]]
Publications
Griffith University and the Department of the Environment, Sport & Territories, 1997
Improved worldwide communications mean much of the world is now more aware of the many refugees leaving Bosnia, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Cambodia and China than ever before. With this awareness has come a need to understand the actions of both governments and aid agencies in supporting the millions of people no longer living in their own homes and countries.
The workshop aims to increase participants' understanding of the refugee situation, the impact of dislocation on quality of people's lives, and on the country receiving them as refugees. The example of the work of some organisations committed to refugee care is used to encourage a personal commitment to supporting refugees.
The workshop seeks to enable participants to:
There are five main activities.
Participants explore their own perceptions of refugees, and the meanings of common terminology.
Individuals use a map and statistics to investigate key questions about refugees: where do they come from and why, and where are they going?
Groups of participants consider some of the international programmes for refugees and how these match perceived needs.
A practical review session, where participants are asked to consider personal actions and application to their own lives.
An activity in which participants evaluate a group of teaching activities on refugee aid and suggest adaptations to their area of teaching.
Overhead Transparency Masters
OHT 1: Refugees: Numbers of Persons and their Countries of Origin,1993
OHT 2: Major Causes of Refugee Movements
OHT 3: Who Helps Refugees? Major Contributors to International Refugee Aid Agencies, 1992
OHT 4: Major Needs of Refugees
Resources
Resource 1: Perceptions of Refugees
Resource 2: Definitions of Terms
Resource 3: Case Studies of Aid Programmes for Assisting Refugees
Resource 4: What Can I Do?
Resource 5: Practical Activities
Activity 3: Chart or poster paper and pens
Austcare (undated) Connection Kits, Austcare, Camperdown.
Cassen, R. (ed.) (1986) Does Aid Work? Report to an Intergovernmental Task Force, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Clark, J. (1991) Democratising Development, The Role of Voluntary Organisations, Earthscan Publications, London.
Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1994) Refugee and Humanitarian Issues, AGPS, Canberra.
Groves, R. (1994) Refugees: The Dynamics of Displacement, Geodate 7(4).
Guiton, G (1994) Horizons, Winter.
Hancock, G. (1989) Lords of Poverty, Macmillan, London.
MacNeill, J., Winsemius, P., and Yakushiji, S. (1991) Beyond Interdependence: The Meshing of the World's Economy and the Earth's Ecology, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Shea, N. (1994) Refugees Resource Kit 1994, Australian Council of Churches Refugee and Migrant Services, Sydney.
UNHCR/Australia (1991) Refugee Children Around the World, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne.
UNHCR (undated) Refugee Children, UNHCR, Geneva, Switzerland.
UNHCR (1993) The State of the World's Refugees, UNHCR, Geneva, Switzerland.
UNHCR (1994) Refugees: Focus Africa, No. 96.
Our special thanks go to Hermine Partamian, National Coordinator, Refugee and Migrant Services, Australian Council of Churches for sharing her parish refugee resource kits.
This activity focuses on participants' perceptions and knowledge of terminology relating to refugees.
A. Perceptions about Refugees
B. Definitions of Terms
Where are the Refugees Today?
A. This activity allows participants to assess their responses to assisting refugees. It can be done as a group discussion, or with individuals working on their own and then comparing their decisions with others.
B. Remind participants of their original perception study (Activity 1).
5. Curriculum Applications
In this activity, participants are asked to consider a group of teaching activities and suggest how they may be adapted to their own areas of teaching.
Distribute a copy of Resource 5 to each participant and tell them that it is a teaching activity which was originally developed for 15-16 year old students. Ask participants to:
Source: US Committee for Refugees, World Refugee Survey 1994, published in Australian Council of Churches (1994) Refugees Resource Kit, p. 9.
|
|
|
|
|
Iran |
|
Afghanistan, Iraq |
|
Pakistan |
|
Afghanistan |
|
Jordan |
|
Palestinians |
|
Malawi |
|
Mozambique |
|
Sudan |
|
Eritrea, Ethiopia |
|
Gaza Strip |
|
Palestinians |
|
Guinea |
|
Liberia, Sierra Leone |
|
Germany |
|
Former Yugoslavia |
|
Tanzania |
|
Burundi |
|
West Bank |
|
Palestinians |
|
Zaire |
|
Angola, Sudan |
|
Rwanda |
|
Burundi |
|
Serbia/Montenegro |
|
Former Yugoslavia |
|
Russian Federation |
|
Georgia, Tajikistan |
|
Kenya |
|
Somalia |
|
Lebanon |
|
Palestinians |
|
India |
|
China, Sri Lanka |
|
Syria |
|
Palestinians |
|
South Africa |
|
Mozambique |
|
China |
|
Vietnam |
|
Armenia |
|
Azerbaijan |
|
Croatia |
|
Former Yugoslavia |
|
Uganda |
|
Sudan, Rwanda |
|
Azerbaijan |
|
Armenia |
|
Cote d'lvoire |
|
Liberia |
|
Zimbabwe |
|
Mozambique |
|
Bangladesh |
|
Burma |
|
Ethiopia |
|
Somalia, Sudan |
|
USA |
|
Central America |
|
Ghana |
|
Togo |
|
Algeria |
|
W. Sahara |
|
Benin |
|
Togo |
|
Burundi |
|
Rwanda |
|
Liberia |
|
Sierra Leone |
|
Thailand |
|
Thailand Burma |
Source: Australian Council of Churches (1994) Refugees Resource Kit, p. 19.
Instructions
Tick the space along the lines that is closest to your opinions about refugees.
Most refugees:
1. Host country
2. Refugee
3. UNHCR
4. Asylum seekers
5. Resettlement
6. Carrier sanctions
7. Repatriation
8. Displaced person
9. Integration
10. Stop-gap aid
|
11. Safe haven zones
12. Environmental refugees
A. One who leaves his or her own home because of fear of persecution or aggression, but does not cross the international border into another country.
B. United Nations High Commission for Refugees (or the Office of the High Commissioner).
C. The process whereby refugees move from a country of asylum to settle permanently in a new country and under its protection. There are ten countries setting annual quotas for resettlement: Australia, USA, Canada, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland.
D. A person who is outside his or her former home country owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and who is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, or to return there for reasons of fear of persecution.
E. Settlement in the country of asylum (usually close to the country of origin).
F. Those leaving their country because the land is no longer able to support them; includes those affected by natural disasters and includes areas made uninhabitable by deliberate acts.
G. Those initially seeking temporary settlement in another country.
H. Refugees return to the country of origin, either freely or through use of force.
I. Either a country of asylum or a country of resettlement.
J. Heavy penalties imposed by governments against airlines and other transport providers that carry passengers whose documents are not in order.
K. United Nations established areas within a country in turmoil to allow international humanitarian organisations to provide shelter, food, medical care and other necessities.
L. Short-term relief provided by international humanitarian agencies to provide immediate shelter, food, medical attention for refugees and displaced persons.
Rebuilding Central America
In Central America, numerous small refugee assistance programmes are assisted by international aid agencies. These include rebuilding houses for refugees in El Salvador, Community Health Programmes among displaced people in Guatemala, and Women's Training Centre in Guatemala City. There are training programmes for women leaders in Nicaragua, where most refugee families from neighbouring countries have little training in organising community committees, providing educational materials or resolving conflicts. An education programme has been introduced in El Salvador to improve literacy for the ex-combatants of the FMLN, who have been fighting the Government. Many are also being trained to form new police forces.
Repatriation into El Salvador
At the end of 1989 and early 1990, 8,500 Salvadoran refugees voluntarily left refugee camps in Honduras and returned to their own country. They had fled ten years before, escaping civil war and repression by the armed forces. In 1992, the Peace Accord and subsequent demilitarisation has generated hopes for a lasting peace. By 1992, with the aid of an aid agency, some of the refugee groups had constructed new housing settlements, but were hampered by lack of workers. A family-run child care centre was set up, enabling women to leave their children there and then help in the building programme. Others produced shoes, clothes and utensils for local and regional markets.
Learning to Live with Mines
In many countries, there are millions of land mines scattered over the ground. In Angola, there are over 9 million, in Mozambique 2 million, in Sudan up to 2 million, in Cambodia at least 4, perhaps 10 million, and in Afghanistan, up to 10 million were scattered randomly. Every year, refugees returning home or living in war zones are blown up or injured by exploding mines. Most of the minefields are unmarked; many of the mines look like plastic toys. Seventy-five per cent of the mine victims are children. Thousands have limbs amputated. The cost of treatment or artificial limbs is beyond most of the families. Mine clearance thus becomes essential if repatriation is to continue in many countries. But mine clearing is slow, laborious and costly, usually being carried out by hand, at great risk to the mine-clearers. Education about avoiding mines is also essential. UNHCR organises training programmes with refugees and those being repatriated, and distributes materials publicising the dangers of mines.
Mine clearance has been financed using specialist firms and armed forces from donor countries like Britain and Australia. However, other world action is needed. There are still 95 manufacturers in 48 countries producing up to 10 million anti-personnel mines every year. In 1995, a summit will examine proposed changes to a 1980 convention to enable the United Nations to take more affirmative action against the use of mines.
Women's Rape Centre
A Women's Centre has been set up in Zagreb to assist women who are victims of the rape/death camps in Bosnia. A medical clinic has been established and resourced, and staff training implemented by Austcare, an Australian aid agency. Assistance to women who are pregnant as a result of rape is also provided. Amnesty International considers that assaults on women in many countries are unreported, and many are ignored or even condoned by authorities. Amnesty International is now collecting data.
Seeds of Hope
An Australian agricultural scientist is co-ordinating an international programme to help restore Rwanda's devastated food crops. The Seeds of Hope programme is a world-first in emergency relief, aimed at heading off the next round of famine in Rwanda. It provides seeds and grains for planting, not eating. Seeds of Hope is multiplying seeds and cuttings of Rwanda's six most important crops to provide the bases for new plantings, and these are then being distributed to farmers as they return to their own farms. Rwanda's food crops were left to rot in the ground after civil war broke out in April 1994.
Tree Planting and Dune Control in the Sahel of Central Africa
In northern Senegal, Mali and northern Burkina Faso, drought conditions have persisted for the past 22 years, so that once-fertile areas are now incapable of being cropped. Desertification, caused by erratic and insufficient rains, and an increasing population has seen massive deforestation, so that the soil is unprotected and eroding. Sand is encroaching into the villages and farms that once supported 60 million people. Many of these people (termed 'environmental refugees') are now internally displaced people, moving into neighbouring areas or border refugee camps in the search for food, water, and medical attention for respiratory infections, cholera and diarrhoea caused by water shortages and constant dust. Many wish to remain in their traditional villages, and are being assisted by an aid agency to dig wells, many 40 metres deep to avoid the shallow saline water table. A children's programme, 'One Child - One Tree' involves each child planting at least one tree in each year, and then having the responsibility of caring for it. In 1993-4, 42,000 trees were planted in 157 villages in Senegal, with another 18,000 reafforestation plants and fruit trees planted in the next season. Fast-growing Australian wattles are being planted as wind breaks and for fuel.
Women's Centre
The women's centre at Buduburam refugee camp 20 km west of Accra in Ghana is one of the busier places in a Liberian refugee community. In 1993, more than 150 refugee women built the centre themselves and now use it for a variety of programmes, including construction classes, counselling, public-health outreach, small business training, and a savings and loan programme. Several UN agencies have established similar centres in Cote d'lvoire. Classes of women build dormitories and are employed to build latrines in the camps. Some women have undertaken mental health training to help the many residents who have gone through harrowing experiences. Small-business loans are being made to individuals, mainly women, who are starting or seeking to improve a small business. These businesses include fish smoking, used clothing, sewing and hairdressing.
Security in Camps
UNHCR attempts to ensure adequate security at refugee camps, but is continuously faced with physical threats in many shapes and forms. Continuing conflicts are the greatest risk - cross border attacks, and attacks on the camps by armed guerillas or the armed forces. Physical threats to refugees include capture of women, rape, gang-robbery and murder. Refugees may be linked with national armed liberation movements. In 1993, Tanzania developed new strategies for coping with such threats. Many refugees were moved to settlements far from the border and some new settlements were created. Hutus and Tutsis from Rwanda and Burundi were separated. Where there were ethnically-mixed couples and children, who might be at risk in either Hutus or Tutsi settlements, these were sent to urban areas. Arms were removed from camps with minimum fuss. New settlements were built on land not coveted by Tanzanians who then continue to show sympathy to the refugees.
African Stoves
In Malawi, much of the forest cover had been removed for fuel by thousands of refugees fleeing from civil unrest and persecution in nearby Mozambique in the 1980s. In 1993, tens of thousands of a newly designed iron stove (which uses a minimum of wood) have been constructed, and education in the careful management of wood sources and replanting have been introduced by an aid agency. The same types of stoves have also been built by local labour in Zimbabwe's refugee camps. The areas have been badly affected by drought, and fuel is in very short supply. The construction of the stoves also increases employment.
Dental Repairs
In Eritrea, international aid has assisted the Eritrean Public Health Department improve dental standards and offer dental and related repair work on the Eritreans whose jaws and faces have been severely damaged by mine explosions. Eritrean staff have been trained in Australia, and equipment and dental supplies provided to local hospitals.
Farming Relief in Tigray
In 1992, the Relief Society of Tigray in Africa assisted 95,000 farming families with oxen, ploughs, seeds and hand tools to help re-establish thousands of refugee families returning from refugee camps in Sudan. This will help to develop the full agricultural potential of Tigray, and to regain food sufficiency in the area. Disabled refugees are being trained in welding and provision of services.
Cambodian Repatriation
As peace has come to Cambodia following decades of fighting, thousands of refugees are attempting to return home. Some have been in camps for 17 years and have never earned anything during that time. Forced to make new lives and gain money, many have been resettled in new villages. Life is hard, with water sometimes kilometres away, and no regular supplies of food as in the camps. Bridges and roads have to be repaired, wells dug, schools rebuilt or repaired, health services upgraded, latrines constructed and thousands of hectares of farm prepared for families. UNHCR has recently spent over $9 million on such projects. Non-government organisations have also been active providing funds, training and surveying for repairing irrigation systems. Health services for industrial workers have been provided in Phnom Penh, and maternity wings established in a hospital, supported by visiting Australian specialists.
Thai Lake Rehabilitation
In Thailand, an environmental conservation project is financed by an aid agency to assist community organisations working with refugees from Cambodia in the border area to rehabilitate a lake in danger of over-exploitation through land speculation and inappropriate government planning. Two natural prawn grounds in the lake are being cared for. Areas of common use are being promoted, which will include grasslands on the lake's main island and some mangrove forests. Conservation farming is being introduced into some of the National Reserve Forests. These forests are continually encroached onto by landless refugees who have no other means of income other than farming the forest lands. Training programmes are teaching the people new farming methods, and how to legally resolve their problems.
This list of possible actions by individuals living in the countries of the North has been prepared in conjunction with UNHCR and aid agencies.
These activities cover work both in and out of school. They may be attempted in any order, and should be done by teams of students. Your team should decide which activity they will attempt first.
1. Putting it into Practice: The Local Scene
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2. Food Relief
Food relief can be organised in four ways: general food distribution for people who can cook their own meals; mass feeding from central kitchens; supplementary feeding for vulnerable groups; and intensive or therapeutic feeding of severely malnourished cases.
Your local group collects money and intends to buy food to send to refugees in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Rwanda. Consider these questions:
3. Poster Design
Design an aid-for-refugee-children poster (at least A4 size) to be displayed in either USA, Japan or France in light of this statement:
UNICEF has estimated that all major childhood diseases could be controlled, malnutrition halved, 4 million child-deaths avoided, all children provided with safe water and sanitation, basic education provided for all children, and family planning made universally available with $25 billion. This is half the amount spent on cigarettes in Europe in one year, $6 billion less than Americans spend on beer and $10 billion less than Japanese spend on business entertainment in one year.
4. Project Evaluation
Select any one refugee project in Resource 2, and evaluate it carefully in the light of the following:
TSW Home
Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Module 4 | Module 5
Module 6 | Module 7 | Module 8 | Module 9 | Module 10
Module 11 | Module 12 | Module 13 | Module 14 | Module 15
Module 16 | Module 17 | Module 18 | Module 19 | Module 20
Module 21 | Module 22 | Module 23 | Module 24 | Module 25 | Module 26
