Refugee or migrant why it matters

There are more than 1. This family shelters in an unfinished building. Those who obtain refugee status are given protections under international laws and conventions and lifesaving support from aid agencies, including the International Rescue Committee. Refugees in the U. Meet Salam Bunyan, who was forced to flee Iraq after receiving death threats from extremists. Asylum seekers must apply for protection in the country of destination—meaning they must arrive at or cross a border in order to apply.

Then, they must be able to prove to authorities there that they meet the criteria to be covered by refugee protections. Not every asylum seeker will be recognized as a refugee.

Tens of thousands of children and families from Central America have fled extreme danger—murder, kidnapping, violence against women and forced recruitment by gangs. Those arriving at the U. But dictionaries do not merely define words — they also describe how they are used.

If a negative meaning develops this will be listed. At any one moment in time there are a range of terms available to describe human migration. As Mawuna Remarque Koutonin argues , they are usually from the same country as themselves and often white. Most moved there looking for a better quality of life, enabled through the lower cost of living.

Instead it is most commonly used to refer to people moving from less affluent countries, both inside and outside the EU. One way we can demonstrate how terms have specific geographical associations is by noting which words occur most frequently alongside them. It matters what labels we use, what terms we apply. It changes our perceptions, it creates a narrative. It can incite fear or invoke sympathy.

But what matters even more is that we not lose sight of the humanity of people, no matter what label is applied. Each person has a name, a face, a family, a history. When we bury people in rhetoric, when we dehumanize with a term, we strip others of dignity, we change the way they are seen and heard and loved.

But when we pull off the mantle of labels, when we allow people to move past assumptions, past false narratives, they are able to reclaim their story, their humanity. We allow them to rise. Update: an earlier version of this post included people fleeing natural disasters as a definition of refugee. This is incorrect and the post has since been updated.

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Alternatives to Immigration Detention of Children. Family unity in the context of migration. Education solutions for migrant and displaced children and their host communities.

Migratory regularization as an essential condition for the comprehensive protection of the rights of children in the context of human mobility.

Chil dren "Left Behind". Equitable access to quality education for internally displaced children. Protecting and supporting internally displaced children in urban settings. Guidance for assessing the situation of children on the move in a national context.

Call to action for data. Child-sensitive return in Europe. Child Alert: Children uprooted in the Caribbean. African Action Agenda for ChildrenUprooted. Uncertain Pathways: How gender shapes the experiences of children on the move. Talent on the Move: Listening to children and young people on the move to unlock their potential.

Lost at Home: The risks and challenges for internally displaced children. Action for refugee children: Good practices. A Right to be Heard: Listening to children and young people on the move. Programme Menu Child Protection. Challenge Solution Resources. The solution. Children around the world, regardless of where they are from and why they have left their homes, should be treated the same UNICEF works around the world to help protect the rights of migrant and displaced children.

The Global Refugee Compact The Global Refugee Compact is an international agreement that sets the building blocks for a stronger, more predictable and more equitable international response to large refugee situations.