Refugees around the world -ESSAY - the revolutionary change.

              

The Thesis Retrocession of Migration.

Introduction

People around the world are constantly on the move. There are several different reasons why, and they are categorized on the basis of their reasons for relocation. Several factors determine why people migrate across the globe. A few different categories can explain a majority of the causes of why people move. People are considered labor Migrants, displaced persons, or institutional migrants. These groups of people all have different yet equally significant reasons for moving. Their motives for moving are identified by the terms just listed. Some motives that these people can have are corresponding to current economic situation, political situation, and social situations. Migrations and its effects on people come in many forms. Both vary in terms of the distance involved, the purpose of the move, whether the move was forced or a matter of choice and the migrant's status in the new destination. Another important effect of migration is globalization and migration. They both have their own way of functioning and their differences will be discussed. .

First of all, labor migrants are people who travel for economic purposes. They migrate each year to work for a specific length of time. They don't plan on creating a permanent lifestyle, and they are often explicitly barred from doing so. When this form of migration is legally contracted it if referred to as wage labor migration. The time elapsed working might be brief, or it could extend to several years. Asian women are the fastest growing category of people among the world's labor migrants. There are more than 3 million Asian women migrant workers. They work a wide assortment of jobs, but most are in domestic service jobs and some work as nurses and teachers. There is also circular migration which is repeated movement between two or more places, either within or between countries. It may occur within or between countries. Internal migrants include female domestic workers throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Secondly, displaced persons are people who are forced to move based on social situations occurring around them. Colonialism, slavery, war, persecution, natural disasters, large scale mining, and dam building are major causes of population displacement. An example of a displaced person is a refugee. They are referred to as internally displaced persons (IDP). IDPs are people who are forced to leave their homes and communities but who remain within their country.

Many refugees are forced to relocate because they are in danger of persecution on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, gender, or political views. Refugees make up a large number of people in the globe. Roughly one in five hundred people are refugees. Women and children make up a majority of refugees. IDPs are the fastest category of displaced persons. There are about fifty one million IDPs. Africa is the continent with the most IDPs. Many IDPs, like refugees, live for extended periods in makeshift housing or refugee camps with limited access to basic amenities such as latrines, health care, and schools. IDPs do not cross country boundaries, for that reason they are not under the purview of the United Nations or other international bodies. Political violence and conflicts over access to critical resources are major causes of people becoming IDPs. But other factors come into play as well, including natural disasters and large-scale development projects. Dam construction, mining and other and other projects have displaced more than 80 million people since 1950. Forced migration due to development projects is called development induced displacement. .

Third a major factor for migrants around the world is Institutional migrants. They are people who move into a social situation, either voluntarily or involuntarily. They include monks or nuns, the elderly, prisoners, boarding school or college students, and soldiers.

The concept of a refugee was expanded by the Convention's 1967 Protocol to include persons who had fled war or other violence in their home country. Under this UN Convention a refugee is a person outside of their country of origin who is unable or unwilling to return for fear of persecution based on race, religion, ethnicity, political affiliation or opinion. Since refugees have fled their home country and no longer enjoy the legal protections afforded to citizens of a state, the Convention stipulated that the refugees should have access to employment, or other social services on par with nationals of the host country. In addition, given the status of principle of non-refoulement (the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where they risk persecution), states are generally understood to have a duty to offer temporary protection to the refugees on their territory. Nevertheless, this creates an uneven distribution of refugees between countries, which results in unequal share of refugee burden.

              

THE REFUGEE CRISIS

There is a refugee crisis happening right now. Not a migrant crisis, for that would imply that the Syrians fleeing their bombed out, war-torn country are doing so because they'd like a change of scenery. These people are running for their lives, from people, native and foreign who kill indiscriminately. Millions of people have already fled their homeland in the hope of finding a life without violence, without danger, without war. So they flee to Europe, the closest neighbour who just so happens to be capable of aiding the refugees until their country is safe again. Despite the relative ease of doing so, there is still an astounding amount of xenophobia regarding this issue. If it were not for the ignorance of the vocal minority, the refugees would not be as harassed and abused as they have been. The media is also guilty of this, but is capable of changing it's opinion on matter far too easily. Racists and xenophobes shout about why letting other human beings into their precious countries would be so terrible, but fortunately, a lot of this is not true. So, what are the refugees are running from? What is the media's role? How bad is the xenophobia in Europe? And what are the apparent "dangers" of admitting refugees?.

Firstly, why are so many people fleeing Syria? You may have heard of the Arab Spring before, but if you haven't, it was a surge in 2012 of anti-dictatorship movements in the Arab states around the Mediterranean. Such as in Libya, the deposition of Colonel Gaddafi. Well Syria's resident dictator, Bashar Hafez al-Assad, decided he rather liked being hated by everyone and rolled out his military in full force to deal any who opposed him. Unfortunately Islamic State decided it was a good time to launch its attack on a Syria crippled by civil war. They did so well, and they fought so fanatically, that many al-Assad forces straight up surrendered or ran away. As such, they gained so much territory, they were able to call themselves ISIS, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
There is a refugee crisis happening right now. Not a migrant crisis, for that would imply that the Syrians fleeing their bombed out, war-torn country are doing so because they'd like a change of scenery. These people are running for their lives, from people, native and foreign who kill indiscriminately. Millions of people have already fled their homeland in the hope of finding a life without violence, without danger, without war. So they flee to Europe, the closest neighbour who just so happens to be capable of aiding the refugees until their country is safe again. Despite the relative ease of doing so, there is still an astounding amount of xenophobia regarding this issue. If it were not for the ignorance of the vocal minority, the refugees would not be as harassed and abused as they have been. The media is also guilty of this, but is capable of changing it's opinion on matter far too easily. Racists and xenophobes shout about why letting other human beings into their precious countries would be so terrible, but fortunately, a lot of this is not true. So, what are the refugees are running from? What is the media's role? How bad is the xenophobia in Europe? And what are the apparent "dangers" of admitting refugees?.

Firstly, why are so many people fleeing Syria? You may have heard of the Arab Spring before, but if you haven't, it was a surge in 2012 of anti-dictatorship movements in the Arab states around the Mediterranean. Such as in Libya, the deposition of Colonel Gaddafi. Well Syria's resident dictator, Bashar Hafez al-Assad, decided he rather liked being hated by everyone and rolled out his military in full force to deal any who opposed him. Unfortunately Islamic State decided it was a good time to launch its attack on a Syria crippled by civil war. They did so well, and they fought so fanatically, that many al-Assad forces straight up surrendered or ran away. As such, they gained so much territory, they were able to call themselves ISIS, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
In actual fact, ISIS wasn't even the only extremist religious group in the area. Despite all being Muslim, ISIS fought them all. So it is quite understandable that civilians would in fact try to get out of the country. So next time you hear someone complain about the refugees, just imagine them running across a desert with a gang of black-attired, sharp kukri-wielding madmen chasing them, and see if they'd still consider it a point of view worth airing.

One country that is going above and beyond to help the refugees, setting an example for not just Europe, but the world, is Germany. The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, despite being criticised for her humanitarian stance has remained steadfast in her empathetic view towards the refugees. She recently said "If we now have to start apologising for showing a friendly face in response to emergency situations, then that is not my country". As I write this, Germany has taken in over half a million refugees, leading the European numbers by several hundreds of thousands. They even plan on taking in a total of 800,000, more than all of Europe combined in 2014. Germany is the golden boy of Europe right now, but other countries have taken a unempathetic and xenophobic approach. In 2014 Britain lobbied to stop a search and rescue operation called Mare Nostrum, which was designed to stop refugees drowning in the Mediterranean. Did they hope that the more that drowned, fewer would try the crossing? Not only did it have the opposite effect, as the desperation amongst refugees kept them coming. .

Another country guilty of terrible practices is Hungary. Many refugees need to go through Hungary on their way to Germany, but Hungary is, for some reason, making it difficult for them. Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights (also the first Muslim to hold the post), is highly critical of the Hungarian Governments treatment of the refugees.
The concept of a refugee was expanded by the Convention's 1967 Protocol to include persons who had fled war or other violence in their home country. Under this UN Convention a refugee is a person outside of their country of origin who is unable or unwilling to return for fear of persecution based on race, religion, ethnicity, political affiliation or opinion. Since refugees have fled their home country and no longer enjoy the legal protections afforded to citizens of a state, the Convention stipulated that the refugees should have access to employment, or other social services on par with nationals of the host country. In addition, given the status of principle of non-refoulement (the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where they risk persecution), states are generally understood to have a duty to offer temporary protection to the refugees on their territory. Nevertheless, this creates an uneven distribution of refugees between countries, which results in unequal share of refugee burden.

Therefore, even with coordination at a multilateral level to ensure states offer the same standards of protection to refugees, there are no binding norms on burden-sharing to ensure that states contribute to supporting protection and durable solutions for refugees who are on the territory of another state. Among refugees, there are Asylum seekers who have left their homeland in seeking international protection but whose claim for refugee status has not yet been determined.

                     

Setting the Scene.
As suggested by scholars like Loescher (1996, pp 11-92; 2001 pp21-81) and (Erika, 2001; Labman, 2009), the issue of refugee crisis is old wars and conflicts around the world-from Europe to the Balkans, to the old Soviet Union, Asia, to the Americas and to Africa, the story of wars and conflicts can never be divorced from the associated mass refuge crisis. In the past, refugees were welcome in some countries as a means of boosting the economy of their hosts but not anymore as can be experienced with the trends in the contemporary refugee movement.

The Origins of the international Refugee Regime - 

It is generally believed in the academic circle and among scholars that the international refugee protection regime started in the twentieth century. This is because this century marked the era and the beginning of the most elaborate, collaborative, international effort aimed at raising concern for the plight of refugees. This is significant because although refugee crisis is in a sense a phenomenon that has become synonymous with conflict-afflicted societies for quite some, never have the refugees around the globe received international protection. Europe was for instance bedeviled in 16th and 17th centuries by religious persecution and so most refugees then were people fleeing persecution for religious reasons. 

During this period, other countries received these refugees especially where there were religious affinity, ideological belief systems and sometimes for economic reasons. But these religious persecutions gradually faded as most people in Europe became more politically sensitive with strong political affiliations and tenacious resistance to their new revolutionary style governments. These revolutionary style governments were seen in countries like France, Germany, Poland and Russia. Their attempts at radically revolutionize their various countries led to the emergence of new kind of political upheaval that produced political refugees of the 19th century.

Eastern Europe and the Balkans witnessed an unprecedented change in the nature and scale of international armed conflicts, in the unprecedented collapse of its established blocs and multi-ethnic empires in a manner that reflected in and influenced by the continued change and advances in technological and scientific innovations.

Throughout its history, America has proven itself to be a nation of immigrants. It was founded by immigrants, and immigrants have played an important role in the development of America. Also, America is known as the place which has welcomed refugees when they have suffered in their own countries. According to the U.S. Department of State, there have been more than 650,000 displaced Europeans given admission into America with refugee status. Millions of people from China, Cuba, the former Soviet Union, Hungary, Korea, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Vietnam fleeing Communism have been welcomed to America.

By February 2016, millions of refugees from Syria fled their homes because of the Syrian Civil War. To find asylum, the refugees migrated into European countries, such as Turkey, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Middle Eastern countries like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and many countries around the world. They are very welcomed in these countries. America, however, literally slammed the door to the refugees by currently making the vetting process for coming into the country very extensive to complete. It takes up to twenty-four months, on average, for one person to complete the extensive background check process (Collin,17). Recently, after the Paris attack in November 2015, Congress introduced a bill, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act, adding an extra layer for the vetting process, and it easily passed the House (Domonoske). 

The reason for expanding the process is to protect American citizens from terrorists. But this fear should be overcome and replaced with the core value of the Nation; in specific, America should open a wider door for the Syrian refugees, especially elders, women, and children, coming into the country by making the vetting process shorter and simpler.

First, the refugees put their lives in danger for escaping the violence and the extremism, not for expanding them.

Since the Civil War happening in Syrian, millions of people have trekked hundreds of mile on foot or crossing Mediterranean to other countries for asylum. In 2015, according to International Organization for Migration, more than 3,770 refugees died or went missing in Mediterranean while attempting to reach out the Europe. And by February 2016, there are additional over 410 refugees lost their lives on the way to Europe. Obviously, the refugees do not care about the danger waiting for them on the way they fled because they cannot live at their home anymore. They ran away from their home, where they grew up, because of violence, so there is no reason they want to spread it in other places. Many Syrian refugees are victims of ISIS. Now, they need the assistance around the world when they have no place to stay. .

Compare to other countries, American took a very tiny step in supporting the huge flows of Syrian refugees. According to UNHCR, United Nations Refugee Agency, more than 85,000 Syrian refugees have been legally accepted to come in Europe for resettlement since 2013. Germany has had the largest number of admissions for 41,216 refugees; the United Kingdom has accepted 20,000 refugees. Canada, a neighbor of America, has accepted over 38,000 Syrian Refugee to come in the country. In addition, Europe has to take care of more than one million refugees reaching out the sea across Mediterranean. In more than 4.7 million Syrian refugees also are received supporting from the Middle East countries, such as Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq. In contrast, America only has admitted only over 2,300 Syrian refugees since the conflict in Syria began in 2011. It is actually a very small number for a Nation of immigrants like America. Even last year, Obama proposed a plan allowing 10,000 Syrian refugees into America this year, 10,000 are criticized as a "huge" number for America. Particularly, Republican Michael T.

                  

SYRIA

Refugees have always been a major concern as it occurs in various parts of the world. They flee in search of refuge, as in times of war, political oppression, or religious persecution. The largest refugee problem is that of the Palestinians who have fled their homeland in response to the Israelis. The Palestinians have the right to return to their homeland. .

The world has recognized refugees" rights in several cases. The United Nations as well has helped refugees throughout history. One case is helping Afghan refugees from twenty years of war and devastation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "In 2002, almost 1.8 million Afghans returned to their homeland from Iran, Pakistan and the Central Asian Republics. They were assisted by UNHCR, the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, and the governments of the neighboring countries." ("Return" UNHCR). The United Nation has a policy of having refugees return to their homelands as well. Another program that has helped refugees in the past is the International Rescue Committee. They have helped Kashmir refugees being a constant rivalry between India and Pakistan. The American Refugee Center has had many programs helping refugees all over the world. One program being Rwanda since the people fled conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "ARC began work in Rwanda in December 1994 following the turmoil created by the genocide earlier that year. Its initial project aimed to rebuild the health structure to ease the repatriation of large numbers of refugees."("Rwanda" ARC ). There have been numerous other programs to assist the refugees in need. These programs have helped refugees to a great extent. .
One of the refugee problems with most impact is that of the Palestinian refugee crisis, which is a result of the establishment of the State of Israel. "The Palestinian refugee crisis developed into a major humanitarian disaster as an estimated 805,067 inhabitants streamed into camps in the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

TAKING CARE

8 million people residing around the world, including, three million children, are in need of sustenance. They need somewhere stay, a place to call home, and parents in desperate need to find food for there children and them selves. People all over the world live in poverty, many children around the world are deprived of quality education, and people in Syria are forced to seek out refugee camps due to the danger in their country. I would donate $50,000 to the charity Save the Children (STC) because I believe in bettering the lives and future of people all around the world.
Poverty is all around the world including the United States. It is something that people encounter on a daily basis; STC gives these people aspiration for a greater tomorrow. They provide them with food that has been donated by people around the world. Imagine STC didn't exist and these people would starve to death, knowing that there is so much to give in this advanced world that we live in. Think about all the canned tomato soups children didn't eat because they didn't find it appealing, they were thrown away. Instead of throwing away the things families don't want, donate them. STC believes that no person should go to sleep hungry.

Equal and quality education is what STC aims for when they aim to help children in need of education. In 2006 STC focused on obtaining equality education for children who were unable to attend school during war. Giving STC this money could help the children who are in need of a good education, they could build schools on their refugee camps, buy them supplies and offer them a quality education to help enhance their knowledge. These children today will be our future tomorrow, offering them what they need will not only benefit them but all of us human beings on earth to have a greater and stronger future. Education is the key to success, by exposing these children who have missed out on the importance of being united as a whole we can create understandings between countries, aim for peace, and avoid future wars.

PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY

Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment of individuals based on their gender and this remains to be a major barrier to human development. For girls in many regions, education still remains unattainable. The world can progress immensely if we promote gender equality as several women have the capability to excel in so many aspects in life. However, they do not have the opportunity to receive education or work, violating their human right. There would be economic growth in nations and this would greatly stimulate development around the globe.

Global Perspective. Women living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are afraid to speak about the abuse they go through at home in fear of their husbands/fathers/male guardians as they are brutally abused. It is also illegal to be present in public areas without the presence of a related man, making it impossible for women to grow as independent leaders. The gender inequality index ranks countries by taking account of factors such as maternal mortality ratio and education attainment levels; Afghanistan is ranked 134/138 countries, this proves that women living in Afghanistan are forced into living a life they don't wish to, they are forced to stop education and they are victims of domestic violence and abuse. The number of abortions for girls increased immensely in India, most low-income and middle class families prefer and want a boy child, and therefore, several female fetuses are killed daily.

National Perspective. In the United Arab Emirates, Muslim men can freely choose their wife, but Muslim women are forbidden from marrying non-Muslim men unless they convert their religion. Moreover, punishments for committing illegal crimes are harsher for women than they are for men. Men are free to do what they like without fearing the consequence of being punished whereas the women are punished brutally. It is also unacceptable for a woman to live alone; this leaves domestic workers in a very vulnerable position as they are also considered independent at the age of eighteen and cannot live on their own, this could force them into marriage when they're not ready.

GENDER JUSTICE IN AFRICAN FAMILIES

Gender equality is when women and men enjoy equal rights, opportunities and entitlements in civil and political life. Accepted, but not always fully understood. For some, the stumbling block is the word "gender", a relatively recent concept in social science. "Gender" refers not to male and female, but to masculine and feminine that is, to qualities or characteristics that society ascribes to each sex. People are born female or male, but learn to be women and men. Perceptions of gender are deeply rooted, vary widely both within and between cultures, and change over time. But in all cultures, gender determines power and resources for females and males.

Gender equality makes good economic and social sense. The FAO State of Food and Agriculture 2010-11 report shows that if female farmers had the same access as male farmers to agricultural inputs and services, they could substantially increase the yields on their farms. A World Bank report concluded that reducing gender inequality leads to falling infant and child mortality, improved nutrition, higher economic productivity and faster growth. For the global community, gender equality is also a commitment, embedded in international human rights agreements and in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

A woman holds a lot of roles in her society. But taking these roles does not make her being a creature that should be respected all the time. UN's reasearch in 1980's said that women do 2/3 works in whole world but only earn 1/10 of the world's income. Another fact that women working full time earn 73 cents for every dollar earned by comparable men. Most of young parents or single parent that take insemination prefer a boy than a girl. Means, abortion to unborn baby girls happen a lot without we know.

Talking about gender is talking about roles which brought based on sex distiction between male and female. Each region has distinc working division between male and female depending on values and beliefs held by the society.

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

A multicultural environment involves people with a diversity of backgrounds. A school environment should be prepared for this kind of environments in order to offer equal opportunities to every student to reach all their academically potential and success. Schools should be prepared to offer students great learning experiences independently of their race, ethnicity or community. Anyways, racism has become one of the biggest issues in an environment with multicultural diversity. 

Racism has affected environments, society, communities and even education. Unfortunately, racism still existing in our education system and is one of the causes of academically low performance and other negative issues regarding the educational level of a student. A recently research have showed that the most affected students belong to the minority groups (McCoy, Allen, 2013). Racism involves denigration, discrimination, rejection, bullying and more. This issue not only involve students, but also teachers, and school personnel. Education System needs to find a strategies to fight discrimination and find an appropriate solution, but not only for the victims, but also for the victimizer. The solution should be precisely and effective. Many things should be involved, not only the students, but also policies and school policy makers, classmates, teachers, minorities and majorities groups. 

Even though many school factors, elements and personnel are involved, the education standards should not be affected through this process. Any group (majorities or minorities) should have leverage over the others and individual attention should be provided in extreme cases. Students should be enforced to have contact, communication and interact with teachers and classmates. They also should encouraged participate in all school activities like sports, arts, challenges, debates and interactive activities. Awareness campaigns is a very important factor for schools and also should introduce students to a variety of cultural backgrounds.

REVOLUTIONIST THOMAS SANKARA

A revolution is a change in power that typically occurs over a short time period. Thomas Sankara was a revolutionary that had a prophecy to set Africans at a distance from colonial configuration. A well deprived country in West Africa known as Upper Volta hardly justified any mention outside that province until Thomas Sankara deposed the country's fraudulent military governance in 1984 and gave a new name Burkina Faso to the country known as Upper Volta. Translated to English Burkina Faso means "The Land of Upright People ", this new name captivated the masses. The revolution Sankara set forth to change politics with in the Land of Upright people did not necessarily correspond well with great colonial powers.

Sankara's fondness for creativity and avant-garde politics gave rise to a complex legacy. His civic and monetary reforms were not forged of ideas from the colonial democrats but from Sankara's own mind which he sought to benefit his people. The new turn of politics Sankara put forth created some confusion with the people of Burkina Faso. They had a hard time leveling it with his frequent undemocratic style of politics. His revolutionary ideals may have led to his expiration and vicious death.

The film "An Upright Man,"" follows and examines how Sankara brought forth the renovations of Burkina Faso and Africa's debt to the democratic colonial rulers and the international banks. He also religiously spoke of economic self-sufficiency and self-reliance. He rejected Bank loans from the West and endorsed local food and local production of clothing and other goods. The luxuries that came along with being a government official such as being transported in a Mercedes and flying first class on airplanes, he was so prudent on not being looked to as more than human he even ask for his portrait not to be hung in public build as were previous presidents requested. "Sankara reduced the salaries of ministers and chief public sever ants, starting with his own, from now on public servants are no longer driven around in expensive Mercedes but in cheaper cars "(Shuffield).

This is one way that Sankara de-politicized himself from his people and creates more of equality between officials and the community.
The demographic that had the most benefit from Sankara's reforms where the poor and female citizens. Sankara promoted gender equality in Burkina Faso, which at the time was a very male prominent society. The push for equality for women banned the practice of female circumcision and bigamy. He became the first African head of state to elevate women to multiple top government positions, as well as recruiting them in the army (Mungai). He reinforced his views of women equality by also making public statements which he did by using the media. Sankara once told the women of Burkina Faso to remain at home and agree for the men of the community to do the grocery shopping at the market. 

Under Sankara's administration, his officials established great immunization programs, jump started public housing construction and constructed railways for commuting and trade. His administration also focused on campaigning and went to the public about education, literacy programs and anti-corruption with in civil service and politics. This was different under Sankara, Zougmora says: "You have to say that social policy under Sankara was really good". Sankara dis-appropriated the country's economic elite who controlled most of the arable land and real estate at that time. The fields were divided between subsistence farmers and in the cities social housing was constructed. He even declared the whole year of 1985 rent free (Dorrie).

Sankara was also very undemocratic. Sankara did not see himself as a democratic leader nor did he ever portray himself as one. He omitted political parties, trade mergers and denied public protests. Many people were the targets of rapid rulings by the People's Revolutionary Tribunals (PRT), which persecuted "lazy workers," corrupt officials and those that opposed his revolution.

Fotos by: Bernard Benavides
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