Refugee status is getting permission to settle in a foreign country because of circumstances like being unable to return to the home country. Countries do evaluations called the Refugee Status Determination. It is to make sure that a person is fit to settle as a refugee in a country to legitimize them. Illegibility for refugee status depends on whether a person is outside the refugee country. The prosecution is based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular group and if the person has not yet settled in another country. It is also to make sure that the person who has applied for a place in an asylum is qualified to be a refugee.
Refugee status is not limited to many countries. It has no expiry date. However, a refugee must apply for residency and citizenship in the United States after one year of settling down. Therefore, they can get jobs and earn citizen rights such as voting. No one can terminate the refugee status contract. Refugees can return to their home country (Boyd, 2018). However, this is highly discouraged by many immigration attorneys due to their safety. If the person eloped from their country due to religious matters, they would still be there when they returned. Therefore, their lives would still be at risk. Unlike ordinary aliens, a refugee cannot avail themselves of documentation such as national passports since they now are not under the protection of their own country.
Refugees primarily seek international help. They lack basic support systems such as security. They are poor because they need essential assistance such as food, shelter, clothing and, medication (Morrice, et al., 2020). Many countries have started refugee programs to help these people. Well-wishers and charity organizations make donations to help the refugees with basic needs. Organizations such as the Red Cross and some religious institutions come through to give them food, build camps, clothe them and give them free medication for the sick. Others come forward to offer education and job opportunities for people who wish to.
However, the situation at the refugee camps continues to deteriorate with time. Most of them leave their home countries with few or no personal belongings. Living as a refugee entails overcrowding, starvation, constant exposure to diseases due to poor sanitation and lack of security in the camps. On average, one in three refugees suffer mental health disorders such as anxiety, post-traumatic disorder and depression (Ellis, et al., 2019). The camps are the most dangerous environments with drug use practices and sexual assaults. Few deaths were reported from the refugee camps and asylums due to robbery, diseases and suicide.
In so many ways, refugees contribute to poverty. They drain host-state resources, exert pressure on facilities such as hospitals and schools, and deplete their economy. Countries set aside many funds from their treasury to aid the refugees, but it does not seem to get better. Refugees face life-threatening poverty in host countries, especially when their allocation is over. They can barely engage in business activities due to a lack of capital and other incentives granted to the country’s citizens. Looking at the positive side, when refugees receive the right tools to succeed, they can return more money to the economy than they cost. The best way to break the cycle of poverty amongst refugees and reduce its effect on the economy is to give them the right incentives to thrive.
References
Boyd, M. (2018). Gender, refugee status, and permanent settlement. In Immigrant Women (pp. 103-124). Routledge.
Ellis, B. H., Winer, J. P., Murray, K., & Barrett, C. (2019). Understanding the mental health of refugees: Trauma, stress, and the cultural context. The Massachusetts General Hospital textbook on diversity and cultural sensitivity in mental health, 253-273.
Morrice, L., Tip, L. K., Brown, R., & Collyer, M. (2020). Resettled refugee youth and education: aspiration and reality. Journal of Youth Studies, 23(3), 388-405.