Bloggers Unite for Refugees

Sometimes it’s really easy to forget how good you have it. In general I’m guessing that most of the people reading this have access to clean water, food, health care of some kind, a roof over their heads and that they know the whereabouts of their family.

The word refugee has become Daily Mail synonymous with Asylum Seeker, Illegal Immigrant and other things that various media outlets would have you believe are a “bad thing”. It’s easy to forget that behind these labels are real people, with real lives, real problems and real feelings. People who may have lost contact with their families and have no way of getting back in touch, or even knowing if they are still alive, people who have lost their homes and all their possessions, people who have seen the worst side of human nature and are all but forgotten by society.

People do good things and bad things, but it’s important to remember that they are always just people, that they are scared, and lonely with no where to turn. Imagine arriving in a strange country, unable to speak the language, with no possessions or resources except those you carry. Knowing that you are not supposed to be there, feeling that any contact with the authorities will end with you being returned to a country where you fear for your life.

Today blog catalog is running the “Bloggers Unite for Refugees” campaign in an effort to increase awareness of the plight of these people and the associations and charities that work with and for them to ensure they get access to things that most of us take for granted.

The Red Cross in the UK and overseas works with refugees and Asylum Seekers, helping them get in touch with lost relatives and providing other essential basic physical and emotional support.

If you would like to donate to help with their efforts you can do so here

The work of the Red Cross and other organisations like them is essential to millions of displaced people across the world.

I urge you to learn more about this issue by going to some of the following links:

UK Refugee Services
http://www.redcross.org.uk/TLC.asp?id=81617

Lutheran Refugee Services
http://www.lirs.org/

Aotearoa-New Zealand Refugee Services
http://www.refugeeservices.org.nz/

United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrant Children
http://www.refugees.org/

Church World Service Immigrant & Refugee Program
http://www.churchworldservice.org/Immigration/index.html

Women’s Commission for Refugee Women & Children
http://www.womenscommission.org/

Additional Links/Resources
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/protect?id=3b8265c7a
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statelessness
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/road_to_refuge/default.stm