Urban Refugees “101” by Super User, posted: March 23, 2011 Every
day it seems we hear about a new crisis somewhere in the world.
With the rise in natural disasters and conflicts over the last
several years, it’s not hard to see why the number of displaced
people continues to grow. There are now 10.5 million refugees,
and over half of them live in cities. Just 10 years ago, the UN
reported that only 13% of all refugees lived in urban areas. To
date, humanitarian efforts have focused primarily on camp-based
refugees, leaving the situation of urban refugees barely
understood. To find out more about the needs of displaced people
living in urban settings, the Women’s Refugee Commission is
conducting a one-year project to assess the urban displaced poor
and will develop guidance to improve their lives and to help
them thrive in the cities they now call home. Did you know: -
Refugees choose to live in cities rather than camps because they
believe they will have more freedom and better access to
services. However, th