NUR1 421 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Asylum Seeker, Immigration Detention, Non-Governmental Organization
11 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
NUR1 421 – RESOURCES: SPECIAL POPULATIONS
Lesson 10 ~ March 23rd, 2018
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Online class for next week instead of regular class
o If possible, watch the Correctional Health video in French without subtitles
§ Subtitles are a rough translation of the message
o There will be a mandatory online quiz following the online class
o Quiz will be posted on Thursday around 8am, available until Friday around 5pm
o Quiz consists of 8 multiple choice questions, should take approximately 5-10 minutes
o Quiz integrates into Mini Assignment #4 (to be done individually)
- April 6th class
o Will be discussing sexual trafficking, speakers will be survivors and former police workers
o Prepare for a difficult and emotional topic
- Polling
o Updating immunization for Syrian refugees is recommended because
§ A. Syria is historically known for low immunization rates
• Syria historically has a high immunization rate!
§ B. Syrian refugees are known to be a public health concern
§ C. Updating immunizations for refugees with absent or unclear records is best practice
§ D. Vaccination is a strategy to help Syrian refugees to access health care
o An Asylum seeker is:
§ A. Someone who crosses the border illegally
§ B. Someone who has fled their own country and has applied, or intends to apply, for
protection as a refugee
§ C. Someone who travels to another country so they can have a better standard of living
§ D. Someone who has been allowed to remain in the host country.
- Resilience Panel
o 2nd half of this class
o Students sharing personal experiences
o There will be NO exam questions from this section
GUEST SPEAKER ~ EMILY WOODS on REFUGEE HEALTH
PowerPoint ~ Refugee People: Policies and Access to Service
- Refugee “people”
o Terminology is important
o Refugee “people” is being used to emphasize the humanity of refugees
o Often tend to neglect the fact that refugee status is not the only part of a person’s identity
- Action Réfugiés Montréal
o Non-governmental organization
§ Consists of about 6 people
§ Has funding from the Anglican Dioses of Montreal and the Anglican Church of Canada
§ Still considers itself a non-denominational organization
§ Other funding from private donors and organizations in the area
§ Purpose is to have compassion and provide justice for refugees
§ Three main programs:
o 1) Detention Program
§ A worker visits the immigration holding centre in Laval twice per week
§ Focus is on refugee claimants
§ Purpose of the visits is to share legal information to ensure people have access to lawyers,
ensure refugees have supplies needed and are well taken care of
• Example: provide calling cards so that refugees can call family members in other
countries to send documents, etc.
o 2) Twinning Program
§ Matches women who have just arrived in Canada to women who have been in the
country for longer
§ Focus on women who are living in isolation
§ Provides monthly activities such as skating, dancing, and potlucks
§ Women are encouraged to meet on their own throughout the week
§ Now trying to implement a men’s program as well
o Refugee Sponsorship Program
§ This is the program where Emily works (guest speaker)
§ Helps people to sponsor family members who are living in a refugee situation oversees
§ For the past year, refugee program has been in suspension
§ Even before the program was suspended, Action Réfugiés had to close their waiting list
§ Currently have 700 people on their waiting list, and this is only one organization
- Canadian Immigration History
o 1951: Geneva Convention Developed
§ Legal document defining term “refugee”
o 1969
§ Canada signed Convention making commitment under an international protocol to offer
asylum to people of other countries who fear persecution in their country of origin
o 1976: Immigration Act
§ First Canadian immigration legislation to recognize refugees as a special class of
immigrants
§ Started to see a shift in terms of was let in and who was kept out of the country
- Inclusion of refugees in Canadian Legislation
o Vietnamese “Boat People”
§ Government challenged civil society to sponsor refugees coming from Vietnam and
surrounding countries (Laos, Cambodia)
§ Canada sponsored about 60,000 Vietnamese refugees with support of Canadian families
§ This has had a huge impact on the system that is in place today
§ Recently the Canadian government sponsored 25,000 Syrian refugees, this is not that
much compared to how many people were brought in previous years
o 1989
§ Changes to immigration Act came into effect
§ New refugee determination system created
§ Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) created, system still used today
o 1991: Canada-Quebec Accord Relating to Immigration was signed
§ Means that Quebec has the right to manage its own immigration system within Canada
§ Positive implications and negative effects
§ Example: Quebec sponsorship program is in suspension, but in other provinces it is still
allowed
- Video: What does it mean to be a refugee – TedEd
o Approximately 60 million people forced to leave homes to escape war, violence and persecution
o Majority become internally displaced persons
§ Fled homes but still within own countries
o Others crossed border and seeking help outside own countries
§ Known as refugees
o Modern definition of “refugee’ drafted in UN 1951 convention relating to status of refugees in
response to mass persecutions and displacements in WW11
o Definition: Refugee is someone who is outside their country of nationality and cannot return to
their home country due to well-founded fears of being persecution due to:
§ Race, religion, nationality, social group membership, political opinion
§ Often related to war and violence
o Approximately half of refugees are children, often unaccompanied by an adult
§ Vulnerable to child labor and sexual exploitation
o Migrant versus refugee
§ Migrant: people who leave country for reasons not related to persecution
• Seeking better economic opportunities, leaving drought areas for better
circumstances
• People displaced due to natural disasters, food insecurity, etc.
• Only those fleeing conflict and violence recognized as refugees
o Refugee Journeys
§ May not have brought important documents
§ Financial and political factors can prevent them from travelling by standard routes
§ Usually only travel by land and sea, may need to use smugglers to get over borders
§ May have been separated from families
o More than half of the world’s refugees are in cities, first stop often refugee camps
§ Usually run by United Nations agency or local governments
§ Intended to be temporary until reintegrated or resettled
§ However, may stay for years of decades
§ First step to apply for asylum
• Classified as “asylum seekers”
• Not officially refugees until application accepted
§ Each host country separately decides whether applicants get status of refugee based on
application
• Guidelines can vary between countries
§ Host country has duties towards people recognize as refugees
• Guarantee of a minimum standard of treatment and non-discrimination
• Obligation for non-refoulement, cannot send individual to a nation where their life
and freedom are threatened
• However, refugees often experience inconsistent and discriminatory treatment,
xenophobia and racism
• Often not permitted to enter workforce, thus fully dependent on humanitarian aid
• Refugee children often out of school due to lack of funding for educational
programs
- Things to think about when meeting with refugee/migrant families
o Pre-migration history
§ History in their country of origin or habitual residence
§ Remember some people may have spent significant time in refugee camps, may have had
children who were born and raised in refugee camps
o Migration history
§ History after they left their country of origin
§ May span many countries, cities, and places
o Post-migration history
§ What happened to these families once they arrive in their host country
§ Whether they are a refugee claimant or permanent resident has implications on what
services they have access to
o Example of a refugee/migrant from Eritrea
§ Many Eritreans flee through Sudan
§ Often end up in refugee camps without access to many basic needs or services
§ Many smugglers capture Eritreans in Sudan and bring them back to Eritrea, this is a
traumatic and terrifying experience
Document Summary
Online class for next week instead of regular class: if possible, watch the correctional health video in french without subtitles. April 6th class: will be discussing sexual trafficking, speakers will be survivors and former police workers, prepare for a difficult and emotional topic. Polling: updating immunization for syrian refugees is recommended because. A. syria is historically known for low immunization rates: syria historically has a high immunization rate! B. syrian refugees are known to be a public health concern. C. updating immunizations for refugees with absent or unclear records is best practice. D. vaccination is a strategy to help syrian refugees to access health care: an asylum seeker is: Someone who has fled their own country and has applied, or intends to apply, for protection as a refugee. C. someone who travels to another country so they can have a better standard of living. D. someone who has been allowed to remain in the host country.
