•Refugees
and Displaced Persons
•Definition
•Refugee/Displaced
Person: A person
who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution,
or natural disaster
•We
will discuss refugees in four countries:
•Burma
•North
Korea
•Tuvalu
•Syria
•
•Burma/Myanmar
•History/Background
•In
1948, Burma gained independence from the UK; warfare ensued.
•In
1962, a coup brought the Ne Win to power
•The
Ne Win engaged in ethnic and religious warfare, which is still occurring.
•What’s
the Deal?
•The
Ne Win rule Burma and have made it a military state; anyone who speaks out
against the Ne Win or advocates democracy is put on house arrested, imprisoned,
tortured, or killed.
•The
Ne Win target any ethnic group they believe disapproves of them, destroying
villages.
•Then
What?
•Burmese
citizens flee to neighboring Thailand and Bangladesh where they are not met
with a warm welcome.
•Bangladesh
has even ordered humanitarian groups to stop providing aid to illegal Burmese
refugees.
•Currently,
thousands of refugees are living in refugee camps along the border of Myanmar
and Thailand and the border of Myanmar and Bangladesh.
•Current
Situation
•In
2011 a new military regime took power and promised a democratic election, which
occurred in Myanmar in mid 2012.
•After
the election, progressive reforms were enacted, and liberalized restrictions on
media and the internet, but the old military regime still retains overall
power.
•Current
Situation Continued
•An
estimated 500,000 people are displaced by conflict in eastern Burma and another
800,000 Muslims in western Burma, known as the Rohingya, are stateless.
•Burmese
in Thailand
•
•Health
Issues and Human Rights:
–Health
problems with refugees in Thailand include HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, and
denial of health care
–Health
is necessary for recognition of human rights, and human rights are necessary
for health
•Burmese
in Thailand
•2004:
Estimated 1,000,000 Burmese living in Thailand
•Many
have no legal status, so they experience human rights abuses and neglect from
employers, the government, and even police
•The
migrants’ lack of status and health care leads to a multitude of health and
human rights problems
•Trafficking
and Sex Trade
•30,000-80,000
undocumented migrant sex workers in Thailand
•Most
are assumed to be Burmese refugees
•Often
through coercion or trafficking
•Higher
likelihood for migrant sex workers to contract HIV/AIDS, because they tend to
have more low-end work than other sex workers
•
•HIV/AIDS
•1991:
Thailand had a campaign in order to prevent and control HIV/AIDS
•“100%
Condom Campaign” educated people on protection and encouraged prostitutes to
have regular testing for infections
•However,
it failed to reach the most of non-Thai women
•The
officials conducting the campaign didn’t make it to the low-end brothels and
locations where they were
•Also,
many women in forced labor were not permitted to leave the areas of work to
seek medical attention
•
•2004:
Physicians for Human Rights conducted a study on the vulnerability to HIV/AIDS
for Burmese women in Thailand
•Wanted
to identify human rights abuses of Burmese in Thailand, assess health
consequences, learn more about relationship between sex trafficking, AIDS, and
Burmese refugees
•Study
found that in areas of high Burmese refugee populations, the numbers of
factories increased
•75-85%
are women, because they comply more with employers
•Days
last from 8 am-9 pm, workers only make $1.50 per day, and they only have one
day off per month
•Often
only receive copies of work permit, which they need in order to get health
benefits and to show that they are temporary legal workers
•
•
•The
US Gets Involved
•Laura
Bush visits refugee camps and promises citizenship to refugees.
•Sizable
populations exist in Los Angles, San Francisco, New York City, and Washington
D.C.
•Fort
Wayne, IN has the largest Burmese population in the country, with estimates
between 6,000 and 9,000.
•Problems
in “The Land of Opportunity”
•Burmese
refugees face the following troubles:
1.Access to health care
2.Language barrier
3.Lack of education
4.Transportation
5.Culture Shock
•HOW
YOU CAN GET INVOLVED!
•Refugees
International
•The
Border Consortium (runs refugee camps)
•Childsdream.org
(educates youth)
•Exodus
Refugee Immigration (Indianapolis)
•Burmese
Advocacy Center (Fort Wayne)
•Mother
Hubbard’s Cupboard (Bloomington)
•North
Korean Refugees
•How
North Koreans Escape (video)
•
•Statistic
•North
Korean refugees hiding in China
–100,000
- 300,000 or more (80% of women)
–Difficult
to estimate the number because most of them are in hiding
•Each
year 10% of those who cross the border back to North Korea do so as a result of
force
–
•Problem
about North Korean Refugee
•Human
traffickers delivering North Korean women into the hands of Chinese men seeking
wives
•People
smugglers prepared to profit by delivering them to Thailand and ultimately, a
chance to come to South Korea.
•Escape
Route
•
•China
refuses to grant refugee status to North Korean defectors and considers them
illegal economic migrants. The Chinese authorities arrest and deport hundreds
of defectors back into North Korea, sometimes in mass immigration sweeps.
Chinese citizens caught aiding defectors face fines and imprisonment. In Feb
2012, Chinese authorities repatriated North Korean defectors being held in
Shenyang and five defectors in Changchun from the same location. The case of
the 24 detainees, who have been held since early February garnered
international attention due to the North's reported harsh punishment of those
who attempted to defect. Beijing repatriates North Korean refugees under a deal
made with Pyongyang, its ally. Human rights activists say those repatriated
face harsh punishment including torture and imprisonment in labor camps.
•
•Treated
by China as economic migrants rather than refugees, they now face forcible
repatriation to North Korea.
•More
ominous is what awaits them on the other side.
•The
international
organization mandated to intervene in refugee emergencies has also come under
the microscope.
•Countries
that Targets the Activists Who Help North Korean Refugees
•China
is
also targeting
foreigners who
are helping North Korean refugees
(06/04/2012)
•
-
“The
clampdown
also targets activist groups that have
been
operating
near
the border areas to help North
Korean
refugees. Chinese
authorities
take issue
with
their visas, which are mostly intended
for tourism,
not activism, activists said. Kim Young-hwan,
a renowned
human
rights activist, and his three
colleagues
have been held in
China for unspecified
reasons
since late March. They have been denied
access to their families, the South Korean
consulate
and legal
assistance.”
(Freekorea.us)
•Defector
Activist Arrested in Vietnam
(06/25/2012)
•
- “It has emerged that a 51-year old South
Korean activist was arrested last week by the Vietnamese security services at a
hotel in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. The man, known only as Yoo, has
been under investigation since his arrest on the 20th, and while nothing is yet
known about charges against him, it is thought likely that the arrest relates
to his work helping North Koreans defectors travel through third countries in
the region en route to South Korea.” (Daily NK)
•Reasons
North Koreans in China should be considered refugees
1.A definite number of those who cross the
border can be expected to do so out of a well founded fear of persecution on
political, social or religious grounds.
●
●
2.Those who cross the border into China for
reasons of economic deprivation, probably the majority, may also qualify as
refugees if they have been compelled to leave North Korea because of government
economic policies that could be shown to be tantamount to political persecution.
●
●
3.Most if not all fit the category of refugees
sur
place. As
defined by UNHCR, refugees sur place are
persons who might not have been refugees when they left their country but who
become refugees “at a later date” because they have a valid fear of persecution
upon return.
●
•Solutions
1.Additional
hearings
should be held by the United States Congress on the plight of North Koreans who
cross into China.
●
2.Members
of
Congress should lend support to the efforts of the Parliamentary Forum for
Democracy, established in 2010, so that joint inter-parliamentary efforts can
be mobilized in a number of countries around the world on behalf of the North Koreans
in
danger in China.
3.The United
States should encourage UNHCR to raise its profile on this issue.
●
4.Together
with
other concerned governments, the United States should give priority to raising
the forced repatriation of North Koreans with Chinese officials but in the
absence of response, should bring the issue before international refugee and
human rights fora.
●
5.The United
States should promote a multilateral approach to the problem of North Koreans
leaving their country.
●
6.The United
States should make known its readiness to increase the number of North Korean
refugees and asylum seekers admitted to this country.
●
•International
Actors
•the
UN
General Assembly
•
•The
European
Parliament
•
•UNHCR
•
•International
Protest
•Prison
Camp in North Korea
•Prison
Camp in North Korea
“Food
was
scarce for prisoners, who lost their human dignity soon after entering camp and
facing extreme deprivation. They learned to scrounge around for rats,
earthworms, insects, and whatever else could get them through the winter. At
one point in the book, Kang recalls with some amusement one prisoner who
subsisted quite well on rat meat, having devised a system for attracting and
trapping the little creatures. But malnutrition was an ever-present reality;
bizarre conditions like pellagra
cropped
up quite often.”(reflections
on The
Aquariums of Pyongyang)
•North
Korean Refugee Website
•Bibliography
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•http://freekorea.us/2012/06/04/china-targets-north-korean-refugees-and-the-activists-who-help-them/
•
•
•
•China
refuses to grant refugee status to North Korean defectors and considers them
illegal economic migrants. The Chinese authorities arrest and deport hundreds
of defectors back into North Korea, sometimes in mass immigration sweeps.
Chinese citizens caught aiding defectors face fines and imprisonment. In Feb
2012, Chinese authorities repatriated North Korean defectors being held in
Shenyang and five defectors in Changchun from the same location. The case of
the 24 detainees, who have been held since early February garnered
international attention due to the North's reported harsh punishment of those
who attempted to defect. Beijing repatriates North Korean refugees under a deal
made with Pyongyang, its ally. Human rights activists say those repatriated
face harsh punishment including torture and imprisonment in labor camps.
•
•Treated
by China as economic migrants rather than refugees, they now face forcible
repatriation to North Korea – a process China routinely carries out, activists
say, in flagrant violation of its commitments under United Nations conventions
and protocol to protect refugees.
•More
ominous is what awaits them on the other side. The harsh lot for defectors from
North Korea, argue the activists, is
almost certain punishment that can include consignment to
political concentration camps, forced labor, or public execution.
•“China
knows that forcing these refugees back to North Korea will mean certain
torture, certain imprisonment and even execution, yet they continue to label
them economic migrants, and not refugees,” says Suzanne Scholte,
chairman of the U.S.-based North Korea Freedom Coalition.
•The
international organization mandated to intervene in refugee emergencies has
also come under the microscope. Not for the first time in recent years, some
see the response of the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, which urged
the Chinese government to adhere to international law governing the recognition
of refugees, as insufficient. But the body issued a statement following the
detention of the refugees, saying
it “has
been in communication with the Chinese authorities about this group and called
upon the Chinese government to uphold the non-refoulement principle,” adding,
“UNHCR is encouraging all parties concerned to find a viable humanitarian
solution in the best interest of these individuals and ensure their safety.”
•
•Tuvalu
Refugees:
Islanders without an Island
Islanders without an Island
•Tuvalu (Back ground)
•Formerly
known as the Ellice Islands
•A
Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean.
•3
reef islands and 5 true atolls form the Tuvalu volcanic island chain
•Less
than 10 sq. mi.
(4th smallest country in the world)
•Highest
elevation is 15ft above sea level
(2nd lowest maximum elevation of any country)
•
•Tuvalu (shoreline modification)
•Several
shorelines were modified to build airfield and piers during WWII.
•Result
of
shoreline modification
:
–Less
sand accumulating to form the beaches
–Exposed
shoreline to wave action
–80%
of coral becoming bleached
•Tuvalu (sea level rise)
•
•Annual
king
tide raise the sea level even higher
•Low
elevation and modification on the shorelines make Tuvalu vulnerable to sea
level rise
•uncultivable
•Tuvalu (Drinking water problem)
•Drinking
water is mainly obtained from rainwater
•Drought
and king tide contaminated remaining ground water supplies
•
•Tuvalu (Future Refugee)
•UN
realizes that sea level rising is a great threat for people living in low lying
island.
•About
2,400 people already left Tuvalu
–Most
bound for New Zealand
–Australia
agree to help resettle climate refugees.
•
•Tuvalu (solution)
•Reduce
emission of carbon dioxide
•We
are the ones responsible for Tuvalu refugees
•Better
waste management
•More
water _____
•
•
•Reference
http://www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/November-December%202008/Biermann-Boas-full.html
•Arab
Spring
•Uprisings
throughout Arab countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya
•Encouraged
protests in neighboring countries
•The
movements within these arab countries for freedom from tyrannical governments
has been given the moniker “The Arab Spring”
•Syrian
Civil War
•Began on 15
March 2011
•Protesters
demanded the resignation of
President Bashar
al-Assad
• five
decades of Ba'ath Party rule
•April
2011: the Syrian
Army was deployed to quell the uprising, and soldiers were ordered to open
fire on civilians.
•Conflict
•Protests
evolved into armed rebellion
•Rebel
groups remain seperate entities with no single leading figure
•No
fronts, clashes occur throughout the country
•Some
groups have recieved aid from several foreign countries
•Foreign
•The Arab
League, United States, European Union, and other foreign powers have
condemned the use of force against civilian protestors.
•The
Red Cross has officially labeled the syrian conflict as a “non-international
armed conflict” (Civil War)
•China
and Russia have shyed the U.N. away from passing sanctions on Assad’s
government with the argument it will lead to military intervention
•
•Build-Up
•The
socialist Ba’ath party came to power after a military coup in 1963
•Since
then, the government has been in a state of “emergency rule”, giving security
personel extended powers of arrest and imprisonment
•Justified
by the government in that they are at a constant war with Israel
•Continued
•Freedom
of expression is not a right in Syria
•Human
Rights protestors and government critics are often imprisoned and tortured
without trial
•Websites
such
as Amazon, Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube were blocked until 1 January 2011
•
•
•
•
•
•
•Sources
•http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/364647/20120719/syria-annan-damascus-uprising-bashar-al-assad.htm
•Videos
•
•Syrian
Refugee Crisis
•The
Syrian civil war has uprooted millions of civilians
•In
Syria alone, 1.5 million Syrians have been internally displaced
•As
of October, the number of refugees who have left the country is estimated to be
at 470,000
•
•
•Who
are the Refugees?
•Regular
civilians trying to avoid violence
•Young
men who wish to escape being recruited for either the government army/police
force or the Free Syrian Army (rebellion force)
•Nearly
all the refugees wish to return home at some point
•
•Countries
Hosting Refugees
•Jordan
– est. 185,000
•Turkey
– est. 120,000
•Lebanon
– est. 90,000
•Iraqi
Kurdistan – est. 35,000
•Algeria
– est. 25,000
•Iraq
– 5,600 registered
•Refugees
in Jordan
•Za'atari
refugee camp constructed in March 2012
•Between
19,000-38,000 refugees, maximum capacity is 60,000
•New
refugee camp is being constructed in Zarqua, as refugee numbers are predicted to
rise
•Several
actors involved in supporting refugees
•Maintained
by the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization, refugees are responsibility of
UNHCR
•Life
in Za'atari
•Makeshift
marketplace has sprung up, with shops selling food, household goods, clothing,
perfume, etc.
•Camp
school for children, currently enrolls 3,000
•Medical
services provided by Moroccon
military hospital, Italian field hospital, and French military hospital
•
•
•Problems
with Za’atari
•Complaints
brought about by refugees and the Jordanian Society for Human Rights cite
dustiness and the unbearably hot climate as a major problem
•Winter
is coming fast, and conditions are known to reach below 0 degrees Celsius.
•Protests
over quality of food have erupted in Za’atari
•Some
Syrians are choosing to return to Syria instead of continuing to live in Zaatari
•
•
•
•
•
•Refugees
in Turkey
•Turkish
government has assumed responsibility for refugees
•Only
two actors involved until late September 2012: Turkish government and the
Turkish Red Crescent
•Spent
$150 million USD on Syrian refugees
•Only
recently started asking for international foreign aid
•
•Kilis
Refugee Camp (1/2)
•Kilis
Refugee Camp (2/2)
•Houses
nearly 10,000 refugees
•Amenities
such as schools, hospitals, mosques and a “credit card” to purchase goods
inside the camp
•“Kilis is
like paradise, if you don’t think about leaving “
•
•Conclusion
•The
Turkish and Jordanian government have tried the best they can to provide
adequate refugee programs for the Syrians
•Jordan
is having difficulties keeping the Syrians happy, however it is doing the best
it can with the limited resources it has
•The
only way to keep the living standards up for the refugees is to continue
providing aid
•What
can we do?
•
•
•Sources
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/20152352
•
•
•
•
•
•
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•
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