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by Wayne Campbell
“World Refugee Day affirms a fundamental tenet of our common humanity: everyone has the right to seek safety whoever they are, wherever they come from, and whenever they are forced to flee.”- UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Humanity is one family regardless of race, skin colour or religious persuasion. The United Nations (UN) states the world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record. Alarmingly, an unprecedented 70.8 million people around the world have been forced from home by conflict and persecution at the end of 2018.
Among them are nearly 30 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. There are also millions of stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. The UN adds that World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe.
It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.
Sadly, women and girls are disproportionately impacted by this crisis. World Refugee Day shines a light on the rights, needs and dreams of refugees, helping to mobilize political will and resources so refugees can not only survive but also thrive.
While it is important to protect and improve the lives of refugees every single day, international days like World Refugee Day help to focus global attention on the plight of those fleeing conflict or persecution. Many activities held on World Refugee Day create opportunities to support refugees.
Refugees
According to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention a refugee is someone who fled his or her home and country owing to “a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” Many refugees are in exile to escape the effects of natural or human-made disasters.
Asylum Seekers
Asylum seekers say they are refugees and have fled their homes as refugees do, but their claim to refugee status is not yet definitively evaluated in the country to which they fled.
Internally Displaced Persons
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are people who have not crossed an international border but have moved to a different region than the one they call home within their own country.
Stateless Persons
Stateless persons do not have a recognised nationality and do not belong to any country.
Statelessness situations are usually caused by discrimination against certain groups. Their lack of identification; a citizenship certificate can exclude them from access to important government services, including health care, education or employment.
Returnees
Returnees are former refugees who return to their own countries or regions of origin after time in exile. Returnees need continuous support and reintegration assistance to ensure that they can rebuild their lives at home. As we commemorate World Refugee Day, we join in solidarity, courage and strength of refugees worldwide. In the words of Elisa Johnston, refugees are you and I with different circumstances.
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #WorldRefugeeDay
