Issue 4: September 7, 2020
Staff
Avery Wang: Contributor, Layout
Diya Britto: Contributor, Social Media
Xander Starobin: Contributor, Web Design
Maya Britto: Contributor
Andrew Szabo: Contributor
Wongel Gebru: Contributor
In this issue...
We're covering how natural disasters during regional wet and dry seasons can devastate refugee populations, the origins and effects of the EU-Turkey Agreement about refugee settlement, how a severe lack of refugee education results in increased risks of child exploitation and economic insecurity in adulthood, and the life-threatening conditions refugees face in camps.
Harsh Climates Bring Unique Challenges to Refugees in Different Regions
By Diya Britto and Andrew Szabo
The summer climates of different regions around the world create immense challenges for refugees who already face an extremely difficult journey. In place such as Tanzania and Vanuatu, a wet season occurs during summer months. In places like Somalia and Jordan, the summer months come with a dry season. However, in Bangladesh, summer months bring both wet and dry weather conditions.
Torrential downpour, cyclones, hurricanes, and flooding accompany the regions that experience wet seasons. Tanzania is currently experiencing flooding and an abnormal amount of rainfall. According to an Emergency Plan of Action report from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, flooding began May 8th 2020. Assessments conducted by the Tanzanian government in 5 different regions “revealed that 4,409 households were directly affected by the raging floods.”
In The Republic of Vanuatu, the tropical Cyclone Harold made landfall on the 6th of April, 2020, damaging the country’s crops and its agricultural sector. According to a GIEWS (Global Information and Early Warning System) update from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations on May 8th 2020, “about 160,000 people, more than half of the total population, are in need of assistance”and “nearly all grasslands and 60 percents of croplands have been severely damaged by the cyclone.” The cyclone’s destruction of property and food supplies have continued to cause challenges for those in the cyclone’s path.
In Bangladesh, the 2020 monsoon season during summer months brought flooding, severe winds, and heavy rains to Rohingya refugee camps. According to a flash report from the Site Management Center of Cox’s Bazar on August 20th 2020, “between May and July 2020, an alarming number of Rohingya refugee shelters were damaged.” The Rohingya refugee settlement is located in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
The report also states that Rohingya refugee camps are currently facing the “reduction of shelter and site development programming” due to COVID-19 containment measures and a lack of non-durable construction materials such as bamboo, in addition to an ongoing monsoon which lasted until the end of August, resulting in more damages.
On the other hand, dry seasons can bring devastating droughts, prolonged periods of abnormally low rainfall and water shortages. Somalia has been suffering from an ongoing drought since November 2016, caused by its harsh dry seasons and a lack of consistent rain during wet seasons in recent years. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), droughts can cause flash flooding when there are isolated intense rainstorms. Rain comes so quickly that it doesn’t have time to soak into the soil and instead rushes away. Somalia has suffered significantly from this phenomenon.
According to the UNHCR, at a press briefing on August 7, 2020, spokesperson Charlie Yaxley said, “More than 150,000 Somalis have been forced to flee their homes since late June, including some 23,000 in the last week alone, due to flash and riverbank flooding in the Southern regions of Somalia.” Many Somalis have been forced to live in crowded camp settlements, with little to no shelter, exposing them to harmful weather. In the same press briefing, Yaxley also commented, “More people risk being displaced as flooding is likely to continue in certain regions.”
In Jordan, the summer months result in hotter and drier conditions, limiting access to clean water. According to Mercy Corps’ Water Engineering Director Gus Hazboun, “Our resources are limited. We don't have any rivers — we have no water sources except aquifers. The aquifers are depleting right now, we are losing several meters a year. It's becoming very alarming.” Mercy Corps, a global non-governmental humanitarian aid organization, works in countries that have undergone some form of instability.
The water scarcity crisis also affects the 600,000 Syrian refugees that have sought asylum in Jordan. “The [water] network was providing barely enough water for Jordanians before the war in Syria. Now, with the huge influx of refugees, there is frustration with having to share resources,” Huzboun says. Organizations like Mercy Corps are currently working to provide water by building wells in different regions around Jordan.
Though the UNHCR, Mercy Corps, and other organizations are working hard and joining efforts to assist these refugees, they are still facing a number of challenges including underfunding, limited food and resources, and limited shelter. You can help by donating to the UNHCR and other water charity organizations and by spreading the word through social media platforms and within your community.
Conflict Between the EU, Turkey, and Greece Continues to Leave Refugees Without A Home
By Maya Britto
Due to the EU-Turkey Agreement that went into effect in 2016, Syrian refugees in Turkey and Greece continue to lack adequate stability of life, housing, and job security. The agreement disregards the struggles both Turkey and Greece face and continues to create significant challenges for refugees today.
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According to the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), over 1 million refugees arrived on Greek islands on boats from Turkey in 2015 and early 2016. Most of these refugees had originally fled Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Despite the large number of arrivals, only about 1.54% of the refugees in Greece applied for asylum, or protection from the government.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Greece was struggling economically, with a GDP per capita of just $18,111. Greece was also unable to manage the large number of refugees entering the country and had difficulties managing the “registration and reception of new arrivals,” according to the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union. The deal aimed to help lessen the strain on Greece.
The Start of The Crisis
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According to the European Council, composed of heads of states of various EU member countries, the EU-Turkey Agreement dictated that “all new irregular migrants crossing from Turkey into [the] Greek islands as from 20 March 2016 will be returned to Turkey.” The agreement forced these refugees to reside in detention facilities in Greece while waiting for their asylum cases to be processed before being sent back to Turkey. Refugees that had arrived before March 20 had to either apply for asylum in Greece, or apply for relocation in other countries in the EU.
Various organizations, including the UNHCR and Amnesty International, have opposed the EU-Turkey agreement because it has caused the use of overcrowded detention facilities run by police and because it falsely implies that Turkey is a safe home for asylum seekers. As a result of the agreement, about 57,000 refugees remained trapped in Greece in 2016, according to the European Commission.
Also, many refugees sought to travel to other countries like Germany and Sweden after a temporary stay on the Greek islands. However, according to the European Commission, the closure of the “Balkan Route,” a commonly traveled path that begins in Turkey and goes through Bulgaria or Greece into northern Europe over land, along with the EU-Turkey agreement, forced many asylum seekers both in transit and still in Greece to change their plans.
The EU-Turkey Agreement
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Turkey hosts approximately 3.6 million Syrian refugees, according to UNHCR reporting. According to Amnesty International, on February 27, 2020, Turkey announced that it would no longer restrict refugees from crossing its borders into other European countries. This announcement came shortly after a Syrian airstrike killed 33 Turkish soldiers. With Greece already combating economic struggles of their own, many Syrian refugees traveling out of Turkey have been turned away at Greece’s borders. According to the UNHCR, both the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and EU refugee law never provides “any legal basis for the suspension of the reception of asylum applications.”
Both Greece and Turkey host refugees. Both countries also face unique domestic struggles. However, globally, millions of refugees remain homeless, and the coronavirus pandemic has only made their plight worse. Bouncing back and forth between several European countries has made it extremely difficult for any of these refugees to find stable living conditions such as job security and a permanent home.
Greece And Turkey Today
Child Exploitation, Economic Insecurity Results from Severe Lack of Refugee Education
By Xander Starobin
Despite numerous efforts to expand refugees’ access to education, refugee children face extremely limited educational possibilities.
According to a fact sheet from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), just 63% of all refugee children who are of primary school age are enrolled in primary school, and only 24% of refugees who are of secondary school age are enrolled in secondary school. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, a United Nations resolution about global children's rights, describes education as a basic human right, so these rates of refugees’ access to education are alarming. In global comparison, 91% of non-refugee children who are of primary school age attend primary school, and 84% of non-refugee children who are of secondary school age attend secondary school.
Some organizations are trying to increase refugees’ access to education through independent programs. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), an organization that provides refugee aid, is working with an organization called the Sesame Workshop on a program called “Ahlan Simsim” (“Welcome Sesame” in Arabic). The program focuses on building necessary social-emotional skills for young children who have faced traumatic experiences, specifically those who have been affected by the Syrian conflict. Ahlan Simsim is a localized version of Sesame Street, which reaches Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria in classrooms, health clinics, televisions, and mobile devices.
The IRC also creates formal education spaces, helps support and train teachers, and provides teachers and necessary school workers with necessary materials in and around refugee camps. Additionally, the IRC has created accelerated education programs to help refugee students who have missed years of school and need to catch up.
However, less than 3% of humanitarian aid money funds education, according to the IRC. The lack of funding creates a lack of capacity, so refugees often must seek educational opportunities from preexisting schools within their host countries, instead of from humanitarian organizations and their educational programs. Unfortunately, preexisting schools in host countries often don’t provide refugees with many educational opportunities either. For example, a particular school in Peshawar, Pakistan only admits one refugee out of 500 total available spots, according to the World Economic Forum. Pakistan hosts over 1,400,000 refugees, according to a UNHCR fact sheet.
Education is a human right, so refugee children deserve access to education as much as any other child. However, of the 7.4 million known refugee children that the UNHCR tracks, 4 million cannot attend school, according to UNHCR reporting.
To help more refugee children access education, you can donate to the organizations below. Also, you can call or email your representative and senators to let them know that you want them to pass more legislation that will help refugees around the world.
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Refugees Face Dangerous Or Stagnating Conditions While Living in Temporary Camps
By Avery Wang
Refugee camps are designed to mitigate the aftermath of a humanitarian crisis and provide temporary relief and security to those fleeing war, famine, or oppression. Despite being designed for temporary use, these temporary camps often end up being used as long term settlements and lack adequate resources, funding, or organization. While living in temporary camp spaces for far longer than the camps were designed, refugees face a number of potentially life-threatening or stagnating conditions and dangers, including overcrowding, warehousing, human rights violations, poor housing, disease, gender-based violence, and psychological violence.
According to reporting from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around two-thirds of refugees have been displaced for more than five years with no “immediate prospects for [the] implementation of durable solutions.” This situation is also known as a protracted refugee situation. The average stay length in a refugee camp is now greater than 20 years, according to 2019 data analysis from the UNHCR.
“The plan for most refugees is for them to wait in camps until they can return home,” even though the end points of the conflicts that displace refugees are not predictable, according to an article by the Boston Review. Camp establishments are not effective long-term solutions and are often overcrowded and underfunded, even though the majority of refugees are living in protracted refugee situations and have a high average stay length. For example, a camp in Lesbos, Greece reportedly had a capacity of 1,500 people as of 2017, but was housing at least 4,000 people, according to The Independent, a United Kingdom-based newspaper.
In some remote refugee camp locations, refugees are unlawfully “warehoused” in camps. “Warehousing” refers to the practice of restricting refugees’ mobility and basic human rights such as seeking paid work and independence, according to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).
Refugees are often “warehoused” due to political or military reasons, not humanitarian reasons, according to a report published by the USCRI. In addition to the devastating restriction of refugees’ basic human rights, “warehousing” also prevents potential host countries from reaping potential economic and social benefits that refugees can provide, according to a 2018 study by the UNHCR. The study concluded that refugees can be beneficial to host countries’ economies if the refugees are actively allowed and encouraged to participate. When warehoused, refugees can’t contribute to host countries’ economies.
“Warehousing” is only one of the violations and dangers refugees may face while living in camps. According to a report from ARCHIVE Global, an organization that “focuses on the link between health and housing,” the living standards and set-up of refugee camps have “historically … presented hazards to [refugees’] health.”
For example, inadequate housing in Sierra Leone refugee camps led to rodent infestations, which increased transmission of Lassa Fever, a hemorrhagic virus that spreads through rats, according to a 2007 study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Various other housing issues, such as water leakage, humidity, and structural damage, contribute to environments conducive to disease spreading and chronic illnesses, endangering the health and safety of refugees, according to an ARCHIVE Global report. The report says, “Evidence exists in camps all around the world. Housing determines health.” The link between low-quality housing and health is especially applicable to the spread of COVID-19.
Women also face a unique set of risks living in a refugee camp. Refugees who are fleeing persecution relating to sexual orientation or gender identity-related face even greater security risks. Since 2017, Amnesty International, a non-governmental organization that advocates for human rights, has talked to “more than 100 women and girls” about their experiences in camps. According to their interviews, many facilitates in Greek refugee settlements lack door locks, which turns “everyday activities such as taking a shower or going to the toilet [into] dangerous missions.”
For some refugees, “the awful conditions” of camps are a “constant reminder of the violence they sought to escape,” according to the same Amnesty International report. In Greece’s Moira camp, conditions are so poor that the camp has become a “death trap,” according to an October 2019 article by Aljazeera. Although originally designed to house around 3,000 people, the camp holds over 14,000 people.
The article states that many camp residents suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicidal thoughts, or “resignation syndrome,” a rare progressive withdrawal condition. Although these refugees may be physically safe from the conflicts of their home countries, they are still suffering from “psychological … invisible violence,” according to the Aljazeera article.
The UNHCR has called for more “durable solutions” for displaced people, but until those solutions are implemented, the lives of millions of displaced refugees are at risk.