Mental health of refugees and asylum-seekers

Abstract

Refugees are not a recent phenomenon. Since the time of the Roman Empire there have been many examples of people fleeing persecution and seeking refuge and protection in other countries. Refugees flee war, internal unrest and persecution by their own governments because of their ethnic origin or their political, religious or social activities. Estimates of the number of refugees and displaced people worldwide range from about 23 million to about 50 million, this latter figure including those who are not officially registered. It is perhaps pertinent to realise that this number is larger than the entire population of Australia and almost the same as the number of refugees resulting from the Second World War. Refugees represent a variety of cultures, races and nations from all over the world. Summerfield (2000) claims that nearly 1% of the people in the world are refugees or displaced persons resulting from about 40 current violent conflicts.