 Board of Directors Meeting
Saturday 2-11-2012 at 2:00 | Tucson International Alliance of Refugee Communities, Inc. (TIARC) is a Mutual Assistance Association (MAA). Our mission is to promote the integration and development of refugee/immigrant communities and mutual assistance associations (MAAs) in our community:
Members of Vietnamese, former Soviet Union, former Yugoslavia, Laos, and Angolan refugee communities organized TIARC in the summer of 1995, with the assistance of the Pima County Adult Education Program. The group came together with the purpose of helping refugees adjust to their new lives in the United States. Tucson International Alliance of Refugee Communities, Inc. (TIARC) was incorporated as a non profit 501 (3) c in March of 1997. TIARC is currently serving refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, Former Soviet Union, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Burundi, Congo, DR Congo, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Burma, Bhutan and others. Our services include interpretation and translation, driver training, English as second language classes, computer classes, notary public, citizenship classes for refugees 60 years of age or older, case management for our elderly clients, and we offer jobs acquisition help. |
ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement) defines MAA (Mutual Assistance Association) as organization with the following qualifications:
(a) the organization is legally incorporated as a nonprofit organization; and
(b) not less than 51 percent of the composition of the Board of Directors or governing board of the MAA is composed of refugees or former refugees, including both refugee men and women.
Who is a refugee? A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or is afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries.
Who is an IDP? An internally displaced person (IDP) is a person who has been forced to flee his or her home for the same reason as a refugee, but remains in his or her own country and has not crossed an international border. Unlike refugees, IDPs are not protected by international law or eligible to receive many types of aid. As the nature of war has changed in the last few decades, with more and more internal conflicts replacing wars among countries, the number of IDPs has increased significantly.
Who is a returnee? A returnee is a refugee who has returned to his or her home country. The majority of refugees prefer to return home as soon as it is safe to do so, after a conflict and the country is being rebuilt. UNHCR encourages voluntary repatriation, or return, as the best solution for displaced people. The agency often provides transportation and other assistance, such as money, tools and seeds. Occasionally, UNHCR helps rebuild homes, schools and roads.
Who is a stateless person? A stateless person is someone who is not a citizen of any country. Citizenship is the legal bond between a government and an individual, and allows for certain political, economic, social and other rights of the individual, as well as the responsibilities of both government and citizen. A person can become stateless due to a variety of reasons, including sovereign, legal, technical or administrative decisions or oversights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights underlines that “Everyone has the right to a nationality.”
Who is an asylum seeker? When people flee their own country and seek sanctuary in another country, they apply for asylum – the right to be recognized as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance. An asylum seeker must demonstrate that his or her fear of persecution in his or her home country is well-founded.
What is the difference between a refugee and an economic migrant? An economic migrant normally leaves a country voluntarily to seek a better life. Should he or she decide to return home, they would continue to receive the protection of his or her government. Refugees flee because of the threat of persecution and cannot return safely to their homes.
What is the 1951 Refugee Convention? The 1951 Geneva Convention is the main international instrument of refugee law. The Convention clearly spells out who a refugee is and the kind of legal protection. War criminals do not qualify for refugee status. The Convention was limited to protecting mainly European refugees in the aftermath of World War II, but another document, the 1967 Protocol, expanded the scope of the Convention as the problem of displacement spread around the world. In July 2001, UNHCR published a special edition of its Refugees Magazine dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the Convention.(pdf,1.2MB)
(a) the organization is legally incorporated as a nonprofit organization; and
(b) not less than 51 percent of the composition of the Board of Directors or governing board of the MAA is composed of refugees or former refugees, including both refugee men and women.
Who is a refugee? A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or is afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries.
Who is an IDP? An internally displaced person (IDP) is a person who has been forced to flee his or her home for the same reason as a refugee, but remains in his or her own country and has not crossed an international border. Unlike refugees, IDPs are not protected by international law or eligible to receive many types of aid. As the nature of war has changed in the last few decades, with more and more internal conflicts replacing wars among countries, the number of IDPs has increased significantly.
Who is a returnee? A returnee is a refugee who has returned to his or her home country. The majority of refugees prefer to return home as soon as it is safe to do so, after a conflict and the country is being rebuilt. UNHCR encourages voluntary repatriation, or return, as the best solution for displaced people. The agency often provides transportation and other assistance, such as money, tools and seeds. Occasionally, UNHCR helps rebuild homes, schools and roads.
Who is a stateless person? A stateless person is someone who is not a citizen of any country. Citizenship is the legal bond between a government and an individual, and allows for certain political, economic, social and other rights of the individual, as well as the responsibilities of both government and citizen. A person can become stateless due to a variety of reasons, including sovereign, legal, technical or administrative decisions or oversights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights underlines that “Everyone has the right to a nationality.”
Who is an asylum seeker? When people flee their own country and seek sanctuary in another country, they apply for asylum – the right to be recognized as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance. An asylum seeker must demonstrate that his or her fear of persecution in his or her home country is well-founded.
What is the difference between a refugee and an economic migrant? An economic migrant normally leaves a country voluntarily to seek a better life. Should he or she decide to return home, they would continue to receive the protection of his or her government. Refugees flee because of the threat of persecution and cannot return safely to their homes.
What is the 1951 Refugee Convention? The 1951 Geneva Convention is the main international instrument of refugee law. The Convention clearly spells out who a refugee is and the kind of legal protection. War criminals do not qualify for refugee status. The Convention was limited to protecting mainly European refugees in the aftermath of World War II, but another document, the 1967 Protocol, expanded the scope of the Convention as the problem of displacement spread around the world. In July 2001, UNHCR published a special edition of its Refugees Magazine dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the Convention.(pdf,1.2MB)
