Refugee Men Empowerment and the Work of Humanitarian Organizations

Refugee Men Empowerment and the Work of Humanitarian Organizations

Humanitarian / Gender

Name

Institution

Introduction

Various nations experience political, religious, social and economic conflicts that divide them along tribal or ethnic lines forcing some of the indigenous citizens to flee their countries and seek asylum in neighboring countries raising the population of refugees globally (Freedman 2012, p. 13). By the time people decide to flee their country, some of them carry the scars of sexual and gender-based violence, physical deformations resulting from war and mental instability due to the trauma hence they need love, care and counseling to restore their normal human nature (Freedman 2015, p. 12).  By the year 2016, approximately 23 million people were refugees globally majority being women and children as depicted by Freedman (2015, p. 13). As the host nations build refugee camps to be home to the vulnerable population of refugees, agencies to support these refugees exemplified by the largest which is United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) get involved in humanitarian activities alongside the support of government officials, police and migration officers. However, due to the natural or perceived weak and vulnerable nature of women and children, they have received more attention in forms of rehabilitation and empowerment from the humanitarian societies compared to men who are also victims of the vulnerability (Jacobsen 2015, p. 19). This leaves the refugee men in a compromised situation since they are already feeling rejected and traumatized by the situations that forced them to flee their country and they face a second rejection or marginalization in the host country and this raises a significant concern. The focus of this paper is on the empowerment of refugee men and the role of humanitarian organizations in achieving this empowerment. Ways to ensure that the humanitarian societies alongside other relevant authorities cater for men equally with other genders are also recommended while analyzing the anticipated challenges.

Problem Statement

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) located in Sub Saharan Africa with a high quantity of resources is an example of the countries that have experienced war and conflicts leading to a large number of refugees both in Africa and the international society (Murison 2002, p. 227). The stability of this country just like others whose citizens turn out to be refugees face stiff barriers because of the extreme political and economic conflicts which have not only caused death but fleeing of citizens to other countries (Murison 2002, p. 228). The refugees are settled in camps, and urban centers from where they receive help to ensure their lives are in progress since they leave their country empty handed and wounded. Claims by UNHCR show that refugees fully rely on UNHCR for protection and assistance due to setbacks like insufficient land, inadequate food supply from foreign aids, unemployment and limits on access to education which make independence impossibility (Murison 2002, p. 230). To ensure the safety of refugees in DRC, there is a refugee’s act that protects their rights. For instance, the DRC refugees residing in Uganda are advantaged to have access to the rights to primary education and work as well as unlimited movement within the country. However, most refugees lack the benefits of the host country's residents depicted by social security, unemployment, and disability benefits as well as labor laws protection (Dryden-Peterson & Hovil 2003, p. 12).  Such limitations make the already hurting refugee population an extremely vulnerable population cutting across all genders hence the need to balance the humanitarian services across male and female sexuality.