Refugees International Response Paper

As I sat on the back bench of a 12 passenger van with a coffee in my hand and my head on the back of the seat in front of me, I realized I had nothing left to give. All of energy was gone. I had come to the end of myself. We were driving down a bumpy road to an apartment complex filled with new faces from far away countries. As we drove I realized how much we had been doing every day and the weight of the things we had seen started to sink in. The refugees of Clarkson, Georgia had been through so much and I was getting a small glimpse into their lives during this week. However, it was Thursday afternoon and I was tired. We had been helping kids in the school all morning, then explored and ate at an international market, and my stomach was starting to turn from the ethnic food we had eaten. As we drove along and our leader described the after school program we would be working with I realized how physically exhausted I was. I began to pray for strength from God, and I told him that anything that

Many people believe that we should let more refugees into our country and that they are helping our country but are they really? How are they really helping our country? Well they are helping us economically, and they help us lower our unemployment rate (which we have been trying to lower for years). If we do let them in how do we ensure ourselves that they are not a terrorist trying to harm American citizens?

When enacting policies toward asylum seekers and refugees, countries always examine the impact of the economic burden that an influx of vulnerable people is going to have on the country. Accepting refuges requires to government of the asylum country to provide access to housing, welfare, healthcare and education to the new immigrants. Access to career services is also required in order for the new immigrants to receive training and certification needed for them to get employed. However, all these services cause an economic strain in the lives of citizens of asylum countries that is reflected in their taxes. In order to minimize the burden, many countries enact laws that decrease the access to social rights and educational institutions.

In this policy paper, I will be focusing on refugees and the laws, policies, and programs that affect them. As I analyze these policies I will compare policies from various countries, that have been created to achieve similar goals. Many countries accept refugees and have adopted and/or created laws to regulate them. The three countries that I will be analyzing are the United States of America, Germany, and Turkey. These three countries are unique in their characteristics and geographic locations but all face the same risks and circumstances as it relates to refugees.

One organization was created just for helping them. They like to give them things like new clothes, water, food, and an education. They help because they want refugees to a somewhat of a normal life. If a refugee is going to a school, teachers and counselors are trained to help them.

-According to the UNHCR, the people most in need of assistance are the ones forced to leave their homes due to political conflict. These people have little or nothing, lack of access to clean water, sanitation, and medical care. The UNHCR sends emergency assistance to these refugees,

The American way of helping those in need has been lost in the midst of terrorist attacks in a foreign country. The denying of Syrian refugees from coming into the United States has marked the decline of our hospitable ways. We are so fearful of a terrorist attack that the majority of Americans have went against the American way of helping by denying Syrian refugees access to the United States in their time of great need.

The meaning of being turned inside out again when being a refugee in another county The universal refugee experience is how refugees are treated the same throughout the world when they are forced out of their homes.

Despite how great these struggles may be, the United Nations with its branch organizations and other international organizations has continually made an effort to eradicate disease, end poverty, eliminate hunger, and provide refuge for those removed from their home. Organizations such as the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) all descend upon regions of the world whenever turmoil and unrest emerge. When Peacekeepers arrive on-site to assist in the recovery from a disturbed status quo on a multidimensional or complex activity, they are not solely there to shoot or kill, they are there to help. Peacekeepers help reconstruct damaged or destroyed infrastructure, they establish policing services when the state cannot, and they provide human essentials when they are not available to the populous. These actions are referred to as peace building efforts. (Mingst and Arreguin-Toft 2016, pg. 219) When war erupted in Syria, thousands of citizens were displaced and became refugees as they were forced out of their homes by war. Many fled to the surrounding countries of Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Turkey, therefore becoming refugees. Here, the UNHCR has been able to show how effective it can be when dealing with a mass refugee crisis. The UNHCR has been using its funding to establish refugee camps, these camps provide housing, food, water, and the basic

The Syrian refugee crisis is the worst the world has ever seen with millions of people starving, homeless and helpless. The Syrian civil war started in two thousand eleven. Over the course of four years about twelve million Syrian people have been left stranded without homes, without food and without anywhere to go. These people are risking their lives for safety in Europe and North America, looking for a way out, but the real challenge has only just begun.

Ha, had to overcome challenges going to America and feeling inside out like many refugees Ha faced discrimination and bullying as refugees live longer in their countries they learn to overcome the challenges feeling back again. Refugees struggle to fit in with their appearance “They pulled my arm hair they threw rocks at me they promised to stop on my chest”(Lai 151). The kids are bullying/discriminating Ha because she's different and they haven’t been around kids like her. Not just in the USA are refugees discriminated for religion or appearance “They tried to kill me because of my religion.” (Arthur). The croatians tried killing the Emir due to his religious beliefs a form of discrimination. In the book Inside

I believe that the UNHCR Geneva Placement is the perfect internship for me to develop a deeper understanding of how international policies and organizations influence our response to the needs of the global refugee population. The UNHCR’s Community-Based Protection Unit (CBP) is attractive for several reasons. Obviously, interning at one of the world’s most influential humanitarian organizations is exciting in itself. But more importantly, the UNHCR is my top choice for of its impactful services, capacity to challenge my macro skills to the fullest, and because I would have the opportunity to collaborate in two areas of interest; improving outcomes of community-based initiatives such as cash-based interventions; and further developing gender equality advocacy. Furthermore, I am interested in the UNHCR Placement because it seeks to serve refugees and other stateless persons, populations that I have dedicated my studies and direct practice to over the past four years.

Refugees and immigrants can struggle with one of the key factors in adaptation, which is language. Not knowing the language can make everyday life in their new country extremely difficult. One example is Til Gurung and his wife. They are refugees from Bhutan, and had an especially hard time with learning the language. Ha, from Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai, also had a rough time with learning the new language. She struggled with trying to balance her old life and new life, and with that came the language challenge. Refugees and immigrants, such as Ha and Til Gurung, are troubled by not knowing the language of their new country, until they learn the language, and can successfully adapt to their new society.

In the Congo, about 2.4 million of Congolese refugees had become a part of a population in nearly 16 years of armed conflict and turbulence in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC). The refugees should be protected and full attention. Thus is because they are mostly are from the ethnic minorities of the eastern DRC and they are exposed with the unsafe condition because they does not have places and insufficient food. Therefore, the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established in 1950 in order to protect the refugees. After that, about 11,000 Congolese refugees had been resettled over 12 years in United State in more than 220 cities and 45 states. Other than U.S.

Granting a substantial amount of un-vetted refugees access to a country cannot come without substantial consequence. By offering access to asylum, one is exposing the country to problems such as rising crime rate, economic hardships, social problems, and other problems that unvetted refugees bear and and potentially bringing more problems and make already rampant problems much worse. My argument is not saying to stop all flow of refugees, but instead of allowing any who wants refuge in, precautions need to be taken such as proper vetting and background screening. Vetting is the process in which an immigrant has their background checked before they are allowed into their country of refuge. Allowing large amounts of refugees into a country without vetting or regulation results in more problems than it solves.