What Is A Refugee?
Imagine sneaking away from your home late at night, needing to leave everything behind. Imagine not being able to tell anyone where you were going, for fear that you would be caught. Imagine coming to a new land, where you don't speak the language or have a job to provide for your family. Sounds unreal, doesn't it? But for millions of people, that is a reality.
Refugees are people who were forced to leave their country because they were trying to escape war, persecution or because of a natural disaster. They usually can never go back to their country until conditions return to their original state.
Refugees are people who were forced to leave their country because they were trying to escape war, persecution or because of a natural disaster. They usually can never go back to their country until conditions return to their original state.
The Refugee Crisis
Millions of people around the world are forced to flee their country in order to stay alive. They are refugees and, like their name suggests, they take refuge in countries where they can live safely. While this is all well and good, for many countries it is a huge strain hosting so many people, thus causing the refugee crisis.
Those refugees use up resources to the point where their living is essentially the same from where they came from. Often times, they flee to neighboring countries, which are already in trouble being nearby the countries refugees escape from. When countries across the world hear about what is going on, they often times shut their doors to helping refugees, even though they are usually wealthy countries. This leaves refugees stranded and losing all hope of their situations getting better. The video below explains The European Refugee Crisis |
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How Do They Escape?
Refugees have to sneak out of their homes, maybe in the dead of night, maybe leaving their families behind. They might pack a few belongings, or maybe they won't if they don't have time. After that, they usually have to sneak their way to a border. This might involve becoming a stow-away in some kind of cargo or hitching a car ride. This is often times the most dangerous part of escaping. When they reach the border they will cross it legally - or illegally, depending on the countries' refugee laws. They might stay in that country in a refugee camp or resettle but in the case where they need to flee farther away, they do so. For example, to get to Greece from Syria, refugees must cross the Mediterranean Sea. When they reach their final destination, they will usually try and resettle somehow.
Where Do They Go After Arriving?
Refugee CampsMany refugees flee away to countries where they do not have to hide to stay alive. They go to places that provide support and help, that are sometimes just a few miles away from where they fled.
Unfortunately, millions of refugees take that same approach. They are put into camps with barely any resources because of the higher and higher demand for space, food and other essentials. |
ResettleThis is probably the best possibility that can happen for a family of refugees, but it is not very common.
This is when refugees are able to resettle in a home, find work and eventually become a citizen of whatever country they are in. This usually happens when they are unable to ever return to their home country. They must rebuild their lives in their new homes. |
Resettle Into PovertySometimes, refugees get resettled into different countries - back into the same poverty. They usually live off of the government for sometime with minuscule amounts. They have to find jobs that are not secure and they work for almost no money at all.
They have to spend the money that they have on basic necessities, so there is a very small chance for them to be able to save money and buy important things like a home. |