What is a Refugee?

The USA for UNHR defines a refugee as "... someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or is afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries." Think about this, a human being is forced to flee their country because of fear, and then travel to a foreign location, where life does not necessarily get easier, but most likely harder. This is the definition of a refugee: someone who flees for fear of their, and their families, life, to a place and culture that might not understand them, and a land that does not necessarily wants them similair ; try to imagine that situation and you will have begun to put yourself into a refugees shoes. When arriving in their host country, a refugee will usually take housing in a refugee camp, along with any number of other refugees who are in a similar situations. (I will be talking about refugee camps later in this blog). While a refugee has been assigned a label, they are still human beings, and this is a point that I cannot stress enough. Despite losing their homes and being forced to flee their country they still retain their humanity, and this must not be forgotten. So, to redefine a refugee, they are human beings who have been forced to flee their homes and everything they know for a place where things are not necessarily easier. 

Works Cited:

"What s a Refugee?" 26 Mar. 2009.

http://www.unrefugees.org/site/c.lfIQKSOwFqG/b.4950731/k.A894/What_is_a_refugee.htm