Refugee Integration

Refugee Backgrounders

In the tradition of the culture profiles, COR Center refugee backgrounders provide key information about new refugee groups for U.S. resettlement workers but in a smaller digest format.

Backgrounders include sections on the need for resettlement of the group to the United States, cultural attributes of the group, resettlement considerations, as well as a one page statistical summary.

New! Refugee Backgrounder No. 4: Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal

The United States has launched a program to resettle tens of thousands of Bhutanese refugees from refugee camps in Nepal. The refugees, almost all ethnic Nepalis from southern Bhutan, have been living in camps in eastern Nepal since they were expelled from their homes in Bhutan more than 16 years ago.

This Backgrounder provides Reception and Placement (R&P) agency staff and others assisting refugee newcomers with an overview of the Bhutanese refugees to help them prepare for the refugees’ arrival and resettlement needs. The Backgrounder briefly discusses the causes of the refugee problem, explains the need for third-country resettlement, and describes the characteristics of the refugee population.

Download Backgrounder No. 4 in PDF Format.

Download a supplement to Backgrounder No. 4 with additional information about considerations for the resettlement of Bhutanese refugees.

 

Refugee Backgrounder No. 3: The Kunama

The United States has agreed to resettle a group of Kunama refugees who have been living in Ethiopian refugee camps since fleeing their homes in rural Eritrea more than 6 years ago.

The Backgrounder provides Reception and Placement (R&P) agency staff and others assisting refugee newcomers with an overview of the Kunama to help them prepare for the refugees' arrival and resettlement needs. The Backgrounder looks at the experience of the Kunama in Eritrea, their lives in Shimelba Refugee Camp, and their cultural practices and preferences.

Download Backgrounder No. 3 in PDF format.

 

Refugee Backgrounder No. 2: The 1972 Burundians

The United States has agreed to resettle a group of Burundian refugees who have lived in Tanzanian refugee camps since 1972. Who are the 1972 Burundians? Why are they being resettled in the United States? What are their cultural customs and background characteristics? What will their resettlement needs be?

Download Backgrounder No. 2 in PDF format.

 

Refugee Backgrounder No. 1: The Banyamulenge Tutsi

In February 2007, the United States, through the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration at the U.S. Department of State will begin resettling about 600 Banyamulenge Tutsi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To help U.S. resettlement agency staff better understand and thus better assist the refugee newcomers, this backgrounder provides basic information about the Banyamulenge Tutsi in general and the Gatumba massacre survivors in particular.

Download Backgrounder No. 1 in PDF format.