GARY PAOLUCCI
9/19/16
Some of the main takeaways from the refugees daily website include who and who is not a refugee, the international legal framework, and the assylum process. Before reading this, I didnt know what classified someone as a refugee or not. I thought a refugee was someone who fleed a country and made it to another succesfully. However, the refugee deming process is much more in depth than that. "A refugee is someone determined to have “a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” and who therefore cannot return to his or her country of origin." This definition of a refugee. This definition paints a much more rounded picture of a refugee. I initially think that someone who leaves their country is for was/military reasons like Syria. But more people leave for religious reasons I feel like, and the word "persecution" really emphasizes that. The legal issues with refugees can be an issue too. To whom which country they reside in, to how a refugee goes about leaving a country, can all be a bit dicy. In leaving a country, a refugee needs to find asylum. An asylum seeker helps give that hopeful refugee protection from their current country in the effort of going to a new country. The International Asylum Law is key for refugees seeking asylum, as it acts as an offical mandate to help asylum seekers give structure to the process.
9/22
Reading this article was very eye opening. I had no idea it was so bad until looking at the statistics. Some of the most tronbuling things I took away from this is that more than half the refugees are children. That is so heart breaking and really hard to fathom. Displaced children born into a life of hell is by no means an acceptable childhood or life to be apart of. They unfortunelty got the short end of the stick. Another alarming statistic is that nearly 250,00 Syrians have died becuase of the turmoil of the country, about half of them being innocent civilians. Other countries are helping out, but when you have countries trying to help out like Russia, you cant be killing civlians in the proccess. So much is wrong about the situation that has been unfolding in Syria and I pray that this will get cleaned up as soon as possible.
10/3
People Living "In Sheer Terror" Around Lake Chad:
This article talks about the problems the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) and the havoc they have been causing in the areas of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. The civilians and refugees are getting some assistance, but not nearly enough that is needed. Doctors Without Borders is helping victims and those being affected by ISWAP with medical and humanitarian problems. Doctors without Borders is assisting, but things just out of their control are the lack of medical facilities in equipment available. These areas in Africa are not as sped up as the rest of the world in terms of technology. Another issue is that the needs of these people are not entirely known. This makes it challenging to resolve the overall big picture problems with the Lake Chad area.
THE FORGOTTEN BORDER IN THE SOUTH:
This article talks about the treacherous path through Central America incoming migrants have to travel on to reach the United States. Whether it be individuals, families, etc. chances are not in the incoming migrants' favor to reach the United States without running into theft, intimidation, getting beat up, kidnapped, and sexual attacks. The article has many nice graphics and real pictures that help illustrate the situation. The amount of undocumented crimes that go on in Central America on these paths is a huge problem. Mexico needs to work on their regulation and enforce stricter policies to make sure people stay safe.
10/6
One Family's story from the Dominican of Congo:
This video was very impactful. Clement and Aline advocate for human rights, especially women rights. In the Congo, gender equality is non existent. This issue with women rights exists more than just beyond the Congo. Women are victims of sexual abuse as well. Issues like this need to stop around the world. The government in some of these impoverished nations are doing nothing about it either. It is a very sad that justice is not being served correctly, and how the government in some of these places are not doing anything about. Clement and Aline are trying to help where they can but they know they are small fish in a big pond.
Rape as a Weapon of War (Lib Guide):
Another video regarding the nation of Congo, this was a very sad and touching reality that goes on. Rape is a huge issue in the area of Congo, and the justice system doesn't step in enough. Since 2003, there have been more than 8000 cases of rape, and there have only been 63 court rulings from that. Armed groups use rape to tear apart families and create displacement. If a husband's wife gets raped, the husband will generally leave the wife because they do not want to risk getting HIV, and that it is embarrassing if your wife gets raped. This makes women a casualty in the whole situation and it can completely ruin their lives, displacing families and causing trauma.