For World Refugee Day: A Discussion on the Challenges and Perils Refugees Face and Recommendations for Safety, Objectivity, and a Path for Self-Sufficiency

Manchester Community Library, Manchester, VT

June 24, 2023 - 2:00-4:00 PM

Grace Initiative Global organized a discussion on World Refugee Day, which is an occasion to build understanding and empathy for refugees’ plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.”[1] This critical discussion took place at the Manchester Community Library on June 24, 2:00-4:00 PM. 

Overview:

A refugee is a person who has fled their own country because they are at risk of serious human rights violations, armed conflict/gang violence and or persecution. The devasting impact on human security due to economic collapse, natural disaster or climate change can also compel people to flee. Some refugees no longer feel safe and might have been targeted just because of who they are or what they do or believe – for example, for their ethnicity, religion, sexuality, or political opinions.  

Refugees flee because the threat to their safety and lives is so great that they feel that they have no choice but to leave and to safety outside their country. This is most often due to failed states, civil war or a sovereign which ignores or carries out severe human rights violations against its own citizens, and who cannot or will not protect them from those dangers. Under international law, which is supreme law, refugees have a right to international protection.

Purpose:

Although refugees flee because of real dangers to their lives, their path for safety and security, is laden with perilous challenges including criminality, discrimination, gender-based violence, environmental threats, and exclusion.  In addition, some refugees, especially women and girls, risk falling prey to human trafficking and other forms of exploitation. The plight of refugees is not over even when they reach safe borders refugees may face daily racism, xenophobia, and discrimination. To this end, we held a discussion on World Refugee Day to reflect on the perils and challenges refugees face, and to discern strategies for security, objectivity, and a path for self-sufficiency. 

[1] United Nations, World Refugee Day. World Refugee Day falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.