“Refugee Crisis, A Worldwide Predicament” by Sebastian R.

A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster, this is the definition of a refugee. The crisis happens when large groups of these refugees are forced to move because of a variety of reasons. The most relatable example of this for many Americans are refugees seeking shelter from gang violence in Central America and Mexico. Who is helping these people?

Migration Patterns for people in Central America.

The IRC, International Rescue Committee, is a program that prides themselves in helping refugees and informing people around the world about the refugee crisis. The IRC’s President said that refugees are "a wake-up call to the human cost of war, economic misery, and climate stress.” This quote really depicts what the refugees go through and what situations they are trying to flee from. These people are willing to leave everything they have ever worked toward, for a better future. This organization just wants to help better the refugees future. An issue arises however, when large groups of these people try moving to the same place when there is not enough room. The question arises, what are the conditions these people go through to have a better life?

Refugee camps consist of 2.6 million people worldwide. A total of 80,000 of these refugees live in a single camp. This is known as the Za’atari refugee camp that is located in Jordan. This single refugee camp has been home to approximately 635,000 refugees according to McCall Robinson. As a whole, over half of all refugees in the world are children. Even though most refugees are children, the camps lack proper education. Usually refugees are there for long periods of time and some camps formed to temporarily house them have turned into cities. This is because of the need for refugees constantly. This also happens because on average, a refugee will stay at a camp for around 12 years. The refugees constantly have to deal with being hungry, thirsty, and not having basic items that are usually common for most households. These facts show how hard the lives of refugees are. These people are dealing with malnutrition and cramped living space are trying to help their families, what effect do refugees have on a global scale?

Refugee Camp

There are global social and economic impacts to the refugee crisis. According to UNHCR Standing Committee, “From the moment of arrival, refugees compete with the local citizens for scarce resources such as land, water, housing, food and medical services. Over time, their presence leads to more substantial demands on natural resources, education and health facilities, energy, transportation, social services and employment.” There is also social impacts to this crisis. A quote from Suzanne Kawmieh as translated by Hadia Zarzour pictures how these refugees feel when people take advantage of them. She states, “He wanted his cliché “poor refugee woman” picture. I wanted to spit in his face. I never felt so weak, so humiliated, so violated. I suddenly understood what it must be like to be on the other side of the camera: to have prying journalists want to capture your moment of despair and profit from it. Instead of people helping you out of your despair, they want to save it on their flash drives, show it at banquet dinners and use it as a gimmick.” People like these who see the refugees as items and not people are another thing they have to deal with. People treat them similar to exotic animals. 

The refugee crisis is not something that will go away without any action. Organizations like the IRC are doing everything in their power to help these people. Refugees are people, people looking for opportunities to better their lives.  They want help, not to be pitied, and not to be viewed as animals. To fix the crisis is to save the kids that deal with malnutrition and no permanent home. This predicament is not something that only happens globally and in far off countries. It happens in the backyard of 7.53 billion people. It is not talked about enough and remains out of the light of many news outlets. Refugees are in need of assistance and not enough is being done to help.

Work Cited

Project, Borgen. “Ten Facts About Refugee Camps, Home to 2.6 Million Worldwide.” The Borgen Project, Borgen Project 

United Nations. “Social and Economic Impact of Large Refugee Populations on Host Developing Countries.” UNHCR, 

“A First Person Account of the Refugee Experience.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association

“What Is a Refugee Camp? Definition and Statistics: USA for UNHCR.” Definition and Statistics | USA for UNHCR