World Refugee Day And Volunteering With Refugees

By Kate | Permalink | No Comments | June 23rd, 2007 | Trackback

June 20 is World Refugee Day and thanks to an email sent out by the International Refugee Committee, I can link to the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner on Refugees) special events page, which points out that today over 40 million people worldwide are already uprooted by violence and persecution. Many others have likely been refugees for a period at least and then either returned home or settled permanently in their new location.

The UNHCR also states that “Today people do not just flee persecution and war but also injustice, exclusion, environmental pressures, competition for scarce resources” among other problems which they identify as originating with “dysfunctional states.” It’s worth pointing out that this means that just because someone is not fleeing a war does not mean he or she cannot be a refugee.

How can volunteers best help refugees? I think there are a number of ways, but off the top of my head, I would say most of them do not involve personally working at refugee camps. When considered in light of eliminating the situations that cause people to flee their homes, a wide variety of activities contribute to the reduction of refugees by addressing the root causes – including supporting appropriate policy; and the “right” policy to best help refugees may well be the policy that addresses the root causes (conflict, hunger, poverty, etc.) rather than only the policy that aims to alleviate problems once people have already left their homes. At refugee camps, problems tend to range from lack of money to security concerns to health issues, and qualified volunteers such as doctors with MSF or engineers are often part of the solution to these issues.

Another way you can personally assist refugees as a volunteer is by providing services like language or job skill training, or helping orient people to their new home and environment – your country. Organizations like the IRC get involved in this, as do many local non-profits which serve low-income immigrants from all backgrounds. While the particular organization will vary depending on your location, here are a few in the US:

• The African Services Committee in New York City
• The Arlington Diocese Refugee Services in Arlington, Virginia
• CEO (Creating Economic Opportunities for Women) in Oakland, California
• CAAELI (Coalition for African, Arab, Asian, European, and Latino Immigrants) in Chicago, Illinois

You can also search on Idealist.org to see what exists in your community.

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