Where to go?The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is charged with the care and protection of refugees. The UNHCR seeks durable solutions for the refugees. The goal is always repatriation to the refugee's home country. For this to occur, the UNHCR must be convinced that the area is safe and secure, and that refugees will receive support and protection from their home country. Repatriation is often bittersweet as many refugees desperately face the effects of the conflict or disaster that uprooted them in the first place.
If repatriation is not possible, the UNHCR seeks for naturalization possibilities in the country to which the refugee has fled. Often, refugees have been in this country for so long, they have already begun to integrate into the social and cultural life. When neither of the first two solutions are tenable, third country resettlement, in countries like the U.S., remains an option. Less then 1% of the total refugee population is accepted for resettlement. Refugees who qualify for
the U.S. Resettlement Program undergo security and medical
checks and prepare for travel with the help of overseas offices
of domestic resettlement agencies. If accepted for resettlement,
refugee bios go to the Refugee Processing Center in Arlington,
Virginia. The RPC allocates each refugee case to a domestic
resettlement agency like Church World Service.
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