Refugee Crisis Explained: Why Millions of Children Are Affected & How to Help

A refugee is a person who is seeking a safe haven after being forced to flee violence, persecution or war.

Refugees are defined and protected in international law. And seeking asylum is not a crime. While every refugee is initially an asylum seeker, not every asylum seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee. 

Many refugees around the world live in vulnerable conditions, including refugee camps, informal settlements and on the streets. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread globally, many refugees were not in a position to social distance themselves or maintain basic hygiene, including simply washing their hands. 

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Ukraine war and other conflicts has pushed the number of people forced to flee conflict, violence and persecution to over 100 million for the first time in history — a record that "should never have been set." Among them are refugees, asylum seekers, and people displaced inside their own countries.

People become refugees for a number of different reasons; including:

• Persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion
• War
• Ethnic or political violence

For well over a decade, the number of people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution has steadily increased. In 2012, these numbers spiked, resulting in what is now recognized as a global refugee crisis.
 

Several major crises around the world have contributed to the rising number of refugees, including: 
 

• The on-going conflict in Syria, now in its 11th year.
• The conflict in Afghanistan—where most unaccompanied children in Europe are from—remains among the deadliest for children.
• South Sudan’s displacement crisis, which followed its independence.
• The rapidly escalating violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017, which forced over half a million ethnic Rohingya to flee the country for their lives.

Refugee camps are temporary settlements created to provide refugees with immediate aid and protection. 

Forced from home, refugees are often left with little to call their own. Lacking food, clean water, clothing and proper hygiene supplies, refugee children and their families are vulnerable to disease, abuse and worse.

There are refugee camps all over the world. Some of the largest refugee camps in the world include: 

• Bangladesh
• Uganda
• Kenya
• Jordan
• Tanzania
• Ethiopia

Refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and immigrants are all terms used to describe people on the move, including children.

Refugees are people who are seeking a safe haven after being forced to flee violence, persecution or war.

Similar to a refugee, an asylum seeker is someone who may be in search of protection due to­ dangers in his or her home country. While every refugee is initially an asylum seeker, not every asylum seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee.

Traditionally, a migrant is considered a person who has left their home by choice and in search of a better opportunity. Because conflict or persecution did not force them from home, a migrant is not considered a refugee or asylum seeker.

A person who comes to a country with the intention of taking up permanent residence is called an immigrant. 

Half of the global refugee population, nearly 13 million, are children below the age of 18. 

Far too many refugee boys and girls are living in conditions not suitable for children, with limited access to education and healthcare, no freedom of movement, and almost entirely dependent on aid.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was estimated that half of all refugee children in the world – 3.7 million – were out of school.

Refugees' lives have been thrown into a state of chaos because of what they experienced in their home countries prior to displacement, as well as on their journeys to find safety. 

Like anyone, refugees need food, shelter and the opportunity to thrive. But after leaving everything behind and without livelihood opportunities to earn an income, many refugees struggle to survive. 

With the generous support of our donors, Save the Children is able to provide refugee children and their families with essential items and relief.