Hilfe:MyKlexikon/Refugee

A refugee camp in Zaatari, Jordan. The United Nation is helping people who fled their country.

Refugees are people who need to leave their home country even though they don't want to. Many refugees flee a war, you call those war refugees. Others are being prosecuted, either by the government or other countrymen, who don't accept different religions, language or a different political opinion. Therefore, refugees often fear for their lives. That's when they have no other option than fleeing their country.

Other people flee from famine, drought, or hunger catastrophe. Other people may live in their country, but they are looking to earn more money, you call those refugees economic refugee. Refugees belong to the group of migrants, so in general to people who leave their country.

For refugees, it is hard to leave their homeland especially because they want to bring many of their belongings and money with them on their trip. The journey can be risky and dangerous, they can be threatened by criminals, or boats that the refugees use to travel across the sea can overflow due to the number of refugees on the boat. Sometimes they are not allowed to cross the border, therefore, they must return to their homeland even if it puts them at risk or danger.

Finally, the refugees arrive in a new land but don’t always know if they can stay and manage their living conditions. Many people say that they want an asylum request. If the land takes upon the request, the refugee gets to stay in that land and receives help. The reason they do or do not get asylum depends on the land.

The refugees that don’t get accepted into the land must go back to their homeland, but many stay, which then makes them “illegal immigrants”, meaning they are breaking the law. In the countries where refugees are accepted many discuss who is actually a refugee, that means if one is really a refugee and must fear their life or if one just wants to live in a different country to earn more money.