top of page

9/19/16

​

Refugees Deeply Summary 

 

While reading the sections of the background navigation on refugees, I learned many principles, useful tools in the rehabilitation, and relief organizations for these prospect refugees from foreign countries. One of the most important acts put into play by the United Nations to rehabilitate and care for humanitarian relief was the creation of the UNRRA, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. While helping about 8 million refugees across Europe and Asia, the UNRRA was put forth to provide relief for the liberated areas by allied forces. Starting around the time of WWII many relief acts, such as the UNRRA, UNRWA, and the UNHCR all gave an aid to refugees of countries who were disrupted by malicious groups, famines, or social injustices. Two of the major strategies by these administrations are to be able to grant these refugees asylum, and the responsibilities of the countries that grant this asylum. So who is a refugee? According to International law the definition of a refugee is much more sticky. As explained in the section Who Is - and who isn’t – a refugee?,  “A refugee is someone determined to have “a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” and who therefore cannot return to his or her country of origin.” The definition of a refugee is sticky in accordance to how the people perceive the meaning, and the International law deals with the ambiguous meaning of what it is symbolically means to be a refugee, many asylum seekers are known to be economic migrants, fleeing their country to seek work, not due to fear of prosecution. The steps of observation to coordinate the fine line between an asylum seeker is a tricky process, distributing between what the written definition of a fear is, and how it pertains, and causes a fear of prosecution for the individual pleading to be an international refugee.

​

Source: https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/background/

​

9/22/16

 

Quick Facts from Mercy Corps: What You Need to Know About the Syria Crisis

 

The anti-government crisis began in March 2010, starting with peaceful protesting then leading the government to a violent crackdown on the laws and a rebellion push back against the regime in Syria, followed by a split between Islamists and secular fighters, and ethnic groups. Syrian refugees were forced to flee the country when Russia began to send airstrikes to attack the ISIS provinces of Syria. Fleeing for safety by Syrians was now the norm for the average citizen of this country; the U.N has estimated that there are 6.6 million Syrian people displaced from the country due to the devastation and death poll of these attacks on the ISIS party. These Syrian refugees are fleeing to countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq (until their internal conflict was discovered), Turkey, and then leading to their arrival in Greece. The article then begins to explain that the journey to flee the country is just as dangerous as staying, having to walk at night due to snipers, and so their children do not get kidnapped. Also not all refugees live in camps when coming to their destination, fending for themselves with no food, money or family, and there are 5 million of them. The U.N states that this Syrian crisis is getting the most attention compared to any other crisis to approach this earth. In 2015 the U.N raised over $8.4 billion, higher than the $6.5 billion the year before, and now estimated this year to need $7.7 billion. Mercy corporation asks at the end of the article to do anything you can to help, and several of the ways that we can help are by donation, start a campaign, sign a petition, and to tell all your friends to get the word out there! So lets do something about this crisis!

​

Source: https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria-turkey/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-syria-crisis

10/3/16

​

War and Stature: Growing Up during the Nigerian Civil War

​

A.) The article War and Stature: Growing Up during the Nigerian Civil War covers the story of the first civil war that had taken place in Africa. One of the main causes of the civil war of 1967 was due to the creating of the state of Biafra. The article deals with the long-run impacts of the civil war on the African people, and their human health capital. The article visits the concepts as stated in the title, finishing off with the idea in the stature of classes for each human being. The adolescence whom are open to war at all ages between birth and adolescence are not influenced to portray a reduced adult stature, concluding with the statement that the adult stature has a higher potential of reduced life expectancy and lower wages.

 

A.) Akresh, R., Bhalotra, S., Leone, M., & Osili, U. O. (2012). War and stature: Growing up during the nigerian civil war. The American Economic Review, 102(3), 273-277. doi: http://dx.doi.org.rwulib.idm.oclc.org/10.1257/aer.102.3.273

 

International: Report into Brazilian genocide resurfaces

​

B.) Next, the article International: Report into Brazilian genocide resurfaces visits the extreme difficulties living through the torture, rape and enslavement of indigenous tribes during Brazil’s military dictatorship. Rediscovering the so-called “lost” report of the genocide, this article visits the document, written in 1967 by the public prosecutor Jader de Figueiredo Correia, which entails the horrific abuse by the Indian Protection Service(SPI), whom provided improvements for the livelihood of indigenous communities, but later ended up as a mechanism to rob them or wipe them out. The report was believed to have been burned in an agricultural fire, to protect the dictatorship and its allies. The number of victims is stated in the article as impossible to calculate, and the truth commission believes that some tribes were completely wiped out. Being largely ignored by Brazil’s main newspapers the truth commission last states that the Figueiredo report as “one of the most important documents produced by the Brazilian government in the last century”.

 

B.) Watts, J., & Rocha, J. (2013, May 30). International: Report into brazilian genocide resurfaces. The Guardian Retrieved from http://rwulib.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.rwulib.idm.oclc.org/docview/1356488598?accountid=25133

10-6-16

 

The talk One family's story from the Dem. Rep. of the Congo was a contribution of two lives, two different emotive personalities, and needs of each of the speakers. The two speakers of this talk were Clement and Aline Shabani, two Democratic Republic of the Congo refugees. The talk starts with brief context by Aline on women’s rights in the Congo. We hear phrases such as there being no such thing as women, girls can’t go to school before boys, and other discriminatory offenses against women. Clement tells the story of his family, and does choke up in the intense memories of his journey escaping the Congo. The corruption began through the military when one night the army stopped ten women on their way back from the market, and told them all to bring their goods back to the market then proceeded to “violate” the women. Clement explained that he had gotten an attorney, but the system was already to corrupt to be able to prosecute the rapists, and attackers. Next, an emotional moment comes from Clement when reflecting back on the military use to bust into his house, look for his daughters, then proceed to “violate” his wife before his eyes as he is tied up. Stealing money, women, children, and goods, most people were left with nothing, as was Clement. His two girls, wife, and he fled the village to Rwanda on a plan to escape traveling for three nights, leaving the house to be burned down by the Congo army. Clement was then in dire need to find the Italian Missionary in Uganda to help his wife and give his family “protection” for health services, and refuge to another country in which finally ended up being Thailand and then the U.S, formally sentenced by the amnesty international in Thailand.

 

10-6-16

 

Refugees from Haiti was written by Philippe Girard, starting with the Haitian Revolution in 1791 and 1804. The revolution started with a slave revolt consisting of a rebellion and a massacre of the most whites in 1804. The French survivors that were still alive were then later sentenced to exile. Poor conditions and famines, as well as mass killings were driving the Haitians away from their homeland to other countries, most of which would jump on a boat and hope to land on shore in Florida. Cuba was primarily the first stop, and then followed by New Orleans in 1809. More and more Haitians began to leave the island causing the demographic cost to rise, and few exports of refugees. Encouragement of the U.S Freedmen to settle in Haiti, led to overpopulation when thousands of people flooded in. Jobs were being lost so many were forced to travel to the Dominican Republic where they worked in the sugar industry suffering from disease and the massacre of 1937 in the sugar industry of the Dominican. Deforestation, and soil erosion pushed hundreds of thousands of farmers into suburban slums and then hopefully making an escape by boat. Many travelers by boat were turned away from the U.S due to the fact that they were poor, uneducated, and carriers of AIDs regardless of their individual motives. Most of the individuals who fled the post-coup repression to the United States were sent to retention camps at Guantanamo bay in Cuba.


 

SOURCE:

Girard, P. R. (2012). Haiti, Refugees from. In T. M. Leonard (Ed.), Encyclopedia of U.S.- Latin American Relations (Vol. 2, pp. 429-430). Los Angeles: CQ Press. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.rwulib.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=rwu_main&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX1966400366&asid=65b675a5623d6ce1025e99a8efc6581f

10/6/16

Refugee Project Questions

 

Primary Questions:

  1. -Ask your community member:

    1. Who they are?

    2. Where they are from?(Part-au-Prince)

    3. How old are you?

  2. -What would you like to focus on?

  3. -Where would you like to begin on your life growing up in _______________ Haiti?

  4. -Was your transition from Haiti to the U.S difficult or easy? Maybe in between. (The change)

  5. -Do you work here, where do you work?

  6. -Do you have family in the United States? In Haiti? Still keep in touch?(wife, girlfriend kid)

  7. -Are you bilingual? How do the different races interact?

  8. -What was your reason for living where you lived in Haiti?

  9. -Why did you apply to be a refugee? Natural disaster (famine, earthquake, hurricane) or choice?

  10. -What struggles pushed you to want to leave, or made Haiti a hard place to live?

  11. -Was any family impacted by the natural disasters that occurred in Haiti?

  12. -Was the United States your first choice of asylum?

  13. -How were Human rights in Haiti?

  14. -Were you life impacted by the natural disasters of Hurricane Mathew or the earthquake in 2010?

  15. -What positives can you take away from the accomplishments you completed in your refuge?

  16. -Do you have any questions for us?

bottom of page