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Who are Refugees?
How many refugees are there in the world?
Who are Internationally Displaced Persons (IDPs)?
What are the options available to refugees?
Who are immigrants?
Who are asylees?
Why does Refugee Women’s Network only work with women?
Who are Refugees?
Refugees are doctors, engineers, teachers, social workers, bankers, politicians, students, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and visionaries before conflict in their home country made it impossible for them to continue with their lives. People become refugees because of intractable political and social circumstances in their country which turns into conflict or war. Many people cross the borders of their country and seek shelter and protection in neighboring countries. Once they cross the international border, a person is called a refugee.
The UN Refugee Act of 1980 defines a refugee as someone who has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership to a particular social or political opinion. A refugee is unable, or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail herself of protection of the country of her origin. Refugees, in the United States, are here by the invitation of the government.
DHS OIS Annual Flow Report Refugee and Asylees 2008
How many refugees are there in the world?
The UNHCR reported that after a five-year decline in the number of refugees between 2001 and 2005, they have seen two years of increases. Using figures collected from 150 countries the report says there were a total of 11.4 million refugees outside their countries, as well as 26 million others displaced internally by conflict or persecution at the end of 2007. The 11.4 million refugees do not include the 4.5 million Palestinian refugees.
It is estimated that 80 percent of the world’s refugees are women and children.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, the leading countries of origin for refugees in 2007 were:
- Afghanistan: 3.1 million
- Iraq: 2.3 million
- Colombia: 552,000
- Sudan: 523,000
- Somalia: 457,000
Who are Internationally Displaced Persons (IDPs)?
 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), much like refugees, are people who were forced to flee their homes because their lives were in danger, but unlike refugees they did not cross international borders. Currently, there are some 25 million internally displaced persons worldwide. IDPs outnumber refugees by two to one. Source www.internal-displacement.org
IDPs are forced away from their homes. Often they are caught between fighting factions or in remote and inaccessible areas. They end up with no or only very limited access to food, employment, education and health care and security. Since they have not crossed any international borders, IDPs are not eligible for protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
What are the options available to refugees? 
Refugees have three options available to them: a) voluntary repatriation, which can happen only if the situation in their countries improve, making it safe for individuals to return, b) permanent local integration, which can happen only if the country of first asylum, usually a neighboring country, agrees to settle them and c) resettlement to a third country like United States, Canada and Europe.
For any of these options to materialize, there has to be political will and coordination, which often seems to be lacking. As many as 7 million of the current refugee population have languished in refugee camps or segregated settlements for ten years or more. Advocates for refugees have called confinement of millions of individuals in unsecure, unhygienic conditions and lack of educational and growth opportunities as refugee warehousing. For more information on refugee warehousing, click here
Who are immigrants?
Immigrants are individuals and families who migrate to another country in search of better opportunity for themselves and their children. Everybody in America, except for the Native Americans can trace their ancestry to countries outside of the United States. In 2005, there were more than 35.2 million immigrants living in the U.S and accounted for 12.1 percent of the total population. In a recent study published by the Population Reference Bureau in 2009, 16 million children born in the United States are born to parents where at least one is a foreign born parent and contributes to the vast majority of children born in the U.S. Immigrants enter the United States in various visa categories and have an option to become permanent residents and naturalized citizens of the U.S.
Who are asylees?
Asylees, much like refugees, are individuals who are unable or unwilling to return to their country of nationality or habitual residence 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.
Asylees, unlike refugees, declare their intent at the port of entry or while living in the U.S. Once granted asylum, asylees are able to access services and benefits that refugees are eligible for. In 2008, close to 23,000 individuals were granted asylum.
Why does Refugee Women’s Network only work with women?
 Despite gender-based violence and discrimination in most societies around the world, women play roles like mother, care-giver, doctors, engineers, social workers, educators, business women, artists etc. During a conflict, discriminations are amplified as the numbers of opportunities and resources become scarce. Women and children experience war as widows, orphans, displaced individuals, and care-givers. In most conflicts, women are civilians caught in the crossfire but sometimes women are also recruited as soldiers. But more often violence against women is used as a weapon of war. Countless women in many conflicts have been raped and brutalized precisely because they are women. The perpetrators want to destroy future generations of that tribe or ethnic group as a part of ethnic cleansing.
Women’s responsibility to provide for their families does not go away when they are uprooted from their homes. If anything, it is further compounded when access to food, firewood and water become scarce. Additionally, the risk of being subjected to gender-based violence by family members, opposition parties and even humanitarian workers increases. However, women maximize on their resources and their resiliency and provide not only for their immediate families but participate in active management and sharing of responsibilities in refugee camps.
Refugee Women’s Network was established to support, honor and empower the resiliency and resourcefulness of these women. Every year thousands of women enter the United States as a part of refugee resettlement process. The programs that RWN offer - leadership development, education and advocacy - provides additional tools and resources to refugee women to rebuild their lives and their communities in the United States. In an interview to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Xuan Sutter, the first Executive Director of RWN, a refugee herself, said
“People always ask me, ‘when does a refugee stop being a refugee?’ I tell them that for me, it stopped the day I took back control of my life and that’s the philosophy behind this effort – to help these women seize control of their destiny.”
 In the 14 years since the organization was formed, RWN has worked directly with over 2200 women through the RWN Conference, Leadership Program, Microenterprise Program and Health Promoters Program. These women in turn have started their own organizations, businesses and have become community health educators creating a multiplier effect and affecting the lives of thousands more. Click here to find a list of RWN Members.
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