1.) As of December 2000, the United Nations recognizes June 20th as ‘World Refugee Day’ as a time to show solidarity and create awareness around refugees. Source: UN.org
2.) In the aftermath of World War II, the 1951 Refugee Convention was formed which acts as the standards for international law for humanitarian treatment in war. Source: Wikipedia
3.) The number of displaced people increased by 2.3 million in 2018 compared to the year prior due to persecution, conflict, or human rights violations, totaling 70.8 million total accounted for displaced people in the world. This includes refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people. Source: UN.org
4.) In India, there are 32,000 persons of concern to the UNHCR in India, of which 26,500 are recognized refugees and 5,700 are registered as asylum seekers mainly from Afghan and Myanmar. Source: The Economic Times
5.) US had the largest resettlement program in the world with around 23K refugees settled here, however, Canada surpassed that number in 2018. The refugees do not get to choose to live here, but rather it is recommended by the UN Refugee Agency. If they are recommended, they go through a lengthy vetting process that can take up to 12-24 months. Source: BBC
6.) Five countries make up more than two-thirds of refugees around the country: Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia. Source: News18
7.) Turkey is the top refugee-hosting country with 3.7 million refugees, followed by Pakistan, Uganda, Sudan, and Germany. Source: UNHCR.org
8.) India recently introduced a bill that would require refugees to include religion in order to get refugee citizenship. This was introduced by the BJP party and can exclude many Muslims. Similar to migrants trying to enter the US, many of majority Muslim Bangladesh are held at border camps. Source: NPR
9.) In the U.S., migrants create 1.5 million jobs every year and account for 25% of entrepreneurs, whilst only representing 15% of the population. Source: Forbes
10.) Most famous refugees include Freddie Mercury, George Soros, M.I.A, and Albert Einstein. Source: IRC