Every day, all over the world, people make one of the most difficult decisions in their lives – to leave their homes in search of a safer, better life. While choosing to relocate and rebuild one’s life in a new country may be the reality for some, millions of others are forced to flee persecution, human rights violations, armed conflicts, or other crises and violence. Some no longer feel safe and might have been targeted just because of who they are or what they do or believe.
A refugee is a person who has fled their own country because they are at risk of serious human rights violations and persecution there. The risks to their safety and life were so great that they felt they had no choice but to leave and seek safety outside their country because their own government cannot or will not protect them from those dangers. Refugees have a right to international protection. The law within the United States has specific requirements for who is and who is not included as a refugee.
An asylum-seeker is a person who has left their country and is seeking protection from persecution and serious human rights violations in another country, but who hasn’t yet been legally recognized as a refugee and is waiting to receive a decision on their asylum claim. Seeking asylum is a human right. This means everyone should be allowed to enter another country to seek asylum. To apply for asylum within the United States requires from I-589 within one year of arrival to the United States.
- 4 million forcibly displaced people worldwide
- 5 of the countries hosting the largest number of refugees are in Sub-Saharan Africa
- 7 million refugees globally
- 4 million refugees need resettlement right now
- 84% of refugees are hosted by developing countries
During 2020, several crises – some new, some longstanding, and some resurfacing after years – forced 11.2 million people to flee. This figure includes people displaced for the first time as well as people displaced repeatedly, both within and beyond countries’ borders. This week’s top stories within The Refugee Brief include: 1) Haitians returned from US and Mexico; 2) Syrian refugees struggling to survive in crisis-hit Lebanon; 3) As needs in Afghanistan rapidly grow, aid groups plead for help. You may have seen the images that recently surfaced from the US-Mexico border of white Border Patrol officers on horses chasing, yelling, and whipping Haitian asylum seekers conjuring our country’s not so distant past.
The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 that were held this summer had the Refugee Olympic team participate – 29 athletes competing in 12 sports. The first time the Refugee Olympic Team competed was during the Olympic Games Rio 2016. International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach said, “This will be a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world, and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis. It is also a signal to the international community that refuges are our fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society.”
Springfield will soon welcome 100 Afghan refugees! The International Institute of Southwest Missouri is helping search for their housing, jobs, and basic needs. They are looking for property owners willing to work with them and collecting furniture, household supplies, and cash donations.
References
- Amnesty International | Refuges, Asylum-Seekers and Migrants
- S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- The UN Refugee Agency | The Refugee Brief – October 1, 2021
- (UNHCR) The UN Global Trends Forced Displacement in 2020
- International Olympic Committee | IOC Refugee Olympic Team
- Color of Change | Justice for Black Migrants Petition
- KY3 Afghan refugees will soon arrive in Springfield