Refugee Flow
- App URL
- http://projectkhalid.org/refugeeflow/
- Source URL
- http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AuoRi1tre_46dHJ4M21Yck91bXdhQWhobUR0NlFScHc&hl=en
- Description
There are many misconceptions about refugee policy in the United States and around the world. We look at refugees variously as people fleeing episodes of violence and disaster, as opportunistic economic migrants, and as targeted victims of state persecution and discrimination. Examining the actual data visually can be difficult, especially in a time-series manner that might illustrate the impact of events and crises in a given country. Using Google's Trendalyzer technology, however, we can easily display some interesting and important associations by connecting asylum grantee data with national indicators of economic performance and civil liberties, although the groupings aren't as immediately elucidating as might be naively anticipated or desired.
Deploying this powerful visualization software, we can dissolve certain misconceptions about the grantee refugee population and can assist in communicating and discovering new and important trends. As more complete refugee datasets become accessible through data.gov and other open government sources, people will be increasingly able to combat myths and reveal truths about this important segment of our nation.
This application was submitted by Todd Fine on August 7, 2009