Refugees often experience stress and trauma in their country of origin, while leaving that country, and in their host country. These experiences increase the risk of developing mental health conditions, especially anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Studies have identified that refugees have double the rate of mental health disorders than migrant…

When lives are at stake, and the law is involved, how should we — the state and wider society — approach defining such complex concepts as refugeehood within both legal parameters and in the common imagination? The importance of semantics with regard to migratory movements first came to my attention…

1 in every 103 persons is either a refugee, asylum-seeker, or internally displaced person. In theory, according to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees signed by 147 countries, refugees have the right to seek asylum and all countries have a shared responsibility towards providing safety and offering a…

In the west, the idea of the ‘refugee’ has become a political one. As everything else which is touched by political interests, its conception seems to be fragmented into two irreconcilable opposites. Those on the right are usually more skeptical about the possibility of harmonious refugee integration. Are they people…

The world now has a total of 70.8 million displaced people (United Nations Refugee Agency, 2021). For the millions of refugees fleeing from violence worldwide, obtaining access to health care is difficult. Even more difficult, and often overlooked, is mental health. According to the World Health Organization an estimated 272…

When news first broke of irregular migrant crossings over the Belarus-EU border, reports were quick to frame events in political terms. Headlines describing a ‘crisis at the border’ were made in reference to the geopolitical implications of Belarus’s actions rather than the suffering of thousands of displaced people. The Belarusian…

Persecution at home, discrimination from where you should find safety. Where do you go when you face hatred and violence from all directions, even from your own community? This is the experience of transgender refugees, who face unique and dehumanising barriers at every stage of the asylum process. A system…

Refugee women have long been portrayed as helpless victims of war, dependent on their spouses for support, having no interest in work and lacking relevant skills to contribute to the economy of their host countries. The employment rates of refugee women are indeed quite low: in Europe only 45% of…

In the west, the idea of the ‘refugee’ has become a political one. As everything else which is touched by political interests, its conception seems to be fragmented into two irreconcilable opposites. Those on the right are usually more sceptical about the possibility of harmonious refugee integration. Are they people…