Who is a Refugee | Where are Refugees From? | The Process

“There are refugees in Spokane?” “What is a refugee?” “What problems do refugees face?” “Where do refugees come from?” There are questions that we at Global Neighborhood hear all the time. Many people may not even realize that refugees live in our city. In fact, there are thousands of refugees who live in Spokane, and hundreds more coming every year!

One of our goals is to educate Americans about the refugees living in our midst. Refugees are people of amazing courage and perseverance who bring a wealth of diversity and culture to our city. We exist as an organization not only to help refugees, but also to learn from them, and we want to extend these same opportunities to you.

Who is a Refugee?

Definition:

Refugees are as diverse as the world itself. People of all races, languages, educational levels,
and occupations become refugees. In short, a refugee is a person who has fled their home country
because of hardship or persecution.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) defines it more specifically as:

“A person who is outside his or her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution.”

Refugees in Spokane have a variety of stories and experiences, including fleeing from the Rwandan genocide, being denied citizenship in Bhutan and Nepal due to historical, cultural, and religious reason, being forced out of Iraq because of connections to the American military, and fleeing from the corrupt, oppressive government of Burma.

At the beginning of 2011, the UNHCR estimated there were 10.4 million refugees in the world, while an additional 4.7 million registered refugees are looked after in 60 refugees camps in the Middle East by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)(UNHCR, 2011). These astonishing numbers continue to rise as conflicts in Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places force millions of people from their homes. Refugees live in camps that range in environment from huts in the jungle to urban ghettos.

Where are Refugees From?

Many places in our world are filled with injustice, hatred, violence, and suffering. Wherever these things abound, you will find refugees. More than half of the world’s refugee population resides in Asia, while some 20 percent reside currently reside in Africa (UNHCR, 2011).

Source: UNHCR, 2011

These refugees are currently being hosted inside a mix of relatively stable countries, such as Syria,Germany, and Jordan. Many refugees are also resettled in more developed countries like the United States and Canada. There are 44 industrialized countries around the world that receive and resettle refugees (UNHCR, 2011).

Source: UNHCR/ Governments

In Spokane, the refugee population is comprised of many different groups. Currently, Spokane is home to refugees from Afghanistan, Burma, Bhutan, Burundi, Cuba, Eritrea, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Liberia, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and others. Since the United Nations tends to focus most of its resettlement efforts in only a few places at a time, there will often be a large influx of one or two people groups for a year or two, before switching almost entirely to different groups. Also, since resettlement is a long process, refugees will often not come to Spokane till many years after the conflicts in their home countries have disappeared from the public eye.

The Process:

When large numbers of people flee their homes and congregate in nearby safe places, the UNHCR helps to set up and administer camps and/or services to help people. Most people stay in these places for many years, hoping their homeland will regain enough stability for them to return.

Those not able to return home go through an extensive application and interview process with the UNHCR, hoping to qualify for resettlement in another country.

Refugees accepted by the United States are processed through the U.S. Department of State/ Homeland Security, and are then divided amongst ten Voluntary Agencies (VOLAGs) who further disburse cases to their field offices. VOLAGS provide a number of services and are responsible for a good deal of the initial footwork for refugees: getting social security cards, signing up for welfare, immunizations, finding housing, etc. Most medium-sized and larger cities have VOLAGS/ resettlement agencies. Spokane is currently home to one resettlement agency, World Relief. The length of care provided by World Relief in Spokane, by government contract, ranges from 90 to 180 days. After this contract is complete, however, refugees are left to their own devices to survive in our city with minimal additional support from the resettlement agency.

In 2008, the United States accepted 60,107 refugees for resettlement. In 2009, that number jumped to 74,602. In 2010, the United States accepted 73,293, a slight decrease from 2009. Washington State ranks eighth among states who resettle refugees in the U.S., translating to the arrival of approximately 500 to 600 refugees every year in Spokane- and the number continues to rise (Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration [PRM], Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System [WRAPS]). For more information, visit the UNHCR Statistics Page.