The Somalian Refugee Crisis Essay

In response to the recent failure of the international community to prevent the famine crisis in the Horn of Africa since July 2011, Suzanne Dvorak the chief executive of Save the Children wrote that, “We need to provide help now. But we cannot forget that these children are wasting away in a disaster that we could - and should - have prevented” she added, “The UN estimates that every $1 spent in prevention saves $7 in emergency spending.” (Dvorak, 2011).

Somalia is one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries (Campbell). Because of the Civil War, which broke out in 1991, much of Somalia’s economy has been devastated. The war left many

The ERLC website notes that the Syrian refugee crisis is the worst since World War II, with more than 13.5 million people affected. Over four million have migrated to other countries as refugees, where they live in dingy and unhygienic living conditions. Millions of children have left their education, which makes them vulnerable to early marriage and child labor, and might have long-time repercussions on their lives as well.

Humanity as a whole is deceived by our governments that in an event of a humanitarian crisis we will take in the refugees and provide a safe and secure environment. At this very moment millions of refuges are fleeing their countries because of a fear of persecution due to religion, race, nationality, political views or membership to a social group. Internationally displaced people, whether they are fleeing their country because of natural disaster or generalized violence, are considered under the 1951 convention as refugees have the right under United Nations law to enter a country of choice seeking asylum. All countries that have signed the United Nations contract have to abide by this law, but in the extreme case countries are denying the basic right of living to a group of persons trying to enter their country.

“The Borgen Project” has said that three out of four refugees live in poverty. The United States has given Syria 3 million dollars to help with aid, but this is nowhere near enough. “Public Finance International” said that 70% of refugees are living below the poverty line. This is millions of people living off government money. This percentage is growing, too. “WFP” stated in their article about refugees in poverty that many parents struggle to feed their children. With little nutrients, these families get weak and have fatigue. As a result, mental illnesses have affected the lives of many

-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,

President George Bush’s highly publicized U.S. led Operation Restore Hope humanitarian intervention in 1992, turned the world’s attention to the little known country of Somalia, located in the Horn of Africa. News footage showed emaciated men, women and children, ravaged by continued civil war, suffering under warring clan leaders vying for control in a place where food aid was stolen from NGOs and used as a tactical weapon against the starving masses. To understand how Somalia descended into such a state of chaos, but managed to survive through a shadow economy, it is

Imagine this scenario: the country you live in is under a gruesome civil war, thousands of civilians are caught in the crossfire and death is everywhere. This is the traumatic reality for millions of Syrians. There are only two options, either you stay and try to survive, or you leave and hope for the best. Both options are dangerous and can lead to your demise. After Syrians escape from their country and reach another destination it does not mean they will be able to live a normal life. For this same reason, if I had the resources I would aid displaced Syrians in order for them to reach a state of normalcy.

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

Somalia has a population of roughly 10.8 million people and the country is 246,201 square miles. The major languages that are spoken in Somalia are Somali, Arabic, Italian, and English. The only major religion is Islam, this is surprising because most civil wars are fought over religion. The life expectancy is 54 years old for men and 57 years old for women. The GDP per capita is 145.06 dollars. In comparison for these categories the United States average male life expectancy is 78 years old and 81 years old for women. The US GDP per capita is 53,042 dollars. These numbers are staggering and quite frankly need to be fixed. The first step could be taken today, so why wait?

One out of every two refugees is African. The enormity of Africa’s refugee crisis has driven international observers to take a hard look at how refugees are being handled by international assistance agencies and governments. The following case study of refugees from Ethiopia in Djibouti, based on information collected by CS’s Refugee Research Project, increases problems vital to refugee situations in Africa as well as the rest of the world. The Republic of Djibouti, one of the smallest and poorest countries of the world, is located on the Red Sea. The country consists of a gravelly desert landscape spanning the most active strategic harbor in the region. Djibouti’s population is mainly made up of Muslims with smaller numbers of Arabs and Europeans. Djibouti has a very limited amount of natural resources to support its own residents. The country has a high national unemployment rate, placing further economic pressure on the population. After independence from France in 1977, Djibouti accepted tens of thousands of Tigrae, Somali, Eritrean, Afars, Eritrean, and other refugees from Ethiopia. Djibouti is currently the host to over 30,000 refugees fleeing abuse in neighboring Ethiopia and war in Yemen. Djibouti continues to deal with a protracted refugee crisis, having hosted more than 23,000 mainly Somali refugees, in many cases for more than two decades, in the Ali Addeh and Holl Holl refugee camps. There are 19.5 million refugees worldwide, 86 percent of which are hosted by developing

The Somali refugee and immigration situation has been going on for over three decades making it the most prolonged on-going crisis in the world. As a result, “approximately 70,000 Somalis reside in the United States. A large portion of refugees at entry to the Unites States are children or adolescents” (Nilsson, Barazanji, Heintzelman, Siddiqi, & Shilla, 2012). According to the Somali Family Safety Task Force (2017), “currently one in six Somalis live outside of Somalia. In Seattle, nearly one-third of the refugees are Somali, numbering 2,560 (the largest refugee group in the city)”. In looking at risk factors, refugees “premigration experiences that affect post migration adjustment include torture, forced

In recent history, conflicts and civil wars, as well as environmental changes have plagued the country of South Sudan. As a result of fighting and starvation from scarcity of food, a large number of the South Sudanese population has been forced to relocate. The people of South Sudan have little choice but to seek refuge in neighboring countries. In the past two months alone, a new disruption has led to a rise in the number of refugees fleeing to Uganda. The increasing number of refugees have caused worry to the U.N. and its partners because there is not enough resources for everyone. As of late, the U.N. has reported that food rations are low, meaning that refugee are only provided protein, mainly beans as they arrive in camps. The refugees

How they did not adapt to fit the drought: From there adoptions were not taken with the sudden environment change people had no way to fit back. Currently, 12 million are living in the drought. Communities are collapsed and livelihoods destroyed (Girard, 2011). Refugee Camps are being pushed to the limit holding 400,000 people when designed for the capacity of 90,000(Stewart). This is only the begin of the struggle because so many people are already trying to help, but war torn countries continue.

Previous peace deals were followed by slight increases in the numbers of refugees returning home. Most, however, were doubtful and stayed in the camps awaiting signs of a more enduring peace. Many are returning to the east of their country, an area that has been largely inaccessible to humanitarian workers because of fighting. In this area, medical services are stretched, schools are run down and most of the refugees will come to find their homes destroyed. Access to land, especially for those who have been away for a long time, is already a serious issue for a group of