Where Are Refugees Mainly From?

The word refugee is derived from refuge, what one seeks when in danger. A refugee flees persecution on religious, ethnic or political grounds.

Refugees today generally stem from conflict or war zones, from oppressive rulers, from ethnic strife, from draught or famine, from economic hardship etc. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees or the UNHCR is the organisation that is most active in the field of protecting the human rights of refugees displaced due to any of the aforesaid reasons. It tries to find homes for refugees in third countries and looks after their welfare in host countries along with repatriating them when conditions in their country of origin improve.

The refugee problem is mostly witnessed in countries of Africa and Asia. There are millions of Afghan refugees living in Iran and Pakistan, Iraqis in Lebanon, Iran and Syria, Palestinians in Jordan and the Middle East, Somalians in Ethiopia, Darfur refugees in neighbouring countries of Sudan, Tibetans in India and countless others.