugees
The following websites have more "frequently asked questions"
about refugees:
USA for UNHCR
Church World Service
UNHCR
|
