What it's really like to be a refugee
Each refugee has a unique story where they have been forced to leave their homes, family, friends and everything they know to try and escape violence, persecution and even death.
Many risk their lives for their family and loved ones in the hope that they can get a better life somewhere else.
Yahoo7 has spoken to five refugees in depth about their experiences, why they ended up in Australia and how their lives are starkly different.
Some hadn’t experienced living a home with running water or the novelty of being able to pop to the shop for a pint of milk until they moved here.
Some couldn’t go into the main city near their homes for fear of being killed because of their ethnicity.
The Refugee Council of Australia has shared the personal stories of some of their patrons.
Refugee Week starts today and runs until Saturday, June 20.
The theme of the week is With Courage let us all combine and that is taken from the second verse of the Australian national anthem.
Paul Power, CEO of Refugee Council of Australia, said: “Refugee Week is an opportunity to recognise the great contributions that so many refugees have made to the vibrant and diverse Australia that we all love”
“With courage let us all combine, emphasises both the pluck it takes to flee persecution and establish yourself in a new country and the courage required by all Australians to build a protective and welcoming environment in politically difficult times”.
“This year we are calling on all Australians to reflect on the great benefits that refugees have brought to Australia and to encourage our Government to stop the harm of our asylum seekers policies.
“ It’s time Australia strengthened our contribution to sharing the responsibility both locally, regionally and globally to develop a sustainable solution to the great challenges we face with unprecedented human displacement.”
What is a refugee?
Until 1951 there was no commonly accepted term for people fleeing persecution.
People who fled their country were known as stateless people, migrants or refugees.
Different countries treated these people in different ways. Following the mass migrations caused by the Second World War (particularly in Europe) it was decided that there needed to be a common understanding of which people needed protection and how they should be protected.
The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol (commonly known as the Refugee Convention), to which Australia is a signatory, defines a refugee as: Any person who owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country.
The important parts of this definition are:
• The person has to be outside their country of origin
• The reason for their flight has to be a fear of persecution
• This fear of persecution has to be well founded (i.e. they must have experienced it or be likely to experience it if they return)
• The persecution has to result from one or more of the five grounds listed in the definition
They have to be unwilling or unable to seek the protection of their country youth.
Did you know?
The term ‘refugee’ is still widely used to refer to many people who are not at risk of persecution, including people displaced due to a natural disaster or poverty, or migrating to improve their standard of living.
Such people are not refugees under international law and should not be referred to as refugees.
What is it like to be a refugee in Australia?
Refugees often have scant understanding about our country and the nature of society here.
They have had no opportunity to prepare themselves physically or psychologically for their new life in Australia.
Australia has a long history of successfully resettling refugees and humanitarian entrants.
Since Federation, Australia has offered a permanent home to more than 800,000 refugees and others in need of humanitarian protection.
Many former refugees are prominent in Australian business, government, education, the arts, sport and community life.
The difference between a ‘refugee’, ‘asylum seeker’ and ‘migrant’
• A migrant is someone who chooses to leave their country to seek a better life. They choose where they migrate to and they are able to return whenever they like.
• Refugees are forced to flee from their country and cannot return unless the situation that forced them to leave improves. Some are forced to flee without any warning; many have experienced torture and trauma. The motivating factor for refugees is safety and protection from persecution and human rights abuse, not economic advantage.
• An asylum seeker is a person who is seeking protection as a refugee and is still waiting to have his/her claim assessed. Every refugee has at some point been an asylum seeker.
This week we will tell you one refugee story a day to highlight the success stories in Australia.
