At one point or another, we have all felt excluded. Being rejected, denied or refused is sadly an inevitable part of our lives. We strive to become recognized members within our school, family, community, city and country.

But when conflict erupts, those we used to trust and rely on most go against all the faith we put in them. Safety, support and resources are lost as our community turns for the worse from the pressures of an internal war. Our homeland is no longer our home and the people who fill it are not who they once were. We are no longer thought of and forced to flee the land where generations upon generations of our family’s lived, worked and loved. There is no choice. The only way to avoid persecution is to leave.

There are almost 60 millionforcibly displaced people in the world today. Everyday there are 42,500 forced to flee their homes and currently 12 million stateless people. Most refugees are coming from the Middle East and northern Africa as a result of long-lasting civil wars, with no end in near future.

The International Olympic Committee recently announced its first ever refugee team, Team Refugee Olympic Athletes (ROA). These ten athletes are set to join the 206 representing countries in Rio this summer. While the Olympic Committee is being ever inclusive, the reality that these people are without an actual state is distressing.

These people have not only lost their homes, but they have lost their nationality. The pride they once had in their homeland is not there any more, a part of themselves and their identity has been altered.

These people are fleeing their homes, not because they choose but because they must, and are looking for a safe place. These refugees are not a priority to most because they are not considered ‘people of their country.’ We know what exclusion is, discourage it in our youth, yet when a major disaster strikes, we fall back on our old habits of seclusion. Our doors are shut to people different than us. We come to only worry about the people within our home surroundings, when really the whole world is all of our home.

There are 144 countries that have signed and agreed to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which according to the United Nations Refugee Agency ensures refugees “safety from being returned to the dangers they have fled; access to asylum procedures that are fair and efficient; and measures to ensure that their basic human rights are respected to allow them to live in dignity and safety while helping them to find a longer-term solution." Yet access to most of the states in the agreement is extremely difficult, causing for refugees to resort to smuggling as a means to entering nearby countries in Europe.

While the refugee crisis is a huge problem in Europe, other countries in the world are falling short. The United States is behind, accepting only a fifth of the promised Syrian refugees. Canada is accepting 30 percent fewer refugees than it was a decade ago and Australia’s new policy allows for the deterrence of refugees looking for asylum.

We may like to think of this as a ‘them’ problem, but we are all a part of the human species living together on this planet.

June 20 marks International Refugee Day. There are millions displaced people without homes who are denied their basic human rights, safety, and education. We are all human who desire and deserve an included place in our world. Use this day, and every other day, to spread awareness to this universal problem and promote peace within your community.

"Refugees are people like anyone else, like you and me. They led ordinary lives before becoming displaced, and their biggest dream is to be able to live normally again. On this World Refugee Day, let us recall our common humanity, celebrate tolerance and diversity and open our hearts to refugees everywhere." — Ban Ki-moon