Forced To Flee Intro | Canadian Foodgrains Bank

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Phone 204-944-1993

Email cfgb@foodgrainsbank.ca

Toll Free 1-800-665-0377

Fax 204-943-2597

Mailing Address PO Box 767
Winnipeg MB
R3C 2L4

What choices would YOU make?

Refugees and internally displaced people around the world are often forced to flee their homes. They face difficult choices at every turn. They're separated from their loved ones. Imagine if you had to leave home - out of fear for your life. You go without basic necessities - no water, no shelter. You need emergency food rations to survive. What choices would you make?

Time Needed: 5-10 Minutes

Glossary

Asylum-Seeker

Someone who says he or she is a refugee, but whose claim has not yet been evaluated. On average, about 1 million people seek asylum on an individual basis every year.

Bribe

Money or some other benefit given to a person in power, especially a public official, in an effort to cause the person to take a particular action.

Food Assistance (or Food Aid)

Food assistance (or food aid) programs provide food for people who are hungry because of emergency crisis situations like war, droughts, or floods. Food assistance can be in the form of food (cooked or uncooked), cash, or vouchers. Canadian Foodgrains Bank works closely with its members and their local partners to provide millions of dollars in food assistance around the world every year.

Food Ration

A fixed amount of basic nutritional food given to a person or household in emergency situations or when sufficient food is not accessible. Rations are often distributed by aid groups or government agencies at refugee or internally displaced persons camps or to communities who are facing severe food shortages.

Human Smuggler

Someone who facilitates the transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries’ laws.

Identity Documentation

Any document used to establish a personal identity, linked to place, age and family. In this case, it is especially used to facilitate travel. This may include a driver’s license or a passport. Establishing one’s identity may be essential for a wide range of activities, including the registration of births and deaths, marriage, obtaining employment, housing, hospital care or rations, qualifying for social benefits, schooling, or requesting official documents and permits.

Internally Displaced People (IDPs)

Like refugees, IDPs have been forced to flee their homes. Unlike refugees, they have not crossed an international border to find security but have remained inside their home countries.

Migrants

People who choose to leave their homes to improve their lives.

Refugee

People who are forced to leave their homes to save their lives or preserve their freedom.

UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees)

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees.

Armed conflict (according to UNHCR)

A dispute involving the use of armed force between two or more parties. International humanitarian law distinguishes between international and non-international armed conflicts.

International armed conflict

An armed conflict involving two or more States, regardless of whether a declaration of war has been made or whether the parties recognize that there is a state of war. International armed conflict also includes cases of occupation of one State over the territory of another, even when not met with armed resistance.

Non-international armed conflict

A protracted armed confrontation between government forces and non-governmental armed groups or between non-governmental armed groups. The armed confrontation must reach a minimum level of intensity and the parties involved in the conflict must show a minimum of organisation.

Forced migration

We talk about forced migration when people, for political or economic reasons, find themselves forced to leave their homes or primary places of residence for fear of their lives and safety. In addition to conflict and threats against personal safety, forced migration also happens when people are displaced as a result of environmental or natural disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, as well as development projects or famine. These people can be refugees, asylum seekers and those internally displaced or lacking citizenship.