Definitions
It is essential to define terms such as refugee, asylum seeker and others correctly to ensure accurate handling of important issues surrounding them.
- Refugee
- International law defines a refugee as a person who has fled from and/or cannot return to their country due to a well-founded fear of persecution, including war or civil conflict. A wider definition of a refugee includes those displaced by natural disaster or environmental change.
- Internally Displaced Person (IDP)
- A displaced person is someone who has been forced to leave their home for the same reasons as a refugee, but remain within their own country.
- Asylum Seeker
- Someone who is fleeing persecution in their homeland, has arrived in another country, made themselves known to the authorities and exercised their legal right to apply for asylum.
- Migrant Worker
- Someone who moves within a country or who leaves his or her country of origin in order to seek employment in another.
- Displaced
- Natural disasters or environmental change force people to leave their homes.
Asylum in the UK
The history of refugees in Norfolk has shaped distinctive elements of our local identity.
Local Support Groups