NURS1003 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Beyondblue, People Smuggling, Internally Displaced Person
Topic 9: Health Effects of Forced Displacement
Contemporary Migration Patterns
Migration: The movement of an individual or group from one location to another.
Migration has always been part of human experience
World War II led to a mass relocation of people, and after WW II this not only
continued, but increased (all types – forced, migrant work, immigration)
Globalisation has increased the pace and multiple directions of migration
Forced migration (being pushed out of your home or country) has increased
exponentially due to war and conflicts, persecution, disasters, ethnic ‘cleansing’
euphemism of genocide
The movement of people has become more complex and in some countries, such as
Australia, more socially and politically contentious
“Push” and “Pull” Factors
Push factors
push people to leave
War, peacekeeping missions, armed conflict (Afghanistan) and reconstruction (Iraq)
Natural disasters (Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004, Japanese earthquake and Tsunami
2011)
Human disasters (Chernobyl 1986)
Pull factors
attract people to new locations
Education opportunities for children
Employment opportunities
Lifestyle factors such as weather
Migrant
A Migrant is “a person who makes a conscious choice to leave his/her country of origin and
live in another country”
are able to read about the country and learn about it from friends and families
have time to study the language and explore employment opportunities before they
make a final decision about whether to come
Can usually bring family with them
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Can bring assets – have time to sell things and say goodbye to family
Migrant Worker
Migrant Worker: “A person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a
remunerated activity in a state of which he or she is not a national” (UNHCHR, 1990)
Sectors: Agriculture, Industry, Cleaning, Sanitation, Care for children and aged
Access to the social determinants of health is limited for many migrant labourers:
Unsafe transport (particularly ‘unauthorised’ or ‘undocumented’)
orisk of being deported
Temporary contracts = job insecurity
Often dirty or dangerous work
oresidents of the country may not want to work at
olow pay, low skill
Increasingly female, is usually adults without children
ocare for elderly
Sub‐standard living conditions
Can be subject to racism, discrimination, other forms of social exclusion
Limited access to legal system and health care common
oless care benefits
Refugee and Internally Displaced People (IDP)
A REFUGEE is… “any person who is outside their country of origin, having crossed an
international frontier, and unable or unwilling to return there because of a well‐founded
fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular group,
or political opinion” (Article 1A).
Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are people who have fled their homes, usually for the
same reasons as refugees (human rights violations, persecution) but also due to events such
as natural disasters. Because they have not crossed the border, they are not entitled to
international protection – they have to rely on their own governments to resolve their
displacement
Refugee Status Determination
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Refugee Status Determination (RSD): The process by which an individual or group is found to
fit the Article 1A definition of a refugee.
In refugee camps, this is done by UNHCR
In Australia, this is done by the Australian government
United Nations (UN) International Conventions:
1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees
1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Asylum Seeker
An Asylum Seeker is ... any person who is outside their country of origin, having crossed an
international frontier, and who wants to be but has not yet been recognised as a refugee
under the Refugee Convention Article 1A definition
Neighbouring countries may be unsafe
UNHCR may not be in region
Hostile government unlikely let them get a passport and leave
Whole families or communities may pool resources to purchase air ticket and
identity documents
Often have to rely on people smugglers, risking being returned to country of
persecution
Syrian Crisis
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