Refugee and Displaced Persons

What is a Refugee? ► - UNHCR ► A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group - UNHCR

What is a Displaced Person ► An internally displaced person (IDP) is a person who has been forced to flee his or her home for the same reason as a refugee, but remains in his or her own country and has not crossed an international border. Unlike refugees, IDPs are not protected by international law or eligible to receive many types of aid.

Forced Migration due to Climate

Southeast United States ► Hurricane Katrina has resulted in the largest displacement of Americans in 150 years - if not the largest ever. ► an estimated 374,000 hurricane Katrina refugees in shelters, hotels, homes and other housing in 34 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Red Cross and state relief officials ► Five years later, thousands of displaced residents in Mississippi and Louisiana are still living in temporary accommodation

Haiti ► Two million people living in the most affected area ► Over 180,000 homes damaged or destroyed, 1.5m homeless ► One and a half million people living in camps including over 100,000 at critical risk from storms and flooding ► There are over 1,100 camps and 54 of these are home to 5,000 people or more ► Over 600,000 people have left their home area in Port-au-Prince and mostly are staying with host families -dec.org

Pakistan ► According to Human Rights Watch, more than two million civilians have fled their homes in the Swat valley and adjoining areas of the Malakland division of Pakistan’s Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) since the Pakistani army began major military operations on May 7 to oust the Taliban from the valley and surrounding areas.

► Of the two million people internally displaced in Pakistan, 80 percent are not in camps, but with poor host communities ► The number of people affected by the floods in Pakistan exceeds 20 million — a figure, noted by the UN- as more than the combined total of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Forced Migration due to War/Conflict

Karen People ► In the 55 years of continuing civil war, Karen civilian populations have been targeted and terrorized by Burmese forces. A policy of "Four Cuts" was implemented in the 1970's (and continues to this day) to cut off supplies of foods, funds, recruits, and intelligence from opposition groups

► For the Karen that have fled to Thailand, over 100,000 live in 9 refugee camps up and down the border. The largest camp, Mae La, has over 40,000 people in it ► Conditions in the camps are equally troubling. Sanitation, clean water and proper nutrition do not exist in the camps, and Burmese troops frequently cross the border to attack, burning what they can and killing the camps’ residents at random. Likewise, the refugees are legally confined to these camps, and therefore not permitted to find work or travel outside its perimeters. Life in the camps is difficult, though for many of the younger refugees, it is the only life they know.

Congo ► The long-running conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been one of the deadliest in the last half century. ► The long-running conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been one of the deadliest in the last half century. ► More than 5 million people have died from causes associated with the conflict. Close to 2 million people remain internally displaced and there are more than 450,000 Congolese refugees in neighboring countries

Afghanistan ► Afghanistan’s extreme poverty, coupled with recurrent conflict and natural disasters, have left the majority of its citizens extremely vulnerable and unable to cope. ► In 2010 alone, over 100,000 people have been displaced from their homes. There are now over 319,000 internally displaced people in Afghanistan

► Refugees returning from Iran and Pakistan are also vulnerable and continue to face an uncertain future. In addition, around 200,000 people are severely affected by floods, landslides, drought, and earthquakes each year

Sudan ► Sudan’s numerous situations of internal displacement have been caused by deep- rooted tensions between regions, a highly inequitable division of power and wealth, and a government unwilling to acknowledge the country’s ethnic, linguistic and religious diversities

Sudan ► In December 2010, a total of between 4.5 and 5.2 million IDPs were believed to be displaced ► Humanitarian assistance has also been limited and just over 50 per cent of camp- based IDPs were reported to be receiving food rations in September 2010.

Nepal ► With one sixth of the population in exile, the tiny kingdom of Bhutan has the dubious distinction of being one of the world's highest per capita generator of refugees ► The roots of the problem lie in the government's attempts to alter the kingdom's demography in favor of the ruling ethnic group.

► Since 1990, over 100,000 thousand southern Bhutanese of Nepalese ethnicity have been made refugees after being forcibly evicted, forced to flee persecution and repression, or expelled after being coerced into signing "voluntary" emigration forms ► Many people are only allowed to stay in some refugee camps if they convert to Christianity