Syrian refugees numbering in the millions fled civil war in their country in the early 2000′s. Many were housed in refugee camps like this camp in Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Credit: © Orlok/Shutterstock

Today, June 20, is World Refugee Day. The United Nations designated the day to honor refugees from around the world. A refugee is a person forced to flee from his or her country and find safety elsewhere. Many refugees seek to escape persecution based on religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political beliefs. Some flee from war, famine, or other dangers. Many refugees give up everything—home, possessions, and family and friends—to pursue an uncertain future in a foreign land.

The term refugee comes from the French word refugie, which was used to describe Protestant Huguenots who fled France in 1685 because of Roman Catholic persecution. The term displaced person, or DP, is sometimes used interchangeably with refugee.

The flow of refugees from one country to another can present major international challenges. Countries that receive refugees—often called host countries—may have difficulty providing shelter, food, sanitation, and medical treatment for large numbers of people in need. Since 1951, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has helped millions of refugees throughout the world. The UNHCR estimates there were nearly 89.3 million refugees, internally displaced people, and asylum seekers at the end of 2021. This number has increased in 2022 as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as the ongoing crises in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria. The Rohingya are a people of Myanmar who are not recognized as legal residents and are forced to flee the country for safety and rights.

Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar await rescue after being stranded off the coast of Indonesia. The government of Myanmar limited the rights of its Rohingya population in the 2010′s, leading an increasing number to attempt to flee the country. Myanmar’s government considered them illegal immigrants, although many Rohingya families had lived in the country for decades.
Credit: AP Photo

Under international law, governments in host countries must respect the basic human rights of refugees. Refugees, in turn, are expected to respect the laws and regulations of host countries. The shelter and protection that host countries provide to refugees is called asylum. In host countries, refugees generally have freedom of movement, freedom of religion, and the ability to pursue education and work. However, some refugees have no choice but to stay in crowded refugee camps. Refoulement—that is, the forcible return of refugees to countries where they face persecution—is a violation of international law.

Refugees often face many obstacles and hardships on their journeys. Salva Dut escaped from South Sudan on foot and faced many years in refugee camps before being welcomed in the United States. He works to bring clean water to his home country. Many refugees try to help the community they left in order to make the lives of others safer and healthier.

Many communities plan activities and events on World Refugee Day to support refugees and welcome them. Look up if your community is hosting an event or read about how you can help refugees in your neighborhood.

February 21, 2017

Yesterday, February 20, the United Nations (UN) declared a famine in parts of South Sudan, a nation in eastern Africa. Famine is a prolonged food shortage that causes widespread hunger and death. The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said that war and a collapsing economy have left 100,000 people facing starvation in South Sudan, and a further 1 million people are on the brink of famine. The WFP called for urgent and immediate humanitarian aid to slow or reverse “an escalating catastrophe.” Nearly 5 million people—more than 40 percent of South Sudan’s population—are in need of agriculture, food, and nutrition assistance.

Displaced people prepare food provided by humanitarian aid in a temporary camp near Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Credit: © Vlad Karavaev, Shutterstock

South Sudan broke away from the rest of Sudan to form the Republic of South Sudan in 2011. In late 2013, however, disagreements between ethnic groups led to civil war in the new nation. Fighting killed thousands of people until the warring sides signed a peace agreement in August 2015. Sporadic fighting resumed in July 2016, however, forcing many people from their homes and disrupting the nation’s agriculture, economy, and transportation. Crops have been ruined or left unharvested, and livestock populations have declined rapidly. Many people cannot afford the nation’s ever-rising food prices, and others are unable to reach camps that have food, water, and medical supplies.

Relief operations have been underway across South Sudan since early 2014. Aid programs have stemmed the severity of the food crisis in some areas, but they could not prevent famine in the nation’s northern Unity state, scene of the worst of the fighting. Famine struck the same area during an earlier civil conflict in 1998.

Throughout history, famine has struck at least one area of the world every few years. The famine in South Sudan is the first to be declared since 2011 when some 250,000 people died of hunger in nearby Somalia. Famine is again threatening areas of Somalia this year, and parts of Nigeria and Yemen are also currently at risk. The UN declares a famine when at least 20 percent of households face extreme food shortages, 30 percent of people are suffering from acute malnutrition, and the daily death rate from hunger exceeds 2 in every 10,000 people.

January 28, 2015

Yesterday, a militia in South Sudan freed 280 of its child soldiers. The release is part of a peace treaty between the government of Sudan and a militia known as the South Sudan Democratic Army Cobra Faction. The militia is led by David Yau Yau, who signed the treaty in May 2014, which stipulated, among other things, the militia’s release of 3,000 child soldiers over the coming months.

A child soldier in military uniform in the South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army, a militia in rebellion against the government of South Sudan. © Samir Bor, Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Fighting between militias of southern Sudanese fighters and the government of Sudan has gone on for decades. South Sudan became an independent nation in 2011. Since then, thousands of South Sudanese have been killed in fighting between the militias of various ethnic groups. There are about 10 armed groups—militias—fighting in South Sudan in support of various ethnicities. Many of these militias use child soldiers. Often the children are forced into service. Sometimes, however, the children join because they have no other way to support themselves or survive. Militias often choose such young soldiers because they are more easily influenced and can be swayed to follow orders without questioning them.

Children have served in armed conflicts for much of history. In 1989, the United Nations treaty Convention on Rights of the Child contained an article prohibiting countries from using children under 18 in armed conflict and making the recruitment of children under 15 a war crime. Many of the armies that use child soldiers, however, are not headed by countries but by individual militias. Children are often recruited as young as 7 or 8 years of age.

One of the major challenges with child soldiers is reintegrating them back into their society after their release. Even when it is possible to reunite these children with their families, and many child soldiers are orphans, children who have seen so much violence may be traumatized by the events. Sometimes, child soldiers have been recruited at such a young age that violent acts are the behaviors with which they are most familiar. And, communities in which a child has committed an atrocity (cruel or brutal act) may hold such an act against the child. 

Other World Book articles: 

• Africa (2011-a Back in time article)
• Sudan (2011-a Back in time article)

December 27, 2013

The government of South Sudan agreed today to an immediate cease-fire with rebels, announced East African leaders meeting in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The leaders called on rebel leader Riek Machar to “make similar commitments.”

The fighting erupted in Juba, the South Sudanese capital, on December 18 between  Dinka and Nuer factions within the South Sudanese army. The violence was fueled by a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, a member of the Dinka ethnic group, and Machar, the former vice president, who is of the Nuer ethnic group. President Kiir blamed the violence on Machar, whom Kiir dismissed as vice president in July. After being removed from office, Machar accused Kiir of making himself a dictator. Ethnic violence quickly spread throughout the country, and an estimated 1,000 people have been killed and 100,000 others have been displaced from their homes.

Fighting in South Sudan mainly involved the Nuer and the Dinka ethnic groups and their leaders. (World Book map)

The United Nations (UN) Security Council has voted to nearly double the number of UN peacekeepers in South Sudan to 12,500. Nevertheless, UN officials continue to fear that the ethnic violence in South Sudan may dissolve into a full-blown civil war.

Additional World Book articles:

• Sudan 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Sudan 2012 (a Back in Time article)

December 24, 2013

The United Nations (UN) reported today that civilians in South Sudan are living in “palpable fear” that they will be killed for their ethnicity as mass graves are being uncovered. The fighting erupted in Juba, the capital, last week and has spread throughout the country. It is being fueled by a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, a member of the Dinka ethnic group, and the former vice president, Riek Machar, of the Nuer ethnic group.

Clashes between Dinka and Nuer factions within the South Sudanese army broke out on December 18 in Juba, in what the government characterized as a coup (overthrow) attempt. President Kiir blamed the violence on Machar, whom Kiir dismissed as vice president in July. After being removed from office, Machar accused Kiir of making himself a dictator.

Fighting in South Sudan mainly involves the Nuer and the Dinka ethnic groups and their leaders. (World Book map)

On December 21, Nuer rebels fired upon three U.S. military aircraft, injuring four U.S. troops, as the aircraft approached the South Sudanese town of Bor to rescue American citizens. Bor, the capital of the central state of Jonglei, was seized earlier in the week by rebels led by Machar. The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that the Army’s tilt-rotor CV aircraft were forced to divert to Entebbe, Uganda.

In communication with the BBC, Machar claims that his forces now control much of the country, including the town of Bor and the key oil-producing state of Unity. (Oil accounts for more than 95 percent of South Sudan’s economy.) President Kiir’s army troops are currently massing outside Bor in preparation for a counter-attack. Kiir has informed members of the South Sudanese parliament that the army is “ready to move,” but the attack is being delayed to allow U.S. citizens to be airlifted out.

UN officials fear that the ethnic violence in South Sudan could dissolve into a full-blown civil war. Sudan underwent a 22-year civil war between Muslims in northern Sudan and tribal groups in the South that left more than 1 million people dead before the South achieved independence in 2011. The latest violence has already left hundreds dead and displaced an estimated 80,000 people, many of whom are seeking shelter at UN bases.

Additional World Book articles:

• Sudan 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Sudan 2012 (a Back in Time article)