refugee

refugee

A person who:
(1) has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group;
(2) is outside the country he or she belongs to or normally resides in; and
(3) is unable or unwilling to return home for fear of persecution.

Refugees may include those fleeing from war or civil disturbance of any kind; a permutation is that of an ‘internally displaced’ person who moves within the borders of one country for the same reasons. The mortality rate of refugees is 60-fold greater than that of a similar non-displaced population; it is highest in children and is due to measles, diarrhoea-related illnesses, acute upper RTIs, malaria and is in part related to the virtually endemic protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies that characterise the refugee state; diarrhoea is the most common cause of death (36,000 children die/day of diarrhoea).

Refugees have been called the fourth world, and have included Afghans, Armenians, Bengalis, Biafrans, Bosnians, Cambodians, Chileans, Croats, Cubans, Czechoslovakians, Ethiopians, Hungarians, Iraqis, Laotians, Liberians, Palestinians, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Somalis, Vietnamese, and cross religious lines—Jews, Hindis, and Muslims Records.

In the UK, refugees are entitled to benefits.

Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.