ICERAS

Refugee situations have multiple implications for the refugees themselves, the
countries of origin and the countries of asylum. While the social, psychological and
economic impact on refugees themselves is obvious, the socio-economic impact on
countries of origin and asylum is not sufficiently documented. For countries of origin,
especially in case of prima facie refugees, social impact can be estimated in terms of
distortion of family structures because of an increase in the number of divided
families and unaccompanied children. The number of abandoned villages, poverty,
sexual and gender-based violence and psychological disorders that might result from
conflicts can also increase. Economic impact on these countries such as decreasing
agricultural and livestock production can also be observed. Most of this impact is not
quantifiable and where it is there is often not sufficient data to monitor some of these aspects readmore