Background Every year, hundreds of thousands of families are forcibly removed from their homes because they’re unable to pay their rent or mortgage. Their entire family is uprooted and forced to give up all they know because of a few missed payments. They’re forced to go stay with a friend or sometimes even forced to live in some kind of shelter that will help them through these times. How do you think that family feels? Now imagine that on a greater scale. Hundreds maybe even thousands of people being forced out of their country due to a war, or some kind of racial discrimination. These people who suffer this are called refugees. Refugees were defined by the United Nations to be people who are not considered as nationals by any state under the operation of its law. They have almost no rights, and due to this, they are also often treated very poorly. Though it is possible for them to move and travel, they have no chance of acquiring citizenship into any country. Refugees have been displaced from their home due to racial discrimination, war tribulations, or for the sake of their own safety. The displacement of refugees is an issue dating back to before WWII. Before the second world war, statelessness referred mainly to the status of the inhabitants of conquered territories because they no longer had a place to which they truly belonged. For example, many Jews became stateless before and during the Holocaust, because the Nuremberg laws stripped them of their German
The article, “Refugees: Who, Where, and Why” by Catherine Gevert is about different refugees in the world, where they are from and why they became refugees in the first place. The first concept the author talked about was, around the world, many refugees have had to flee, to escape to safety after being mistreated in their own country. Refugees are protected by law and given basic civil rights when going to different countries. Another key point she talks about is where these people are and in the article shows us that refugee camps are located throughout the world, but are not the best living conditions. Many refugees go here for asylum. Furthermore, some reasons people can become refugees are because of, war and “ethnic cleansing”, also known
A refugee is a person who was forced to leave their country. Whether it be from warfare or natural disaster, their homes are no longer safe to live in, so they need to relocate elsewhere. Once someone sets foot on the journey of becoming a refugee, they become vulnerable and dependent with no sense of what the future will bring. In an attempt to accommodate them, first world countries with the resources necessary to assist these refugees, are struggling to determine whether or not they should step-in and help. Some argue that taking them in could come with excessive consequences, while others believe they could be assets. Although there may be a few consequences, they are outweighed by the benefits and undeniable severity of the situation.
Refugees are people who crossed borders, fleeing due to problems related to race religion and nationality. While fleeing, refugees unknowingly carry many diseases due to lack of mental help and attention. When coming to a new country, refugees have no self-esteem to get jobs due to the language barrier. Refugees who flee their country and sacrifice everything are confident and strong willed with all the obstacles that come through their journey to start a new life. The long-term effects that a refugee experiences due to forced migration is Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Forced migration has a negative mental and physical affect on refugees.
The most commonly accepted definition of a ‘refugee’ is set out in the United Nations 1951
“Doesn’t the world see the suffering of the millions of refugees of Palestinians who have been living in exile around the world or in refugee camps for the past 60 years? No state, no home, no identity, no right to work. Doesn’t the world see this injustice?” (Ismail Haniyeh). This is how many of the universal refugees feel. There are millions of refugees all over the world in similar situations. This is also similar to how Ha feels in the book “Inside Out and Back Again.” Ha’s life mirrors the universal refugee experience because many lives are turned inside out, they have to get used to their new living arrangements, and they have to adapt to a new world.
As I sat on the back bench of a 12 passenger van with a coffee in my hand and my head on the back of the seat in front of me, I realized I had nothing left to give. All of energy was gone. I had come to the end of myself. We were driving down a bumpy road to an apartment complex filled with new faces from far away countries. As we drove I realized how much we had been doing every day and the weight of the things we had seen started to sink in. The refugees of Clarkson, Georgia had been through so much and I was getting a small glimpse into their lives during this week. However, it was Thursday afternoon and I was tired. We had been helping kids in the school all morning, then explored and ate at an international market, and my stomach was starting to turn from the ethnic food we had eaten. As we drove along and our leader described the after school program we would be working with I realized how physically exhausted I was. I began to pray for strength from God, and I told him that anything that
Ha and other refugees Struggle, Face, Worry and Challenges. The challenge they both have in common is that they had to face challenges along they way. Their challenges were hard to face because, Ha go bullied and didn’t like the food, doesn’t want to being a different religion and trying to know her land. In “Refugees: Who, Where, Why” they had to face the same challenges, but not all that are the same. The “Refugees: Who, Where, Why” tells who were the people that were refugees, and where the refugees are going also why they decided to flee their home. “Today our cowboy brings a paper bucket of chicken, skin crispy and golden, smelling of perfection.” (Lai 119). Connecting to the new life in Alabama and how hard it is for Ha and her family
The refugee crisis is a hotly debated and controversial topic all over the globe relevant to today. The rising number of refugees arriving in the European Union has significantly increased throughout the past few years. The controversy comes from not the refugees themselves, but from where they are emigrating from. Coming from extremely hostile and dangerous countries operated by the Islamic State militants, there is a sense of hysteria from the opposing side saying that there are risks that need to be factored in when accepting such a large amount of people from places where there are high concentrations of terrorism into their home countries. On the other side of the argument, the advocates for refugees are proclaiming that as humans we have moral obligations to give the quintessential helping hand to humans whenever one is in need, regardless of their situation or circumstances. Through social activism these proponents are seeking to
A current issue on the minds and agendas of the international community is the Syrian Refugee Crisis. The situation has only escalated since its start in 2011, and as the number of displaced Syrians reaches over 9 million, countries around the world, not just the ones in the Middle East, are increasing efforts to offer asylum and aid for these people. The Syrian Refugee Crisis began with peaceful anti-government protests in March of 2011, but after the violent response of the government, rebels, army defectors, and many civilians formed the Free Syrian Army by July of the same year (Mercy Corps, Sept 2nd, 2015). The presence of ISIS within Syria and the differing views of religious groups (namely Sunni and Shiite) in the country only add to the chaos of destruction of the country and the Syrian people’s lives and homes. With the constant state of war within the country, basic necessities like food, water, and shelter have become scarce and Syrian people are looking to find new homes of stability and safety. The large majority of Syrians have fled to the neighboring countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Turkey. However the burden of harboring these refugees has put huge stress on the countries as the sheer number of people entering the country becomes too much to handle. Today one in five people living in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee (Mercy Corps, Sept 2nd, 2015). With the neighboring countries already beyond capacity, Syrians are looking for shelter in places outside this
Refugee’s lives turn “inside out” by separation, no choices, and traveling. Lives are turned inside out by no choice in what they want. In the article, “Refugees: Who, Where, Why?” it says, “Since early times large groups of people have been forced to flee their homelands.” Overall this tells me even if they wanted to stay with all of the chaos going on they couldn’t. Separation also turns lives inside out. I know this because in the poem “Watch over us page 50,” it says,” father watches over us even if he’s not here…Uncle son tells us to be ready any day.” This explains that with father not being there, hopes can be down and they can struggle more. Traveling for Ha also turns them inside out. In the poem, “Last Respects.” Page 85 it says,”
Humanity as a whole is deceived by our governments that in an event of a humanitarian crisis we will take in the refugees and provide a safe and secure environment. At this very moment millions of refuges are fleeing their countries because of a fear of persecution due to religion, race, nationality, political views or membership to a social group. Internationally displaced people, whether they are fleeing their country because of natural disaster or generalized violence, are considered under the 1951 convention as refugees have the right under United Nations law to enter a country of choice seeking asylum. All countries that have signed the United Nations contract have to abide by this law, but in the extreme case countries are denying the basic right of living to a group of persons trying to enter their country.
Refugees “Today, more than 14 million men, women, and children have been forced to flee their homes, towns, and countries because they are afraid to stay” (Gevert, “Refugees: Who, Where, Why”). Refugees come from all over the world to seek protection to escape their country from war, poverty, disease and natural disasters. A refugee is a person who is forced their home because of a fear for their lives to stay.
I think that the refugee crisis is very complicated. There are several factors that go into the idea of the US admitting more refugees. With the current terrorist threats, the bombing in Paris, the Minnesota mall attack, and the recent bombing in NYC (not yet confirmed if it is related to ISIS) the idea of letting more people into the US is hard to agree to. In addition, the US is struggling with the idea of immigration from Mexico, even though it has decreased.
The World Health Organization defines a refugee as “someone who fears being persecuted” because of their “race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” (WHO). Refugees leave their home countries and are unable to return to their homes because they may not be protected by their home countries. The fear that the refugees face drives them to take the unsafe and harsh journey in order to get to safety. Many refugees come from war-torn countries that may face the dangers of the wars occurring if they continue to stay in their home countries. The refugees may end up leaving the country to work and be able to support themselves and their families.
Refugees! Refugees! Refugees! This the only word we are hearing nowadays. The word ‘refugee’ echoes in society and particularly in the media nowadays, yet, many are ignorant of what it truly means. Whenever we hear the word ‘refugee’, our knee-jerk reaction is that we think of immigrants. A refugee, according to the Geneva Convention, is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion1. People have fled their home country from the fear of unjustified persecution, but we do not call them innocent people; rather our deluded society deride