consequences of conflict

• the impact of conflict is measured by the number of people dead or missing, how much building infrastructure is damaged, the money spent on weapons and defence and the environmental impact and destruction
• if a country is in conflict it is impossible to develop health and education and food and water security
• brain drain is where skilled people and workers leave their country of origin and take their skills with them, making it harder to rebuild the country when the conflict is over
• a refugee is people who are seeking refuge from natural disasters, they are often forced to flee due to their religion or ethnicity or due to lack of access to food
• IDP is intentionally displaced persons
• an IDP chooses to remain inside their own borders and not migrate to another country
• everyone has the right to humanitarian assistance, to the right to protection from abuse, to the right to seek asylum
• there are 20 million refugees worldwide (2009)
• aid agencies provide food, shelter, medical care, education, and other services to people in need
• the cycle of poverty means that people recieve short term relief but cant work so they keep needing the basics but cant get more
• the average stay in a refugee camp is 17 years
• boat people are people who sail in boats because they dont make it to the camps so they try to make it to other countries across the water
• 17000 try to cross the border into south africa each month
• food security - or not having it - is intrinsically linked to several other causes. if there is a war, then people may become refugees and be forced to move away from their farms and food sourcess
• food insecurity can also be a cause of conflict if their land suffers from drought and they are starving, they may move to another area, putting further pressure on other communities
• food security can be linked to education - many people are uneducated and dont know what they should be growing to provide a good life for them