World Refugee Day

I get upset when I read things about children refugees. It makes me ask the questions - What makes one ethnic group want to destroy another? After all, this is the 21st century. Are we not yet civilized?

Just imagine for a moment that everything you own -- from your hard-earned money to your home to your car to little mementos like pictures on the wall -- has just been taken from you by a group of people who don't like the way you look or the shade of your skin or what religion you practice or the shape of your nose. Everything gone except, maybe, the clothes on your back and you are forced to run for your life with a group of strangers to another country ('refugees') or somewhere else within your own country - but still...not your home ('displaced persons'). Millions of people are living like this across the globe and women and children are hit the hardest.

Children and adolescents make up at least 50% of the refugee and displaced populations. While they show tremendous resilience and ability to survive, they are also vulnerable and in need of protection and assistance. As children grow into adolescents within these situations they are vulnerable to be recruited in military service, miss out on education, suffer sexual violence and related health problems, be exposed to STD's including HIV/AIDS and be economically exploited, in the worst cases as soldiers and commercial sex workers. Many adolescents assume adult responsibilities before they are prepared to, as heads of household, principal wage earners and teen parents. Few experience a true childhood. This just can't be good for the planet as a whole. There's a lot of press today on refugees and I did a little digging into these organizations who offer assistance. One that impressed me is the

The Women's Commission for Refugee Women & Children.

They particulary work on behalf of children and women's issues in refugee situations and support a watchdog organization called

The Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict

which collects and disseminates information on violations against children in conflicts in order to influence key decision-makers for legislation. I expected to just see reports on African/Asia nations on this list (Angola, Burundi, Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Afghanistan) - but they also listed reports on Colombia and OPT/Israel and the recent uprising in Nepal.

Aside from donating money, which is something pretty obvious you can do to help, here are some other things you can do today to take

ACTION!