Refugees





//Refugee// – a person who is afraid of being persecuted for such reasons as race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside tthe country of their nationality.

· //Asylum Seeker// – a person seeking to be recognized as a refugee · //Boat People// – People who risk their lives on dangerous, crude boats to escape oppression or poverty in their native country. · Sudan has the highest number of refugees with over five million · May 25,2007 – only 69 people from Iraq have been granted official refugee status in the United States

But wait .. What's an example? According to REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL (http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/9679) : The displacement of Iraqis from Iraq is now the fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world. The UN estimates that over four million refugees have been displaced from the war in Iraq. Many are seeking homes in Syria, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, and other neighboring countries. Many of these refugees hope to one day be resettled in the North America or Europe, not returning to their native Iraq. Because entry into the United States is so difficult, many forge paperwork to help them enter. '//“Iraqis who are unable to flee the country are now in a queue, waiting their turn to die,”// is how one Iraqi journalist summarizes conditions in Iraq today.' These people face the fear of death every since day with a Civil War on the horizon. When the refugees are fleeing to their neighboring countries, it is lucky if they accept them. The countries are being overwhelmed with refugees. http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/10332/ Sexual violence defines the conflictin Darfur, as many women and children are being taken advantage of. The people who are supposed to be protecting and saving rights for these womens are the perpetraitors and Sudanese government. This government blocks the aid of international services because of thier ill actions. Although no as guilty as the blinded Sudanese government, the world has not done much to defeat this conflict. "In addition to arresting or deporting international staff who dare to speak out, the government of Sudan is widely believed to have infiltrated most humanitarian agencies in Darfur, leading to suspicion and distrust ... This will make it even more difficult to provide services to rape survivors and to build the needed trust within communities that would allow more survivors to come forward." Rape destroys lives -- women have been abandoned by their families, forced into marriages, and suffer from mental trauma as well as attempt suicide. This problem is real.

History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees#Historical_and_contemporary_refugee_crises

Palestine refugees- Following the 1948 proclamation of the State of Israel, the first Arab-Israeli war began. Many Palestineins had already become refugees, and the Palestinian Exodus continued through the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and after the armistice that ended it. The great majority have remained refugees for generations as they were not permitted to return to their homes or to settle in the Arab countries where they lived. The refugee situation and the presence of numerous refugee camps continues to be a point of contention in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The final estimate of refugee numbers was 711,000.

Jewish Refugees- Between the first and second world wars, Jewish immigration to Palestine was encouraged by the nascent zionist movement but was severely restricted by the British mandate government in Palestine. In Europe, the Nazi persecution culminated in the Holocaust of European Jews. The Evian Conference, Bermuda Conference, and other attempts failed to resolve the problem of finding a home for large numbers of Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe. Following its formation in 1948, Israel adopted the Law of Return, granting Israeli citizenship to any Jewish immigrant. Approximately 700,000 refugees flooded into the country, and were housed in tent cities called Ma'abarot. More recently, following the dissolution of the USSR, a second surge of 700,000 Russian Jews fled to Israel between 1990 and 1995.

Algerian Immigrants- The Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962) uprooted more than 2 million Algerians, who were forced to relocate in French camps or to flee to Morocco, Tunisia, and into the Algerian hinterland.European-descended population,Pieds-Noirs, accounted for 10.4% of the total population of Algeria in 1962. In just a few months in 1962, 900,000 of them fled the country in the most massive relocation of population to Europe since the World War II. A motto used in the FLN propaganda designating the Pied-noirs community was "Suitcase or coffin".

Western Sahara Refugees- It is estimated that more than 150,000 Sahrawis - people from the disputed territory of Western Sahara - have lived in five large refugee camps near Tindouf in the Algerian part of the Sahara Desert since 1975. The UNHCR and WFP are presently engaged in supporting what they describe as the "90,000 most vulnerable" refugees, giving no estimate for total refugee numbers. It is a territory of northwestern Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west.


 * Iraq Refugees-** The Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988, the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the first Gulf War and subsequent conflicts all generated hundreds of thousands if not millions of refugees. Iran also provided asylum for 1,400,000 Iraqi refugees who had been uprooted as a result of the Persian Gulf War (1990–91). At least one million Iraqi Kurds were displaced during the Al-Anfal Campaign. The current Iraq war has generated millions of refugees and internally displaced persons. As of 2007 more Iraqis have lost their homes and become refugees than the population of any other country. Over 4,200,000 people, more than 16% of the Iraqi population, have become uprooted. Of these, about 2.2 million have fled Iraq and flooded other countries, and 2 million are estimated to be refugees inside Iraq, with nearly 100,000 Iraqis fleeing to Syria and Jordan each month

More than 11 million people around the world are stateless. These are people who dont have a legal bond of nationality with any state and includes people who have never acquired citizenship of their birth country. Children are most at risk when they and their families are displaced by conflict or natural disaster.Upon return from conflict, former child soldiers often find themselves without options as they try to reenter civilian life in their communities. Those who want to go to school find that the longer they have been out of school, the more difficult it is to go back. Women and children are victims of sexual violence as a weapon of war against women and girls, yet programs to support survivors are often lagging. With no home, hope is easily lost.
 * Why Should We Care? ([|http://www.refugeesinternational.org)]**