RESEARCH | wtng321

9/19/16

The refugee crisis that we currently experience can be traced back to the first World War. Accepted definitions of the refugee have changed over the course of history, but the current accepted definition gives no time limit for the individual to remain displaced in their new country. To be termed a refugee, the individual must also be fleeing in fear of persecution as opposed to simply fleeing for economic purposes. It is a human right that all persons are able to seek asylum in “host countries” if they choose, but the host country must first determine the status of the individual through a series of interviews before they are considered a legal refugee or asylum seeker. These terms are not interchangeable, though, as many often think. There are numerous agreements that protect the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in host countries as well as routes that refugees can take to permanently resettle. Even if not determined a legal refugee, the host country cannot force the individual back to their home country.

9/21/16

First and foremost--I appreciated how this article was prefaced with the date of when the numbers were updated. I felt, as a reader, that was an important portion of this article because it showed that the data was current.

I really did not know much about the Syrain Civil War until this class, so I was surprised to find that it began only 5 years ago. Since then, over 250,000 people have died, 6.6 million have been displaced internally, and about 5 million have been displaced to host counties such as Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and the United States. Mercy Corps and the United Nations High Commissioner for for Refugees are working to grant refugees asylum and support these people as they try to find shelter, jobs, and education. There are camps available for some refugees with minimal accomodations, but these camps have a cap on the number of people they can support. Disease spreads quickly in these places. Host countries are also having a difficult time supporting these refugees as they come and are granted asylum because of lack of government funding. Even so, the UN will give whatever they can for as long as they have to in order to give these people a chance at life.

9/29/16

In the article "Syria After Four Years of Mayhem" from The New York Times, the writers took an interesting spin by beginning with satellite photos of two locations in Syria. This explicitly shows that the population of Syria has diminished immensely since the crisis began. It is important to note, though, that this article was writing last March, so this data is out of date. Since rebel groups such as ISIS took over, the country has remain unchanged in terms of challenges against these groups. The United States approved the training of rebel citizens in the fight against ISIS.

Pecanha, S., White, J., Lai. (2015). "Syria After Four Years of Mayhem." The New

York Times. Web.

The American Refugee Committee (ARC) works with refugees from all over the world, listens to their lives, asks their needs, and creates programs to support them in any way they can. They provide emergency responses, a variety of health programs, shelter and water, education, and protection from violence. With over 2,000 staff members around the world, ARC is available for consult in many locations. Though there are paid staff members, this organization is present through volunteers and is primarily run off of donations.

American Refugee Committee. (2016). "American Refugee Committee." American Refugee Committee. Web.

10/3/16

In the youtube video "Clement and Aline Shabani," the husband and wife describe their journey escaping the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their presentation was in recognition of World Refugee Day, June 20th, where refugees that have settled in Providence were welcomed to enjoy company, food, and dance of their native lands. The Shabani's were forced out of DR Congo after their efforts to create a nonprofit to empower women and support their rights. The government began to pressure the family, raiding their home and threatening their lives. The family walked away, fleeing to Rwanda, Uganga, Thailand, and eventually found their way to Providence where they finally feel safe. Since settling, in Providence, they have opened a nonprofit center to care for female refugees.

Ahlquist, S. "Clement and Aline Shabani." Youtube. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcHdKpIBcUE.

The Government of Canada (as well as several other countries internationally) welcomes Bhutanese refugees. In 2007, the government announced that it would settle 5,000 refugees before 2013. Because a plethora of other agreements, approximately 6,500 Bhutanese refugees total would be settled before 2015. At the end of the year in 2016, 6,600 Bhutanese refugees had successfully settled in various provinces in Canada. These resettlement efforts around the world have committed to settle 70,000 people.

Government of Canada. (2016). "Resettling Bhutanese Refugees--Canada's Commitment." Government of Canada. Web.

10/6/16

I watched this video for our last research assignment, but this time I focused more on their tone and their emotions. It was very evident that talking about leaving their country is still heavy on their hearts. They spoke very slowly and carefully about their experiences, and it was apparent that their reflection on these experiences. It was interesting to watch the individual who was not speaking. It seemed as though they were frozen, especially Aline. She did not seem like she wanted to be listening to her story out loud. Clement even commented that he shared most of the story because he knew that his wife would be unable to speak it on her own because it was so difficult to talk about.

The theme of their story is "walking through the night" and from my understanding, this is true of many other refugees. They needed to travel through the night in order to flee unseen by their government. It's pretty crazy to think about...as the rest of the world is going to sleep, these people are partaking in one of the scariest moments of their lives. Walking in the night leads these people into uncertainty, where they are unsure whether they will be able to find shelter, a job, food, or education.

Ahlquist, S. "Clement and Aline Shabani." Youtube. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcHdKpIBcUE.

Bad blood from the Dominican Republic makes escaping Haiti nearly impossible for its "citizens." Living conditions in the Dominican are significantly more advanced than in Haiti, so Haitians make every effort to flee their country in hopes of finding work in the Dominican. Migration has been taking place for almost a century, but the Dominican's have recently taken extreme measures to deport Haitians that make their way into their country. In 2014, the Dominican president stated that Haitians living in the Dominican would be given 6 months to apply for Dominican residency, but those who were not accepted as Dominican residents would be deported. Check-points are places around the country where authorities search vehicles to make sure that no Haitians are moving about the country. Statelessness has become a major issue for Haitians, because they are trying to live in the Dominican to escape the terrors of their own land, but they cannot reap the "benefits" that the Dominican offers.

Keating, J. (2015). "Haitian Devil, Go To Your Country." Slate. Web.