A family, living in a war-torn country, is uprooted from their home and community due to a variety of reasons such as political unrest, famine, and threat danger. This family flees their country in order to seek safety in a neighboring, more stable country. These people are considered refugees. Refugees are not travelers or immigrants because they are displaced due to some devastating reason, whether that is war or persecution. Other countries extend money, resources, and even their land to help resettle refugees out of political and humanitarian obligation. The United States is historically notorious for wanting to remain isolated during certain global events such as each world war. However, the United States began to create and build on refugee …show more content…
Since 2011, Syrian refugees have been fleeing their country and looking for safety in places like Turkey. There is a great global debate on the solution to this refugee crisis involving as many as 20 independent countries plus the European Union. The United States is caught in a debate of its own on whether to take in Syrian refugees because of a conflict of domestic safety and global humanitarian obligation. By analyzing the historical background of the United States regarding Jewish, Hungarian, and Cuban refugees, there are distinct similarities and differences between the political decisions, domestic response, and overall effectiveness of refugee policy compared to the current Syrian Refugee …show more content…
Extremist terrorist groups like ISIS, have risen up and caused a wave of fear and mistrust over the world. Desperately trying to escape their war-torn country, Syrian people try to cross the dangerous Mediterranean Sea, in hope to reach safety. A recently, it had been reported that over 500 Syrian refugees have died trying to cross the sea. Countries were lending aid to the Syrian refugees such as the UN, Turkey, and the United States. Everything changed after the Paris Terrorist Attack in 2015. It became known that some terrorists were disguising themselves as refugees in order to gain access to the country. The United States panicked about its refugee policies, fearing domestic safety. However, the Syrian Refugee issue is in fact a crisis. By February 2016, the U.S had resettled 2,819 Syrians, which has risen from 90 admitted in 2013, in addition to 4.5 billion dollars in aid. Following the Paris tragedy, at least 27 state governors stated their refusal to accept refugees or questioned the admission process. The US State Department has confirmed that the country will accept 10,000 Syrian refugees in 2016. This was met with some backlash from modern day Restrictionists, the conservatives. While helping people who are threatened by terrorism is a moral obligation, the issue was complicated by terrorists hiding as refugees. Because of this, it sparked hysteria and xenophobia in the United States against
We Are Being Swamped: Less than 16,000 (15,800) people claim asylum in Australia each year. While this may seem like a lot, Australia receives less than two percent of the total asylum claims made globally.
The conditions of Australia’s immigration detention policies have also been cause for concern for probable contraventions of Articles 7 and 10 of the ICCPR. Whilst in Sweden, asylum seekers are afforded free housing whilst their applications are being processed, Australia’s methods are much more callous. Under the Pacific Solution, maritime asylum seekers are sent to impoverished tropical islands with no monitoring by human rights organisations allowed (Hyndman and Mountz, 2008). The UNHCR criticised Australia’s offshore processing centres stating that “significant overcrowding, cramped living quarters, unhygienic conditions, little privacy and harsh tropical climate contribute to the poor conditions of… Nauru and Papua New Guinea” (Morales
In this essay, I will be talking about social work problems faced in the UK and how they are addressed. I will be focusing on asylum seekers particularly Unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC). These are children who are under 18yrs of age and applying for asylum in their own rights. I aim to highlight key areas in understanding the needs of these children while recognising that these are by no means homogenous, and therefore explain how these needs are addressed by social policies, legislature and social workers.
More than any country in the world, the United States has been a haven for refugees fleeing religious and political persecution in their home countries. Linked forever to the phrase inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," the United States, in the eyes of persecuted people throughout the world, has been idealized as a land of freedom and new beginnings. However, the changing face of refugees seeking asylum in the United States in the past several decades has exposed stark gaps in the legal, administrative, and social treatment of refugees. The majority of refugees in the early part of the twentieth century fled as families or in large groups. Recently, however, increasing numbers of children are fleeing their home countries alone.
During the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 an Arab refugee crisis began, and there is still not a clear answer of what caused it. As inhabitants of Israel Arabs were greatly affected by the establishment of a Jewish State, because their home was governed by others. Nonetheless, the Palestinian Arabs contributed in the making of the refugee crisis. The Arabs were given the choice of becoming equal citizens of Israel and refused. The United Nations came up with Partition Plan for Palestine, but it was rejected. Therefore, instead of having their own country the Arabs fled to neighboring Arab countries to avoid the crossfire of impending war. Arabs were thrown out of their homes by the Haganah (pre-state army), and placed
Today, there are over 65 million refugees in the world. That means that one in every 113 people in the world is a refugee. To many, this number may seem extremely alarming. Many refugees struggle to find a place to resettle. America, along with other developed countries, has often been considered dreamland for these displaced people, making many wanting to get out of their war-torn houses and camps. Refugees immigrating to America have been displaced from their original homes, face frustrating immigration policies, and have difficulties starting a new life in a new land.
Today, most Americans would consider themselves pretty open minded. This country was built on the hard work of immigrants, and therefore should empathize with the plight of refugees. However, this is not the case. America seems to fear the influx of immigrants and refugees. Perhaps even more controversial, is that government workers seem to share that mindset. In my opinion, while the UNHCR does provide some help, they are not doing enough.
There are many oppressive factors that exist in contemporary Canadian society that disadvantages and often alienates refugees. These oppressive factors exist in social, religious, cultural, political, and economic spheres within society. There are many political barriers that exist that oppress and limit the amount of refugees that can safely flee to Canada. An example of political and social barriers that inhibit the admission of refugees is increased border security. Border security has reached a point where it is too difficult for some refugees to safely flee a harmful environment, and this violates international law which outlines that each state has to respect an individual’s right to seek refuge in any nation. Implementing more restrictive
By helping people in a third world country in a time of need, the United States is put at risk by allowing refugees in that could potentially be terrorists planning to attack. The United States should be more restrictive in admitting refugees. In order to commit terrorist attacks, people are posing as refugees. This is enabled because refugees do not get background checked. Also, refugees cost the host country a lot of money.
If refugees cannot return to their beloved homes, they are forced to resettle in a new country (Gevert). This resettling process includes struggles of all types, but one of the greatest hardships of resettling refugees worldwide is making friends. For example, in the book Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Ha’s home country was taken over by a communistic government, so it was unrealistic for her to even dream of returning home. In her new school, in America, Ha was teased for the way she looked which made her journey of making friends even harder; all of her classmates had ignored her. Ha, then, didn’t have any idea on how to begin the process of making friends, so she had to rely on her family. Making friendships is a struggle for all
One of the most debated subjects in modern America's history is the acceptance of foreign refugees in our land. Depending on the war status in a country, a recent President may say, "we will not let the Chinese on our land," or "Germans are not welcome here." Of course, the latter is probably a bit of a stretch. It's safe to say we'd welcome them anyway. In reality, though, we should welcome all refugees, regardless of the war status. When I say "war status," I mean the relationship America has with the country in question at the time.
Considering that the Syrians are seeking an escape from the same exact thing that Americans are, why have they not been accepted into America? Like many of the 70,000 refugees who are accepted into the United States every year, Syrian refugees search for shelter from wars and hope for a prosperous future (Welsh 1). Teresa Welsh, a writer for the “U.S. News and World Report”, describes in her article “Why the U.S. Can’t Resettle Syrian Refugees” that “the U.S. should be doing more to help resettle those fleeing conflict and repressive governments in the Middle East and Asia” (Welsh 1). The Syrians desire escape from a repressive government with no chance of rebuilding a better future; therefore, they seek support from outside countries, like the United States and other European countries. Observations made by International and Scholar Service Students at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis have found that two of America’s values include “Equality” and “Goodness of Humanity” (“Key American Values”).
A refugee is defined as an individual who has been forced to leave their country due to political or religious reasons, or due to threat of war or violence. There were 19.5 million refugees worldwide at the end of 2014, 14.4 million under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 2.9 million more than in 2013. The other 5.1 million Palestinian refugees are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). With the displacement of so many people, it is difficult to find countries willing to accept all the refugees. There are over 125 different countries that currently host refugees, and with this commitment comes the responsibility of ensuring these refugees have access to the basic requirements of life; a place to live, food to eat, and a form of employment or access to education. Currently, the largest cause of refugees is the Syrian civil war, which has displaced over 2.1 million people. As a country of relative wealth, the United States should be able to provide refuge for many refugees, as well as provide monetary support to the refugees that they are not able to receive.
U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much uncertainty as to how it works. The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), the body of law governing current immigration policy, provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants, with certain exceptions for close family members ("How the United States Immigration System Works: A Fact Sheet"). Around the world there are so many immigrants/refugees who are in the hunt for a fitter life. Some come from places where civil war occurs or some suffer economically trying to support their family. Knowing the fact that they are desperate to seek for a better life, the best option is to migrate to the U.S, the land of opportunities. The problem lies in the migration to the U.S. What are the quotas for new immigrants arriving to the U.S? What are the eligibility requirements to becoming a permanent citizen in the U.S? With much inquiry, this topic has become very intriguing. What people must understand is that
The first chapter of the book provides a highly informative background and history to the concept of refugees, as well as their relevance to the modern international political system. The authors importantly point out that defining a refugee is not simply a matter of academic concern because resulting definitions may mean the difference between life and death for people in conflict zones. Defining a refugee involves political and ethical considerations, inevitably creating disagreement regarding the issue. For example, when refugees are defined in a certain way by the United Nations, research will consequently revolve around such definitions and will help support the status quo of the institut...