Urban Refugee

The word refugee usually conjures up images of endless rows of white tents in a vast dusty crowded emergency camp. However over recent years, inline with a global trend towards urbanization, there has been an increasing occurrence of refugees moving into cities and towns. More than half of the world’s estimated 10.5 million refugees now live (2014) in urban areas. They move to the cities and towns in the hope of finding a sense of community, independence, safety and making money. However in reality, many end up living in the shadows of society and are faced with harsh living conditions, exploitation, refoulement, lack of protection and significant poverty. The targeted programs of humanitarian organisations have not kept up with this trend, and therefore urban refugees are often unable to access international assistance. I am working on a longer-term project to raise awareness and change policies related to the particular challenges faced by urban refugees. (Iraq, 2013).