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Refugee, Asylum-Seeker, and Internally Displaced Person, Distinguished

This video presents the same text shown beside it, spoken and on screen. It adds nothing the text does not say.

State

A refugee is forced from their country by war, persecution, or disaster; an asylum-seeker's claim is unvalidated; an internally displaced person flees but stays inside their own country.

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One family crosses a border seeking protection, becoming an asylum-seeker while reviewed; another flees violence but stays within their nation, displaced.

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These terms describe distinct legal positions; using them interchangeably erases distinctions determining protection.