No one becomes a refugee by choice. All sorts of people are refugees.
Refugees are people who are are forced to flee from their country because they are afraid for their lives and freedoms.
A refugee is a person who, “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”
United Nations, 1951 Geneva Convention
Finding A New Home
Many countries are able to help refugees find new homes. Before evaluating a refugee for resettlement, a visa officer will first consider whether conditions have sufficiently changed in the refugees’ home country to allow them to return safely and with dignity. Second, they will consider whether local integration is possible; that is, if the country where they are currently seeking asylum grants them the right to work, attend school, and freely move about the country. Only if neither of the first two options is possible will the refugee be considered for resettlement in a new, third country. Less than 1% of refugees are resettled internationally each year to a third country.
Canada is one of the few countries in the world which offers resettlement to thousands of government-sponsored and privately-sponsored refugees each year. Private sponsorship taps into the energy and funds of faith communities, ethnic groups, families, and other benevolent associations. Private sponsors may choose the refugee they wish to offer the opportunity to be interviewed by Canadian Immigration for resettlement and offer the refugee personalized, local support when they arrive in Canada.
Christians Escaping Persecution
City of Refuge aims to provide assistance to Christian refugees based on Galatians 6:10, “as we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
Many people flee their homes because of religious persecution. The map below created by Open Doors shows the levels of persecution experienced by Christians all around the world, based on the degree of freedom a Christian has to live out their faith in five spheres of life (private, family, community, national, and church life).