The growing need to support asylum seekers cannot be ignored! The list of countries that have multitudes of asylum seekers fleeing has grown over the years. That list now includes: Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Bangladesh, Albania, India, Nigeria. (Who’s Who) In 2014, 1.8 million people were waiting to hear about their asylum claim. (Asylum-Seekers) That figure has only grown with mounting unrest and instability in many regions of the globe. The AWE website needs help providing funds to the program in addition to information for potential donors. This is key to helping these millions of people currently in the process or looking to start the process of seeking asylum. A website that can present the mass amounts of information about asylum seekers like: “Almost all asylum seekers are not allowed to work and are forced to rely on state support – this can be as little as £5 a day to live on.” (Who’s Who) or the fact that they “…can be sent back to their country of origin.” (Home) which would most likely ensure a hard life or death. To present this info on the main page, a two-layer world map would be used to show where asylum seekers flee from and where they end up calling home. On the map, will be pins with facts and if possible some pictures showing the heartache and pains found in their home countries. The seconded layer will show where they end up. This part will hopefully include interviews from AWE staff helping to tell these woman’s stories to provide an emotional connection as well as facts that make the reader engage. They will be asked questions about the most touching moments they felt at AWE, what brought them to AWE, what is the biggest struggle these women face, and many others. The map will be an interactive way for the primary audience which, are donors to learn and feel connected to the asylum seeker. This is a global issue that needs a global response starting with AWE. Improving AWE is the first step to improving asylum seekers resources and lives.
Work Cited
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Asylum-Seekers.” UNHCR. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.
Refugee Council. “Who’s Who.” Refugee Council U.K., Web. 16 Mar. 2017.
Lawrence, Callan. “Home.” What Is the Difference between a Refugee and an Asylum Seeker? – Settlement Services International. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.
The idea of the map with information about the home countries is brilliant. This will really help people understand why people are seeking asylum. This is a great idea for AWE that I haven’t seen on any other site.
The interactive map is an interesting addition to the website. It would allow donors to explore the map on their own without throwing the information straight into their faces.
It might be possible to connect an asylee’s current place of residence with the country they have fled from. You could put the current place in a positive light or even conclude that the difference between the two makes them uncomfortable. There’s a lot of potential in a compare and contrast.
Use of a map with links to refugee stories or images from the homeland would really help readers/visitors to the site conceptualize the size and scale of the refugee crisis. I think the Heifer site had a map detailing their work in other countries as well as within the US that AWE’s could be based off of. I think that the use of pins to represent specific locations would work well as something most people are familiar with and easily able to identify.
Using a map to show the viewers the reason for leaving a country could be very powerful. If possible, not only the reason or cause should be shown, but maybe a statistical analysis of how many flee and how many find refuge in America may also help.