“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.”
~ Warsan Shire, poet, educator + author of ‘Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth’

Everyone Deserves To Live Safely

Overview
Today, the world is witnessing the highest levels of displaced people in the history of the world. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14 states, “The Right to Seek a Safe Place to Live: If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe.” Though no fault of their own, refugees are people who has been forced by violence or persecution to leave their country. Those who have been removed from their homes but still remain in their country are referred to as internally displaced people (IDP). The United Nations estimates that there are approximately 65.6 million people in the world have been forced from their homes, 22.5 million of whom are refugees and half of them being minors. This prevalent issue has caused shocking human rights violations, such as the right to equality, free movement, desirable work, adequate living standards, and education. As these people are being forced out of their countries, they are seeking a new life in other countries and the world needs to collectively help them at all costs and hold those countries accountable for creating this global tragedy.

Statistics

• Unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from home by conflict and persecution at the end of 2016
• Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18
• There are also 10 million stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement
• In a world here nearly 20 people are forcibly displaced every minute as a result of conflict or persecution
• 20 people are displaced by force every minute

Definition

• Refugee: a person who has been forced by violence or persecution to leave their country
• Asylee or asylum seeker: someone who has requested asylum in another country (not necessarily a refugee)
• Protected person: a person who is in need of protection
• Internally displaced person: a person who has been forcibly displaced but is still within the borders of their home country
• Stateless person: a person who is not recognized as a citizen of any country
• Immigrant: a person who has settled in a different country
• Permanent resident: a person who has been granted permanent residence in another country
• Migrant: anyone who seeks to move overseas
• Resettlement: the identification and transfer of refugees from a state in which they have sought protection to another state which has agreed to admit them.

More information on refugees + displaced people’s rights at UNHCR: https://www.unicef.org