Important Definitions
refugee
Any person who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. (http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/q023.htm)
asylum seeker
A person who, from fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, social group, or political opinion has crossed an international frontier into a country in which he or she hopes to be granted refugee status (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/asylum+seeker)
idp (internally displaced person)
Internally displaced persons are “persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognised State border.” (http://www.internal-displacement.org/idp)
Statistics
I put a few graphs that into the slideshow below that indicate what the refugee population looks like as a whole. But I wanted to share a couple more specific statistics with you as well:
- 4/5s of the world’s refugees were hosted by developing countries
- in 2009: 1 out 4 refugees in the world come from Afganistan
- about half of all refugees are women
- over 18,700 children applied for asylum in 2009, and most of these children were from Afghanistan and Somalia
- children represent 41% of all refugees and asylum seekers
The slide show and statistics above was taken from this website: http://www.scribd.com/doc/42996002/2009-Global-Trends
Current Events:
There are so many countries around the world that are suffering from Politcal Unrest, one of the main reasons that there are so many refugees. So many people are trying to get out of Libya as well, because of the tension there. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/06/libya.refugees/index.html?iref=allsearch
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/07/libya.conflict/index.html?iref=allsearch
In the Ivory Coast, the newly appointed president is hiding in a hotel while the old president refuses to give up his power, and is using violence to try to control advocates for the new president. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/06/ivory.coast.un.soldiers/index.html?iref=allsearch
What does the Bible say about refugees?
There are so many verses that talk about being kind to the foreigners, who would now be referred to as refugees. In the Torah, he says that the Israelites should treat foreigners well because they were so recently foreigners in Egypt. This meant a lot to the people that the Torah was written to, because their parents and grandparents were mistreated by the Egyptians, they really knew what it meant to be foreigners.
Exodus 23 :9
Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt
Leviticus 19: 33
When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
The Bible says to give what you can to the people who foreigners:
Leviticus 19: 10
Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 10: 17-18
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.
God cares so much for the people who are oppressed and do not have as many resources. His heart for refugees is so clear through out the Bible, but here are just a couple more verses, in case I still need to prove my point:
Psalm 146: 9
The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
Jeremiah 22:3
This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
UNCRC and MDG
UNCRC’s that, if adopted by the government, will drastically improve the lives of kids who are refugees: 2, 8, 10, 16, 20, 22, 26
MDG that was written to help kids who are refugees: 8, although all the others will indirectly benefit them as well.
Risks Children Face 
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