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Introduction

Unit One

Unit Two

Unit Three

Unit Four

Appendix

Glossary

Forced Migrants: Persons who leave their place of habitual residence involuntarily, due to persecution, economic hardship, war or civil conflict, or natural or manmade disaster. Among the kinds of forced migrants are asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking, convention refugees, economic migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons.

Convention Refugee: (definition was updated in 1967) a person who is outside the country of their nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality membership of a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution.

Refugees as defined by Catholic Social Teaching: In addition to convention refugees, Catholic teaching suggests that de facto refugees (who are victims of armed conflicts, misguided economic policy or natural disasters), and internally displaced persons (who are uprooted from their homes without having crossed an international frontier) should also be recognized as refugees and accorded international protection.

Asylum Seekers: People who have moved across an international border in search of the protection guaranteed to Convention refugees, but whose claim for refugee status has not yet been determined.

Forced Economic Migrants: Persons who seek to live and work in a country other than their country of origin due to a lack of economic opportunity there or better opportunities in another country. Those who become migrants due to necessity due to significant economic hardship are called forced economic migrants. When such hardships are imposed selectively by a government as a form or persecution forced economic migrants may also be convention refugees.

IDPs: Internally displaced persons are "persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border." (Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Introduction, para. 2)

Who Is a Refugee?

 

Objectives: Students will be able to

1. Express the United Nation’s definition of a refugee as delineated in the 1951 Geneva Convention and 1967 Protocol in their own words.
2. Express the Catholic Church’s definition of a refugee.
3. Distinguish among refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and asylum seekers.
4. Compare refugee movements in biblical times with movements in the 20th and 21st centuries.
5. Identify four major movements of refugees into the United States.
6. Explain the role of the Holocaust in creating post-WW II policy for the treatment of refugees.
7. Describe the impact of 20th and 21st Century wars on creation of refugees and IDP populations, particularly as a result of WWII, Vietnam War, and wars of ethnic cleansing in Europe (Bosnia), Africa and Asia.

 

Context

What distinguishes refugees from internally displaced people (IDPs)?

• UNHCR’s role in determination of status.
• The Catholic Church’s definition of a refugee and the special significance this distinct definition has for JRS’ work across the globe. (See Appendix V.)
• Undocumented aliens in the U.S. – refugees, asylum seekers or economic migrants?

Examples of asylum seekers and IDPs

• Cubans fleeing the Castro regime.
• Haitians seeking better opportunities outside their impoverished nation.

Groups that help asylum seekers in U.S.

• CLINIC – Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
• Jesuit Refugee Service/USA.

What impact has persecution had on forcing people to seek refuge in new lands?

• In Biblical times Hebrews fled Egypt in search of freedom in a Promised Land.
• Religious dissenters fled from England and France to the New World.
• Political dissenters left Europe in the mid-19th Century.
• 20th Century warfare displaced millions from Europe, Asia and Africa.

Examples of the impact of persecution:

• French Huguenots – Protestants driven out.
• Irish Famine Refugees – 1840s victims of the blight which destroyed potato crop.
• Holocaust Survivors – World War II victims, primarily refers to European Jews.
• Chin Christians flee from Burma/Myanmar.

 

Experience

Guest Speakers

• Invite a guest speaker from JRS to discuss JRS’ mission and work, stories and important points or
• CLINIC staff member – stories about defending migrants. Or,
• Holocaust survivor or relative to share experiences, or (Appendix II)
• a Cuban-American driven out by Castro

Media

• Cusimano – Love, Dr. Maryann, Beyond Sovereignty, Thomson-Wadsworth, 2007, Chapter 8.
• UNHCR 1951 Refugee Convention text.
• UNHCR’s “Internally Displaced People: Questions & Answers” (PDF)
• CLINIC website answers the question, "What is an asylum seeker?" (PDF)
• Charter of the Jesuit Refugee Service.
• UNHCR Pictorial History.
• Vatican document from the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants on refugees.

 

Reflection

Should we care about IDPs and asylum seekers in the same way that we care for refugees?

• Is our compassion limited to those people who are farther removed from us geographically?
• Asylum seekers fear that their lives are at risk in their native lands.
• Students: reflect on family history to ascertain what brought your ancestors to U.S.
• 21st Century refugees – Is there a difference?

What has been the impact of 200 years of refugees on our current thinking?

• The United States is a land of refugees and immigrants
- the U.S. offers resettlement in the U.S. to refugees from other lands.
- the U.S. treatment of undocumented aliens who may or may not be asylum seekers.
• The Holocaust of World War II creates policy for the treatment of refugees.
• 20th and 21st Century warfare creates millions of refugees and IDP populations.

 

Action

• Bookmark CLINIC website.
• Compare the UN and Catholic positions on refugees. Under which definition would a person find it easier to gain acceptance in a new country? Explain why.
• Write articles for either school or local newspapers.
• Bookmark UNHCR website to raise awareness about refugees.
• Contact local interest group on refugees in community.
• What have you learned? What do you think should be done?

 

Evaluation

Small group interaction – students identify individuals as refugees, asylum seekers, economic migrants and IDPs.
Student evaluation of the lesson – small group work and relate to class.

The mission of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA is to accompany, serve and defend the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. JRS/USA witnesses to the reality that God is present in human history, even in the most tragic experiences of vulnerable and often forgotten people driven from their homes by conflict, natural disaster, economic injustice, or violation of other human rights.