Both asylum seekers and refugees are forced migrants. In 2012, it was estimated by the United Nations commissioner for refugees that there are over 23,000 people who are being forced to leave to migrate from their homes to seek protection elsewhere. These peoples could either be fleeing away from their homes due to persecution or conflicts. Among these people, 46 percent of them are young children.
Refugees are entitled by the international law to enter into any country to seek asylum. They are allowed to travel regardless of whether they hold any identity or travel documents. Asylum seekers are people who are in the process of applying for refugee status or asylum.
What causes people to move away from their country of origin?
There are different reasons which compel people to migrate from their homes. There are t
hose who leave due to healthcare needs and others due to social-economic status. There are some who have been exposed to natural disasters, political instability or war, conflict, threats, and violence. These are people whose rights have been violated as a result of rape, persecution or due to torture (psychological or physical). Most of these people might end up spending much of their time in detention or refugee camps.
What are the challenges facing asylum seekers and refugees?
Most of the refugees are said to be coming from the low-income nation. Most of these countries have no health care access or very little access to health care. You will, therefore, find these people have experienced negative health outcomes in their lives. They might be subjected to diseases such as hepatitis B, HIV/AIDs, and TB.
Some of the people who have fl
ed away from their homes have lost their position in society, social support systems, language and religious customs, and employment. Some also have from trauma either due to death of their family members or form from being separated from their families. You can imagine someone who does not even know the whereabouts of his or her friends and members. These people are faced with grief and loneliness.
Other forms of hardships which face these people include language and cultural barrier. Refugees are settled in camps set up by Non-governmental organizations or by United Nations. Most of these camps are in poor conditions. You will find that people are congested with, and there are limited facilities such as toilets and showers. In fact, there are some camps where you find around a thousand people sharing about three toilets and eight showers. Other resources and basic items such as water and food might also be limited in some areas which are difficult to access.…