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As of this writing, more than 65 million people around the world have been displaced, representing the highest number since the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN Refugee Agency, began its reporting more than fifty years ago. This number includes 21.3 million refugees, 40.8 million internally displaced persons, and 3.2 million asylum seekers. To comprehend the scale of this number, it is useful to understand that 1 person in 100 worldwide has been displaced from their home, and if these 65 million people were a nation unto themselves, they would make up the twenty-first largest in the world. Another way to understand the gravity of the current situation is to consider that 34,000 people per day — an average of 24 people every minute — are forcibly displaced as a result of conflict or persecution. Young people are particularly impacted: Some 94,400 unaccompanied or separated children, representing 78 countries, applied for asylum in 2015. Today, more than half (54 percent) of all refugees worldwide come from just three countries: the Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Worldwide, Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ethiopia, and Jordan host the largest numbers of these refugees.
But what does it mean to be a refugee or displaced person? The term “refugee” was given a precise legal definition in 1951. It was defined by the newly organized (in 1950) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as someone 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 nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” This definition has been refined over time. (See Activity 2.) A refugee is not the same as an internally displaced person (IDP). Refugees cross an international border; IDPs have been forced to leave their home, but have not crossed a border and, therefore, remain in their own country.
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Classroom Connections
Curriculum Snapshot
Video Connection
The increasing numbers of refugees are the focus of intense political rhetoric and media attention. Their plight has renewed discussions about the following issues:
Meanwhile, internally displaced persons (IDPs), who do not fit the legal definition of refugee because they have not left their homeland, pose another set of challenges to international law and to the mandates of humanitarian organizations.
The scale and complexity of the contemporary refugee crisis has also raised new ethical and human rights questions such as: What are the rights of the deceased? Thousands perish on their journey for safe refuge, and their relatives and friends, as well as the international community, call for the need for a registry of the dead, and the care and rights of those orphaned by these tragedies.
Before viewing the photos and engaging in the activities, students should:
World History Era 6
The Emergence of the First Global Age, 1450–1770
World History Era 7
An Age of Revolutions, 1750–1914
World History Era 8
A Half-Century of Crisis and Achievement, 1900–1945
World History Era 9
The 20th Century Since 1945: Promises and Paradoxes
Historical Thinking Standard 2: Historical Comprehension
Historical Thinking Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
Historical Thinking Standard 5: Historical Issues
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 and RH.11-12.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.7: Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.5: Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS RL.9-10.7: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment.
CCSS W.9-10.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
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Steve Erklander, “Aid Groups Seek Ways to Handle Tide of Refugees From Indochina,” The New York Times, June 11, 1989.
Marina Koren Esri, “Where Are the 50 Most Populous Refugee Camps?,” Smithsonian Magazine, June 19, 2013, www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/where-are-50-most-populous-refugee-camps-180947916/?no-ist (accessed November 4, 2016).
María José Fernández, “Refugees, climate change and international law,” Forced Migration Review 49, May 2015.
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Ben Hubbard, “Lesbos Turns From Vacation Island to ‘Main Point of Entry’ for Migrants,” The New York Times, September 16, 2015.
Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, GRID 2016: Global Report on Internal Displacement.
John Kifner, “Armenian Genocide of 1915: An Overview,” The New York Times: Times Topics www.nytimes.com/ref/timestopics/topics_armeniangenocide.html (accessed November 8, 2016).
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Danielle Robinson, “Engaging with innovation among refugees and IDPs,” Forced Migration Review 53, October 2016.
Corinne Segal, “Stranded in a refugee camp, this Syrian photographer teaches budding artists,” PBS NewsHour, June 11, 2016 www.pbs.org/newshour/art/zaatari-refugee-camp-syrian-photographer (accessed October 30, 2016).
William Lacy Swing, “The Mediterranean challenge within a world of humanitarian crises,” Forced Migration Review 51, January 2016.
UNCHR, The Global Report 2016
UNCHR, The Global Report 2015
Patrick Witty, “See How Smartphones Have Become a Lifeline for Refugees,” Time, October 8, 2015, www.time.com/4062120/see-how-smartphones-have-become-a-lifeline-for-refugees (accessed October 30, 2016).
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Annenberg Space for Photography, REFUGEE Exhibit
www.annenbergphotospace.org/exhibits/refugee
UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency
www.unhcr.org
UNHCR infographic
www.innovation.unhcr.org/10-infographics-that-show-the-insane-scale-of-the-global-displacement-crisis/
UNHCR data at a glance
www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html
U.S. Refugee Screening Process
www.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/11/20/infographic-screening-process-refugee-entry-united-states
Facts about U.S. Refugee Resettlement
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/ten-facts-about-us-refugee-resettlement?gclid=CMurv-rE_tECFVKVfgodAFQJMA
4 Things to Know About The Vetting Process for Syrian Refugees
www.npr.org/2015/11/17/456395388/paris-attacks-ignite-debate-over-u-s-refugee-policy
History of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
www.unhcr.org/en-us/1951-refugee-convention.html
“A Tour of Five Refugee Camps”
www.thisamericanlife.org/greece
Internal Displacement Monitoring Center
www.internal-displacement.org
The Refugee Project
www.therefugeeproject.org
“Refugees Who Have Made a Difference”
www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/en/about-us/unhcr-people/prominent-refugees.html?start=18
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
www.refugees.org
Time article: “The Syrians Next Door”
www.time.com/desmoines
Pew Research
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/05/key-facts-about-the-worlds-refugees
Cultural Orientation Resource Center
www.culturalorientation.net
“Return and Resettlement of Refugees and Internally Displaced Populations”
www.usip.org/guiding-principles-stabilization-and-reconstruction-the-web-version/10-social-well-being/return-and-