Living Conditions in Refugee Camps

Blogged by: Sydney

In my Grade 12 world issues class, we’re researching some of our inquiry questions, as a result i'm researching the living conditions of refugee camps and why refugees are living like this if their trying to seek help. Some of my research has led me to this; refugee camps are a temporary settlement for people who have fled their home country, each camp has roughly 11,400 people. Refugees 100% depend on human aid, the number of tents the camp receives is nearly not enough, some families hide out under the larger tents as a “meeting point”, leaving them exposed to the weather. Some people have taken matters into their own hands and have started making makeshift shelters out of straw mats and random pieces of fabric to protect them from sandstorms. With the lack of living supplies the refugees need, their suffering from health issues as well.

Refugees choose to live in these conditions because it is much safer than their home country, many flee their home country after watching their neighbourhood get bombed or watch their family members get killed, most refugees go to neighbouring countries to stay with people they know or stay with host families. More than half of the Syrian refugees are under the age of 18 and have no family left to get support from. Leaving their home country and moving to a place where they know no one, have no money and don't speak the proper language are better living conditions than their home country where a major civil war is happening.

 

https://www.google.ca/search?q=refugee+living+conditions&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=894&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0z8-uva3PAhUIGT4KHaFJC9QQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=MujPCQoI_dgLMM%3A

https://www.google.ca/search?q=refugee+living+conditions&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=894&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0z8-uva3PAhUIGT4KHaFJC9QQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=rmnU7-Hlg24ZDM%3A

Why is Greece taking so many refugees when they’re in debt.

By: Michael and David

Greece is very close to Syria geographically which makes it cheaper and easier for them to take refuge there opposed to other more developed countries, the countries are close together. Most other European countries do not want to take in refugees. Former prime minister vowed to take in 20,000 refugees, but since he stepped down that promise has not been kept. Due to many countries not agreeing to take in refugees, 60,000 people have been left stranded in Greece. Because of the overwhelming numbers of Syrian refugees, the Greece government has moved many refugees to warehouses ‘not fit for animals’. There have been protests and riots based around this decision because these refugees are being put into conditions not suitable for animals. Italy and Greece are sending some of their refugees to hungary to try to evenly distribute the amount of people. Greece continues to struggle economically and they may even be forced to take in more refugees if more European countries don’t agree to take in those seeking refuge, due to the UN’s promise to help over 160,000 people.

What are the effects of being as refugee as a child?

Blogged by: Mackenzie

The Syrian Civil War has brought the refugee crisis to the forefront of the mainstream media’s attention in recent years; however, the public tends to focus on the issue of where these mass numbers of migrants will be settled, as opposed to the impact it has on their physical and mental well-being. While the two are equally important concerns, the latter seems to be rarely discussed.

As one could expect, the horrors of living in a war-torn nation have long-lasting effects on the millions of those who have been forced to flee Syria in recent years. This is especially true for children, who make up over half of the refugee population.

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reports that as the conflict reaches its’ fifth year, one in every three Syrian children has grown up knowing only war and deprivation. These youths are often exposed to violence, sexual assault, torture, and other horrific experiences both before and after leaving their home countries, which frequently lead to mental illnesses down the road. Even after escaping conflict in Syria, many do not have access to the resources they need to treat these illnesses.

The nations that are bordering Syria are the ones that are holding the greatest numbers of migrants; according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 4.8 million refugees are located in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon alone. These countries have become extremely overcrowded, and there are not enough schools available to educate Syrian youth as well as those who were born in these countries.

A combination of these disadvantages— a lack of education, medical and psychological assistance, and overcrowded living conditions— puts Syrian children at a significant detriment and will make it extremely difficult for them to progress in the future if the civil war is not soon resolved.   

 Photos from:                      

https://blogs.unicef.org.uk/2013/05/29/children-of-syria-filming-a-tv-appeal/    https://hongkongvolunteer.wordpress.com/category/refugees/

Do Refugees Try to Leave Camps, if so is it a Crime?

Blogged by: Andrea

https://www.oxfamireland.org/sites/default/files/syria-colm-blog-collage.jpg

With 4.7 million Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, such as Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan etc. and 13.5 million people still in need of help in Syria (since of August 18 2016), so no wonder camps can be very crowded. With all the people cramped out in small locations, it can be overwhelming. Imagine being in a dirty portable full of people and you have to live there for months on end till you can maybe get a relocation to another country that will open their arms up to you.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/maps/map_images/turkey_greece.gif

However, the reason some refugees might not leave the camps is due to harassment outside from the country's own citizens. The question now is if they leave the camps set up for them, will they get in trouble?

On May 10, four Syrian refugees were so desperate to leave Greece that they attempted to swim (26km) to Turkey. Volunteers from “Drops in the ocean” spotted the refugees and sent speedboats to get them and bring them back to Greece. There were no further reports on whether the refugees who left camp got in trouble.

The United Nations seem to give relax input to the situation by saying if you have the money to go out in survive then do it, however most Syrian refugees have little to nothing but the clothes on their back and don’t have jobs to work. As a result, yes there are some refugees trying to leave their camps but no I don't believe it is a crime unless the government of the country does not want the refugee and have problems with claiming refugee status there.

References:

http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/05/10/desperate-to-leave-greece-refugees-try-to-swim-back-to-turkey/

https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria-turkey/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-syria-crisis http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/utterly-inhumane-canadian-nurse-describes-conditions-in-syrian-refugee-camp-1.2680412

UNFlag: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Flag_of_the_United_Nations.svg/2000px-Flag_of_the_United_Nations.svg.png

Why make NPSS Green?

Blog post by: Hunter Curtis and Quinn.

The reasons gardening helps the aesthetics of the high school are they just help make the school look more natural and it also makes it look more clean. The second reason is it makes the students and the teachers at this school look like they care about the environment a lot more. Another reason we chose to do this project is because we get to go outside everyday and have fun gardening with the other groups that are doing it with us.

Also the reason why gardening makes NPSS look more green is because we are growing vegetables and when they're done growing it will make the school look a lot better. The thing we're growing outside are carrots, beets and lettuce. There is really no reason why we chose these vegetables we just walked to the dollar store and looked at the seeds for a few minutes and just decided that we should choose those.

Do we have to go “fully green”?

Blogged By: Chance

In my previous blogpost I talked about a “proverbial environmental paradise” and trying to get as close as theoretically possible. My goal to do this was to create a blueprint for a town that was healthy, efficient and cheap, I decided that his would not curry the right image or message and would take too much paper so I am now going to do a blueprint for the “perfect” house instead, including a write up to explain the use of energy and where it comes from.

{http://inhabitat.com/5-great-reasons-to-build-a-geodesic-dome-home/}

Since my last post I have done a lot of research into “green” energy and housing, as well as good structure design, use of space, heating, cooling and the sort of things you would need to build a “perfect” house. My final post will come some time next week with my “perfect” house blueprint which will include locations based on resource for energy.

Rethinking housing in your community!

Blogged by: Laura

Living ‘green’ is going to become essential to humanity within the next 100 years, we've exhausted earth's natural resources, but using recycles clothes, water bottles and city parks aren't enough. Cities are growing and the earth's population with it, soon there won’t be enough space for us all above ground. So I’m making a plan on what components could be in a good  ‘green house’. I’m also going to be making a model featuring some of these.

Building a house underground can provide many advantages when taking into consideration:

-Land availability

-Farming

-Livestock

-Temperature

-Space

But what about rain water?

The walls could be made with four  different layers, the core layer and insulation will be dried straw, It’s been proven an efficient insulation for housing in recent years, Then there will be a layer if clay on either side to keep the hay packed in. To keep the wamms dry from water in the soil around the house a thin layer of a plastic based sealer paint will be applied to the outer wall.

Now regarding the energy, there are several greener ways of producing  power for the underground house, first of all if it’s next to a stream a modern mill can be placed to create hydro power, another option is solar power. If the space above ground isn’t being used for farming solar panels could be a great way to collect energy and conserve space. The Solar panels could even be hidden and set up in a garden.

I'm currently working on a model of a ‘green house’.

Works Cited (including photographs)

"7 Amazing Facts About Underground Houses That Will Blow Your Mind." Granite History. Web. 09 June 2016.

"Underground House." Oxot. Web. 09 June 2016.