/r/Refugees

Photograph via snooOG

News and articles relating to global forced migration: human rights situations, immigration policy, immigration law etc.

Rules:

1. No hateful or bigoted remarks

2. No intentionally baiting posts or comments

3. Respect the opinions of each others

4. No intentionally false information

5. Images must be marked NSFL or NSFW in the title when appropriate

6. Submission must be in English, or have an English transcription

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/r/Refugees

3,661 Subscribers

9

Do I still ask for a translator (interpreter) during the interview?

Hello everyone.

I am 99.10% complete with my evidence/documents, however nearly all of my evidence that I have are of the other language, not in English. I've translated them all for the best of my ability. Names, voice recordings captioned in English, etc., are all translated by me.

Do I still have to ask for an interpreter during an interview?

Thank you all,

6 Comments
2022/07/21
12:05 UTC

11

California Climate Change Risk VS Refuge Zones (Update #1)

(Update #1) 

- There has been a dramatic increase in wells running dry in the South East & North West sections of the Central Valley. The ground in certain areas has sunken 10-28 feet due to aquifer depletion. Once this happens the water does not come back underground to that location. Areas in the North West Central Valley that typically get 12.5 inches of rain have only gotten 1.5 inches. The grass in that region did not have enough water to complete their life cycle and dried two months earlier than what typically is expected. The worst areas were in West Shasta County and West Tehama County, but water depletion was observed throughout California interior landscapes.

- There are emerging implications of the drought as Central Valley farmers leave more than 400k acres empty. Normally vast landscapes of watered crops have a cooling effect on the local climate through evaporation, but this year dry empty fields will likely cause drier air this summer and allow temperatures to get much hotter in the Central Valley, a region which already gets triple digit heat.

- Due to the water shortages many hydroelectric dams will be unable to operate, which utility companies are warning in advance will cause outages during peak demand in summer. This could be a cascading effect causing a dramatic spike in heatstroke among local residents. Unfortunately we are also predicting a very severe fire season this year, which will also impact both on-grid and off-grid solar for extended periods of time, possibly even months. This combined effect could leave many people running on generators while gas prices are already extremely high.

- Zone Blue #1 Northern Coastal areas are still predicted to remain most habitable (from Marin County to Del Norte), Coastal Humboldt County and Coastal Del Norte County seem to have the healthiest ecosystems currently out of all samples we have taken. Plant and soil moisture levels are optimal in these locations at the present time even though elsewhere there has been drought degradation in nearly every other region in California. We believe this is likely due to the region's ability to generate its own precipitation from Coastal fog. The mountains seem to do a better job at trapping the coastal air in this region, which allows the clouds to reach dew point after they enter at night and form nighttime drizzle occasionally. This area also benefits from cool ocean air during summer causing evaporation to be slow. The ecological health of this region is the only positive news we have to report during this term.

- Unfortunately in the Sierra mountain range & the Eastern Mendocino mountain range there has been unprecedented tree die off both from drought and from a snowstorm during winter that caused a build up of heavy snow on branches. This caused drought affected trees to buckle and break during winter. But as the branches and trees dry out during summer it will add to the fuel load during fire season. This alone will increase fire risk. But worse even is that the surviving trees that were damaged heal themselves by increasing resin output. We have measured it this year, and there is significantly increased resin that could cause the trees to become extremely dangerous if they catch on fire, possibly to the point of explosive combustibility. If there are fires on either of these mountain ranges it often causes extended smoke accumulation in the Northern Central Valley which could lead to unsafe air quality for cities such as Redding, Red Bluff, and Chico.

-The last three years have been La Nina years. Which causes cool surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. This usually creates a cooling effect over the West coast of the US, but unfortunately it has had very little impact at stopping the extreme summer heatwaves which inland California has been experiencing annually. We do worry about how high the temperature could climb once La Nina has finished it's cycle, because this year Earth has reached it's highest CO2 content to date. Additionally La Nina should cause increased precipitation for Northern California, but instead there has been far less.

-Comments: We are witnessing a rapidly changing climate, and we've been working hard to document as much as possible. We believe that just as inland Southern CA is a desert, inland Northern CA will also soon become a desert. Desertification is happening all around the world right now, and this is where we are observing it happen here. 

[[ Original Post below ]]

For a college project my group spent half the year studying regions in California for their future habitability as climate change progresses.

We researched both on the ground and using public climate and event records.

The regions listed above are 2 high risk land areas and 2 climate refuge land areas.

As simplistic as our presentation is our findings are based on lengthy and rigorous studying. Please be respectful in the comments because I am not going to argue with anyone on here. Often people that dispute the facts are either personally invested in high risk areas or they are climate change deniers. I don't have the patience for either. The reason I'm posting this on reddit is to gather public responses before our presentation.

The purpose of the presentation is to reach out to developers so they can start preparing housing and business in safer locations as the climate crisis continues.

  • (High Risk Zone: Red #1) The Central Valley is a low lying flat region. Most of the central valley is going to be high risk, but the highlighted area is of particular concern. In this area high population cities such as Sacramento and Stockton are located. The elevation in Sacramento is 26ft and Stockton is 13ft. When people think of areas impacted by sea level rise, most people think of coastal areas. But the reality is for California most of the land impacted by sea level rise will be the Central Valley region. Most coastal locations in California are situated far enough above sea level to be safe. Los Angeles for example has a elevation of 305ft and will continue to be well above water inundation. Unfortunately for low lying inland cities such as Sacramento, the rise will overwhelm infrastructure. Ground water will likely get pushed up from underground before ocean flooding even arrives. This region is also heavily impacted by wildfire smoke because the central valley acts like a bowl trapping the smoky air in. The region is already known to have some of the worst air quality in the nation, but the increase in wildfires is adding an extra air quality hazard on a regular basis.
  • (High Risk Zone: Red #2) The Western facing Sierra foothills is the highest risk wildfire zone in California, and likely the highest risk zone in the United States. The elevation of the sierra foothills is 500 ft - 4000 ft. You may think at those elevations that the climate would feel cooler, but as someone who has a lot of personal experience in this area that is not the case. Unlike the Central Valley, the Sierra Foothills does not have access to the delta breeze, which is a cool coastal wind that provides relief on hot summer days to the Central Valley. Additionally those elevations are not high enough to create a cool summer climate and the added UV impact in this hot climate just makes it sting to be in the sun and heats up houses faster. The air heats quicker at this elevation which causes a larger portion of the day to be hot. 90F in the sun at this elevation often feels worse than 100F in the Central Valley. Las Vegas for example is 2000ft elevation and is the second hottest City in the United States. The summer heat in this region is often underestimated. Wildfire risks here are high. 60 percent of rain in California falls in the Sierras. But it all dumps down within a few winter months and then it quickly gets hot and dry for more than half the year. The high winter precipitation creates a lot of brush that burns. High winter Rainfall and the hot dry summer which has only been getting hotter and drier is why this area is such a fire risk. Additionally the types of vegetation that grows in this region burns hotter than most woods. Not all forests are equal when it comes to fire risk. Unlike coastal California, the humidity inland is vastly reduced and fires thrive in the dry air. Humidity levels in the foothills are often as low as 5% because extra moisture doesn't arrive from the delta breeze. Even after severe wildfires a new wildfire can happen every year due to the dry grasses and the fact that organic matter on the ground takes years to decompose during the extended dry times. This means that even the top soil can burn. Paradise CA and Greenville CA which both completely burned down within the last few years are located in zone Red#2. The cost alone for fire insurance in high wildfire risk zones is around 5-10× more to insure. Which will suppress development for businesses and farms in these areas. All this combined makes the Sierra Foothills area one of the least habitable regions based on our data.
  • (Refuge Zone: Blue #1) The Northern California coast has elevated topography that will not be impacted much by sea level rise. Additionally the cool ocean air gets trapped into the coastal region making the air cool and moist. The trees in the coastal belt of far northern California are more likely to moss over than burn. Additionally the coastal winds that move West to East and mountain range shelters the area in from most wildfire smoke even when there are fires blazing inland. This area particularly stands out as a refuge away from extreme heatwaves. For example during the Pacific Heatwave of 2021 Redding CA was nearly 120F while Eureka CA was 65F-70F at the same time. Summers and winters in the area are mild, and as climate change continues this region will likely be one of the most comfortable climates in the United State. We predict this area will soon be a extremely desirable location to live due to the weather. Similar to how Santa Barbara is in present day.
  • (Refuge Zone: Blue #2) The high desert region in southern California will be considered a climate change refuge because of the lack of flammable vegetation. Although it does get hot here, as wildfires continue to get worse a new appreciation for desert life will likely arise. Additionally because there is very little forest upwind of this area, wildfire smoke will be less of an issue compared to most other interior regions.

Closing thoughts:

We would like to be a voice of encouragement for developers to utilize these less populated refuge regions in order to prepare the near future population for displacement and climate change related disasters. The only long term cost effective solution is a slow preplanned migration.

There are other risk and refuge locations that we identified in our research, but these are the areas we found to be most significant. We wanted our presentation to be easy to understand as a guide for development.

https://preview.redd.it/e2e2jvigisc91.png?width=1560&format=png&auto=webp&s=3428adc3b6164b2befa102d113dac5028c4f00b9

0 Comments
2022/07/20
21:20 UTC

4

UN Members and an International Court of Equity

In light of UN member investments to promote prosperity for their people internationally while being forced to accommodate an increase of refugees, why couldn't we use the International Court of Justice to decide matters of equity? Asylum seekers fleeing corrupt governments lack a mechanism to assert complaints of being forced from their homes, while UN members have little influence on countries of origin. UN members could benefit injunctions, or rulings of specific performance placed on incompetent heads of state and by giving refugees their day in court, a global initiative to promote human rights would then empower them to exercise those rights for the benefit of their communities. Expanding our International Court of Justice to address equitable remedy might open jobs when robotic technology threatens labor, but could this be a viable opportunity?

1 Comment
2022/07/20
18:53 UTC

7

Which policies do countries need to adopt for a better transition of refugees?

Basically title.

Many people around the world consistently call for the bettering of refugee policy in their countries, either claiming that the policy is too lenient towards asylum seekers, or that asylum seekers are treated too poorly.

What is a good balance to have in refugee policy, between deterrence and accommodation of refugees?

20 Comments
2022/07/20
10:47 UTC

6

What do you think is the primary reason why displaced people can't or don't receive resources.

Displaced meaning; Domestic abuse, Addiction, War refugees, Immigrants, foster care, etc.

Any response is welcome.

9 Comments
2022/07/19
17:47 UTC

1

“Fake” Refugees in the Dutch Republic, ca. 1680-1700

A short article about Huguenots who fled France and settled in the Dutch Republic in the 17th century. https://jhiblog.org/2022/07/13/fake-refugees-in-the-dutch-republic-ca-1680-1700/

2 Comments
2022/07/14
17:10 UTC

3

Book Research

5 Comments
2022/07/12
21:46 UTC

7

The Civil Fleet Podcast: Episode 28: Alice and Hamid tell from Borderline Lesvos tell us about refugee life on the Greek island, conditions inside Moria 2 detention camp, and how the authorities may be employing the mafia to push refugees back to sea

0 Comments
2022/07/11
09:07 UTC

5

looking for a place to stay in the US. is craigslist safe way of looking for a room?

2 Comments
2022/07/10
09:06 UTC

3

Polina is a Ukrainian refugee. This is her story.

1 Comment
2022/07/07
09:27 UTC

0

Refugees: with hindsight, how would you have prepared?

First time poster here. I have become anxious at the state of the world, and am curious as to what refugees would have done different. What were the warning signs you missed? When did you know you had to run? How would you have prepared? What skills/decisions got you out and saved your life? Much love and respect to you all!

1 Comment
2022/07/06
21:54 UTC

12

Refugee father hid from the Taliban--along with his family of 5--for roughly 3 years and finally gets to the new world only to be faced with slaps, punches and kicks (assault?) by our own brand of Taliban within a month of arriving. Sweet.

0 Comments
2022/07/03
16:59 UTC

2

KCL's Counselling service and Student Conducts & Appeal "happily" bully students

0 Comments
2022/07/02
08:03 UTC

11

I want to flee the United States

Roe V Wade being overturned was bad but they are saying gay marriage and contraceptives may eventually be banned. I am worried that the USA is going to become like Saudi Arabia. I want to go to Europe but I get the feeling refugees are looked down upon there. I consider South America because I am Hispanic and speak the language. Would it be possible to find work and successfully survive as a refugee as a person with a severe mental disability in Europe? My first choice would be the Netherlands though I hear refugees have issues finding jobs there.

2 Comments
2022/06/25
18:18 UTC

3

Last year, 89.3 million people were forcibly displaced from their homes due to conflict, violence, and climate change. Let’s look at the architects creating sustainable housing projects to meet their needs.

1 Comment
2022/06/25
12:44 UTC

0

An Interview with Author And Education Activist Warda Abdullahi

0 Comments
2022/06/23
14:02 UTC

0

The UAE embraces more than 200 nationalities while ensuring a decent life for them

The UAE has adopted throughout its history a cooperative and symbiotic strategy in its relationship with all countries where the number of countries that have benefited from development assistance and humanitarian programs 178 countries around the world, and distributed assistance to 3 key items: development assistance, humanitarian assistance, charitable assistance, all of which are aimed at eradicating poverty, supporting children and refugees, and supporting transport and infrastructure.

4 Comments
2022/06/23
07:11 UTC

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