A Syrian refugee in southern Jordan takes a break from picking tomatoes to play.
- Culture
- Explainer
What does it mean to be a refugee?
Under modern law, refugees have no choice but to leave their homes; migrants choose to move elsewhere.
A refugee is defined as “one that flees, especially a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution.” According to the UN refugee agency, 25.4 million people are refugees today.
Throughout history, individuals and groups have left their homes to escape political persecution and other threats. The term “refugee” comes from the Latin word “refugium,” which means “the act of taking refuge,” and was first used in France (“réfugié”) to refer to the Huguenots—French Protestants who fled to other countries after a law protecting their religious liberty was revoked in 1685.
The terms “refugee” and “migrant” have distinct modern legal meanings. Under the 1951 Refugee Convention, a legal document that defines the term
