GRMR, community
Chanelle Rahbany
The True Meaning of GRMR

If someone were to ask me on the spot what Gators for Refugee Medical Relief (GRMR) is all about, I'd say we support refugee families through donations, tutoring, workshops, and by making a difference in Gainesville and beyond. But if you were to ask me what GRMR truly means to me, it would go much deeper—it's a community, a family. Joining GRMR as a freshman was more than just a step toward helping refugee families; it was becoming part of a team where every single person, especially the board of directors, is so genuinely passionate about making an impact. We’re not just volunteers—we're teammates and leaders, all driven by the same mission. 

Current Events, Refugee Issues
Emma Martin
Haitian Refugees and their Mistreatment in the ...

Haitian refugees have been forced to seek asylum from frequent natural disasters, political insecurity and government corruption since the 1960s. There is little financial and medical support for earthquake victims, furthermore, the nation fails to enforce proper safety standards on buildings. The US is home to “852,000 Haitian immigrants…more than triple [the amount from] 1990 and double the number in 2000,” (Carabota, Feb. 2024). Since the assassination of President Jovenal Moise in 2021, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has placed Haiti on a high-risk emergency watchlist (2024). Half the population has since required severe humanitarian aid, with 90% impoverished from sudden earthquakes (IRC, 2024). Despite international support efforts, namely UNICEF and the UN, many of these agencies fail to raise appropriate funds for disaster relief. Haiti’s government is influenced majorly by gang authority/affiliation, but not in the way that Latin American countries are subject to cartel influence.

Education, Refugee Issues, Healthcare
Krishna Kakani
Refugees and Disease: Forced Displacement and ...

Access to proper healthcare and medical treatment has become a hot topic in the past few years. Prices to visit a doctor have skyrocketed, certain medical procedures and become politicized, and the Covid-19 pandemic has many in fear about future outbreaks and what that could mean for the healthcare system. According to the UNHRC, the top three leading causes of morbidity among refugees are malaria, upper, and lower respiratory tract infections (Rabat). The importance of healthcare in forcefully displaced populations must become a higher priority as they not only impact communities of refugees but can also have lasting global impacts.

Refugee Issues, Education, Music
Katie Natour
Seeking Refuge in Music

For people all over the world, music is a commonality that brings comfort, unites communities, helps keep cultural identities alive, and promotes advocacy. In the midst of turmoil and uncertainty, music can serve as a constant source of hope and familiarity for displaced people.

Current Events, Refugee Issues
Chanelle Rahbany
Tragedy in Gaza: Advocacy and Aid for ...

Gators for Refugee Medical Relief (GRMR) aims to inform and educate its members, the University of Florida, and the greater community concerning refugees and advocacy for their struggles and hardships. With the looming conflict and war in the Gaza Strip, we aim to detail the number of Palestinian refugees in the area, the many difficulties they face, and ways for others to assist.

GRMR

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Humanitarian Law Fails Palestine

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Humanitarian Law Fails Palestine

Throughout the course of human history, war has been ruthless, often senselessly tearing apart families and livelihoods during callous power struggles between two belligerent parties who unnecessarily involve innocent people. It was not until fairly recently in human history that conventions occurred to attempt to make fighting more humane. Due to the lack of consensus on a war crime and the tendency of attacking forces to disregard human life, much less human dignity, the exact definition of a ‘war crime’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ remains elusive. Generally speaking, a war crime is a “serious violation of the laws or customs of war as defined by international customary law and international treaties,” and can apply to civilians and armed soldiers, while crimes against humanity apply to civilians (Penrose, 2022 & “Crimes Against Humanity”, n.d.).

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Advancing Refugee and Migrant Health Worldwide

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With the release of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) first-ever report on refugee and migrant health on July 20, 2022, comes a crucial discussion on the urgent actions that need to be taken to ensure that healthcare is accessible to all. Currently, one out of every eight people worldwide is a migrant or is displaced, and this issue continues to grow as a result of various reasons ranging from war, climate change, disease, and famine to seeking better jobs, education, and better overall quality of life. Refugees and migrants bring many skills and talents wherever they relocate to and do contribute significantly to their host country’s economy as productive members of society, yet their health is not a priority in many of these countries.

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Hosting Refugees: How Nations Can Help Mitigate the Effects of Forced Displacement

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Hosting Refugees: How Nations Can Help Mitigate the Effects of Forced Displacement

With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine contributing to the ever-growing refugee crisis around the world, it is important to shine a light on the many reasons why hosting refugees is beneficial, not only to the refugees themselves, but also to the countries that host them.

Dr. Craig Loschmann, a research fellow at UNU-MERIT focusing on analyzing conflict-related migration, argues that the mere economic benefits of hosting refugees outweigh the possible associated risks. His experience participating in different UNHCR-funded projects in refugee camps in Burundi and Rwanda led him to conclude that hosting refugees can help…

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High-Income Country Privilege and How it Affects Refugees

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High-Income Country Privilege and How it Affects Refugees

The refugee crisis is one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. That being said, before discussing how people who live in the high-income countries (HICs) (Europe and America are the main ones to note) have imposed a superiority complex disguised as heroism, it is essential to note a few things. This is a very sensitive issue and should be treated as such. Additionally, this post is a glimpse into many nations’ shortcomings in regards to the refugee crisis, so in no way is this a localized issue. This post will highlight some of the many ways people who live in high income countries have imposed a superiority complex and how it has harmed refugees and their communities, with sources all being from a refugee’s perspective….

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States and the Stateless: How Nationalism Drives Xenophobia and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

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States and the Stateless: How Nationalism Drives Xenophobia and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

Whenever I lead any educational presentation for GRMR, I like to start off by asking the group what they think of when they hear the words refugee or migrant. I encourage the group to consider the images, news stories, and identifiers they have seen in media and political discussions. Without fail, the discussion always turns to the ways in which the 2016 election and the administration which followed changed the idea of who refugees and migrants are. Asylum seekers became illegal aliens, and migration a threat to the socioeconomic success of the country. This disdain for refugees and migrants does not stem simply from a place of xenophobia or isolationism…

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The Pandemic and How it Fueled a Tutoring Evolution

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The Pandemic and How it Fueled a Tutoring Evolution

It has been 18 months since the pandemic forced us to shut down our regular operations. During that time of panic and confusion, the previous Education Director and her team were able to come up with our online tutoring format. Within 2 months she had set up a website, a google classroom, as well as a tutoring committee in order to launch our tutoring services in a safe and effective manner. At the time, I was a freshman. I had joined GRMR just 2 months before and fell in love with the activities and the culture. The best part of working with GRMR, was meeting the students, and getting to know their different personalities. The community was so lively…

Reflection on Jordan International Aid Trip

Reflection on Jordan International Aid Trip

In November of 2019 Gators for Refugee Medical Relief (GRMR) joined the organization Atlantic Humanitarian Relief (AHR) to provide medical and humanitarian aid to Syrian, Palestinian, Yemeni, and Iraqi refugees in the Kingdom of Jordan.

I had the privilege of joining Valentina Fandino, Nikka Bakhtiar, Nickou Memari, Nushrat Nur, and Alyssa Quinn from GRMR on this mission. The night before our trip, we all met at Valentina’s apartment and we packed all of the medical supplies we fundraised for as a club to bring to Jordan. We each had one suitcase for our clothes, and one suitcase full of the donations we collected. It took a day and a half of travel to get to Amman. We had a twelve-hour overnight layover in New York City before our flight to Doha, Qatar, and then finally to Amman.

Once we arrived, we all…

Welcome to our Blog!

Welcome to our Blog!

Thank you for tuning into our blog page. Emma, our public relations director, has been working so hard to get it running! So thank you Emma, your work is impeccable. We appreciate you so much.

Gators for Refugee Medical Relief started in the summer of 2017 in response to the growing tension in the media and the world revolving refugees' status and assistance. A group of students at the University of Florida reached out to local communities to provide academic and professional development services to refugee and migrant families relocated to Northern Florida. As mentioned in other sections, the United Nations HCR now estimates the number of forcibly displaced persons at…