What is a Refugee? & Other Facts About Forcibly Displaced People Around the World
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Before this past year, we really didn’t know who refugees/forcibly displaced people were and what their stories were all about. We still don’t know a lot about the situation and are educating ourselves as much as we can, but today we wanted to share some staggering numbers and facts that are extremely hard to believe. Let’s get right to it, starting with the first question…
What is a forcibly displaced person?
Under the UNHCR’s mandate, forcibly displaced people fall into three categories:
Refugees: A refugee is a person who has been forced to flee their country because of persecution, war or violence.
Internally displaced person: An internally displaced person—frequently known as an IDP—is a person who has been forced to flee their home but remains within their country of origin.
Asylum seeker: An asylum seeker is a person who has fled their country and is seeking sanctuary in another country. When applying for asylum this person must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country.
There are 70.8 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.
This number has been growing at an alarming rate over the last few years. There were 25.2 million forcibly displaced people in 2010. Those numbers don’t seem real to us. Why aren’t we hearing more about this crisis on the news? Why is this not being covered in the mainstream media every day? When we started learning more about this situation, it seemed like everything we read was harder to believe than the last. How did we get here as a society?
Less than 1% of refugees are ever resettled, and the number of refugees who have been accepted for resettlement is declining.
Traditionally, the United States has been the world’s top resettlement country, with Canada, Australia and the Nordic countries also providing a sizable number of places annually.
For the third consecutive year, the United States has decided to substantially reduce the number of refugees it will admit for resettlement in the U.S. over the coming year. The admissions cap of 18,000 leaves thousands of the most vulnerable refugees in risky circumstances.
Where do refugees live?
84% of refugees are hosted in developing countries. The least developed countries in the world-Bangladesh, Chad, DRC, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen-host 33% of the world’s refugees.
Most refugees (61%) live in urban areas, not refugee camps.
The largest refugee settlement in the world is Kutupalong in Bangladesh, which houses more than 730,000 Rohingya refugees.
Children:
Half of all refugees are children.
At least 138,600 displaced children are unaccompanied or have been separated from their parents. This number is considered to be an underestimate.
All of this information was hard for us to take in and process, especially the number of forcibly displaced children. When we read facts like these, it puts things into perspective and reminds us to be grateful for the lives we have. It also reminds us that sitting back and doing nothing is not going to cut it and it’s going to take all of us to make a difference.
If you want to learn more about refugees and how you can help, you can go here.
(photo provided by USA for UNHCR)
