THE NEW AND MISUNDERSTOOD CLASS OF CITIZENS – REFUGEES

Abstract

‘Refugees are people who leave their homes in order to seek safety, or refuge. In general, people become refugees to flee violence, economic disparity, repression, natural disasters, and other harsh living and working conditions.’ Refugees are found in scenarios of inflexible conflict. They are seen to flee from unavoidable and prolonged periods of violence, deaths, armed attacks and they are running away from a situation of harsh living conditions which is a byproduct of the ongoing conflict. The more narrow definition of Refugees has been given by The United Nations; "persons who are outside their country and cannot return owing to a well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group."

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), defines Refugees as, "When a fleeing civilian crosses an international frontier, he or she becomes a refugee and as such is eligible to receive international protection and help.

As of January 2002, the UNHCR tolled that nearly 12 million refugees were present across the globe. This number although remained consistent for the most part since the 1980s, has increased substantially owing to the presence of ISIS in the Middle East and Eastern regions of Europe.

Before the widespread presence of ISIS, Asia was seen to host almost half the world refugee population. Europe was barely affected by the swamp of refugees although the situation has changed for the worse in the second decade of the 21st century. Europe is now the parent haven for refugees.

The Syrian Civil war has caused approximately 2.7 million Syrians to leave their country since 2011, and double that many are expected to have fled Syria by the end of 2014.