A refugee is a person who runs from their home to escape danger or threats to their safety. Oftentimes, refugees don’t know where they will end up or what will happen to them. In most cases they don’t have the chance to take their personal belongings with them or say goodbye to friends.

A person who has ‘refugee’ status in a country is protected by that country while danger exists in their home country. People must apply for ‘refugee’ status and prove that they have a good reason for running from home.

Several recent events have caused people to flee their homes for fear of their safety. These include:

• Genocide in Rwanda
• Conflict in Tibet
• Violence in Darfur, Sudan

Sometimes news articles will call people running from natural events, like an earthquake or flood, or from economic trouble ‘refugees.’ However, this is not a correct use of the word.

Copyright © ProjectExplorer 2009
Text: Matthew Boggie