Funky facts

A refugee is someone who leaves their home country because they cannot live there any more.

Christian Aid was started after the Second World War to help refugees in Europe, who had run away from the fighting.

A refugee who comes to the UK and asks to live here is called an 'asylum seeker' until a decision is made about whether he or she can stay.

Someone who has to leave their home and live in another part of their own country is called a 'displaced person'.

25 million children in the world are refugees or displaced people.

Why do people become refugees?

People may leave their home country because they don't feel safe. They may be running from a war or from people who might harm them because of their race or religious beliefs.

Floods, earthquakes or drought (when the ground dries up because it hasn't rained) often force people to leave their homes.
Sometimes people have to leave their homes and countries to find work, food or even water.

What matters to refugees?

Refugees want the things we all want – friends, a safe and happy home, a school or a job to go to, and enough money to live on.

Refugees want to be treated well in the country they choose to live in.

Many refugees want to go home one day. Some refugees want to stay where they are forever because they are scared to go back home.

A?4U How would you feel if you had to run away from your own country in a hurry?

Click here for a puzzle and a real-life story

Nils Carstensen

Dak, 8, from Sudan, doesn't know if he'll ever be able to go back home