Arrival: Limbo
"Of the 71 million forcibly displaced people in the world, 41 million are displaced within their own countries..."
Of the 71 million forcibly displaced people in the world, 41 million are displaced within their own countries, 4 million are stateless, 3.5 million are currently awaiting asylum, 26 million have achieved official refugee status, but fewer than 93,000 have been resettled, which entails functioning independently on the economy in a new land. This equates to 70 million people— roughly the same population as the entire UK plus the city of Chicago— who are living in limbo.
Our team members obtain informed consent from each individual before an interview takes place. Individuals dictate where their stories may be shared and what personal information they wish to keep private. In situations where the individual is at risk and/or wishes to remain anonymous, alias names are used and other identifying information is removed from interviews immediately after they are received by TSOS. We have also committed not to use refugee images or stories for fundraising purposes without explicit permission. Our top priority is to protect and honor the wishes of our interview subjects.