Introduction

It only seems appropriate to start my research on the subject of refugees soon after June 20^th, World Refugee day. World Refugee Day was established in late 2000 by the United Nations.

"There are now more than 45 million refugees and internally displaced people – the highest level in nearly 20 years"

- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Introduction:

For the next month, I will be doing research on the difference in migration patterns amother other interesting characteristics on the subject of refugees. I will start by particularly looking at high and low skilled refugees coming from states with internal conflicts. It is safe to assume that in most cases, the high skilled population in a country has a higher chance than the low skilled population of leaving a country once they sense internal turmoil. This the case for a multitude of reasons including: higher chance of getting accepted to obtain a visa, sufficient funds to relocate themselves and their families, and education and skills that allow for job opportunities in other countries. I will be looking at conflicts from the last 20 to 25 years. My goal is to find literature and statistics that pertain to the difference in cost-benefit analysis, the difference in amount of time it takes to flee country when conflict begins, and other interesting information on high and low skilled refugees.

Define:
I determined it would be best to begin with a few essential definitions of terms that I will be seeing regularly throughout my journey. While trying to cover the bases, I found this helpful poster:

In addition to this, I believe the following terms are also essential:

Diaspora: 

the dispersion of any people from their original homeland (Oxford dictionary)

Forced Migration:

 a general term that refers to the movements of refugees, internally displaced people (those displaced by conflicts, within their country of origin) as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disaster, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects. (UNHCR)

Return Refugee: 

The population category of Returned refugees refers to refugees who have returned to their country of origin. In returnee situations, UNHCR seeks to reintegrate former refugees as soon as possible by targeting both returnees as well as receiving communities. Partners are actively engaged to provide development assistance. For statistical purposes, only refugees who have returned during the calendar year (January-December) are included in the population of concern to UNHCR. In practice, operations may assist returnees for longer or shorter periods, however.(UNHCR)

Return IDP:

Returned IDPs refers to internally displaced persons who have returned to their place of origin or habitual residence. In returnee situations, UNHCR seeks to reintegrate former IDPs as soon as possible by targeting both returnees as well as receiving communities. Partners are actively engaged to provide development assistance. For statistical purposes, only IDPs who have returned during the calendar year (January-December) are included in the population of concern to UNHCR. In practice, operations may assist returnees for longer or shorter periods, however.(UNHCR)

UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset:

Before diving into different articles, I looked through the UCDP/PRIOArmedConflict Dataset to give myself a well-rounded picture of conflicts that have cause people to cross borders in the last 20 years. Here, I realized the importance of thoroughly reading the code book to fully grasp the set of data I was reading through. I was somewhat surprised to how many states experienced conflict the last 20 years with very few years of peace in between.