There are millions of refugees in the world today, and many UK schools have pupils who are refugees or asylum-seekers. Refugees are often negatively portrayed in the media and may experience racism as a result. Teaching about the reasons people become refugees and exploring related issues of rights and justice can create a more empathetic environment.
Background
The word ‘refugee’ is used in everyday speech to describe people who have fled their home and country because of danger. But under international law, the word ‘refugee’ has a precise meaning and describes people who have fled because of fear of persecution, are unable to be protected by their own government, have fled to another country and been given refugee status by the government of the new country. To be given refugee status, the government of the new country has to decide whether the person meets the definition of a refugee as set out in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The definition says that the person must have left his or her own country, or not be able to return to it “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.”- Asylum seekers are people who have formally applied for asylum and therefore want to be recognised as refugees, and are still waiting for a government to decide on their application.
- People flee their home and country and become refugees for many different reasons. Refugee movements are caused by the following:
- War between countries
- Civil war
- Persecution of minority ethnic groups
- Persecution of religious groups
- Persecution of members of political organisations
- Persecution of people because they belong to a distinct social group. For example, gay men and lesbians are persecuted in some countries.
- There are also countries where women who refuse to wear veils are risking persecution. *