Friday 20 June 2014

World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day is an opportunity to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.
Refugees flee with nothing but the clothes on their back. The UN Refugee Agency implements the most important international protection tool, the 1951 Refugee Convention, ensuring that innocent people caught up in conflict are safe (literally via).



Welcoming refugees has a humanitarian aspect but also an economic one since refugees and the diversity of skilled immigration "can provide substantial contributions to the workforce and economic development in the long run". In addition, they represent a new purchasing power. According to research findings, refugees are highly motivated to give back to the host country and more likely to be entrepreneurs - as entrepreneurs they can provide new jobs. The total economic impact of refugees in the Cleveland area for 2012, for instance, is estimated dollars 48 million. Cleveland has benefitted from welcoming refugees and being a supportive environment in many ways: increase in cultural diversity, increase in demand for local housing and locally produces goods and servies, entrepreneurship and employment, taxes paid etc. (Chmura Economics & Analytics, 2013). Welcoming refugees is a humanitarian duty. And it is in our economic interest.

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- Chmura Economics & Analytics (2013) Economic Impact of Refugees in the Cleveland Area. Calendar Year 2012. via
- Lego poster via

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