This week the Guardian has been running a major series on "climate refugees" about the village of Newtok in Alaska, which faces an imminent threat to its existence from erosion.
The term is problematic for a number of reasons. The first being that people who are facing movement do not like the term. The word "refugee" brings to mind a number of (not always accurate) images: tented camps, long lines of people walking, dangerous boat crossings. People facing the prospect moving hope that they will have some choice in the timing and circumstances of their movement and that when they arrive they will find work and become active members of their new communities. Their hope is that they will move with dignity.
Click here to read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/17/climate-change-refugees-dignity-migration
Source: The Guardian