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Frequently asked questions

What is a refugee?
Under international law, refugees are persons who "owing to 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 (sic) nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country ... " (Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951)

Generally, refugees are people who have been ejected from their homes, their lands, have lost family and friends, have few possessions and have had their human rights infringed.

Who helps refugees?

What are refugee camps like?

What rights does a refugee have?

Information on countries

Threats to Being Uprooted

Refugees fleeing their homelands encounter many dangers and obstacles on their journey from their homes.

Some refugees are forced to walk for days or even weeks to escape to a safe country. Once in a safe country refugees often need to live in refugee camps for many years. Some of these camps are very dangerous places. Sometimes while living in these camps they are the targets of government or rebel attacks.

Only a small number of refugees are given the chance to begin a new life in another country.

Those who are not given the chance to leave can spend their entire lives in a refugee camp. Many have suffered great trauma or a victims of war or human rights violations. They continue to suffer, as their physical, psychological and spiritual needs remain unmet.

Voluntary Repatriation

For many refugees, returning safely to their homeland is the most desired outcome. It means people can be with their friends and family again, speak their language and work in their chosen jobs.

Returning home, however, can be very difficult. Often their communities have been devastated by the forces that caused them to leave in the first place.

For example, over one million Afghan refugees who had been living in Pakistan and Iran returned home after the Taliban fell. When they returned home many found that their communities were destroyed, their farmlands were covered with landmines, and their orchards had been uprooted. This made the possiblity of returning to their old lives very difficult. (From U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR))

Local Integration into the Country of Asylum

Like the Afghan, East Timorese, and Kosovar refugees in Australia, many who flee to another country then seek asylum there. In Australia those who seek to live here must meet the strict legal tests to prove they are genuine refugees. Asylum may be denied by the Australian Government. This means that those who cannot prove that they are refugees will be forced to return to their country of origin.

Research:

There are many different places to research issues about refugees. Below are some helpful research tips.

• Oral History - talk to some of the people in your area to find out where their families came from and why they moved to Australia
• Local library - look in your local or school library for books on refugees
• Visit your local museum
• Do a search on the internet - our links page would be a great place to start!
• Talk to refugee welfare organisations - these are special organisations dedicated to helping refugees settle into Australia
• English language schools - when granted a refugee visa, adults are entitled to free English lessons. Language schools have information on different groups arriving from overseas.
• Newspapers - there has been a great deal written about refugee issues in the media
• Local Historical Society - local history societies has information on groups moving to different areas.