Final answer:
Refugees from the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, would be called refugees in the U.S., a term for those forced to leave their homeland due to war, persecution, or disaster. They are protected by international law and the UNHCR oversees their aid. The U.S. has varied its refugee admissions over the years, with numbers significantly decreasing from 2016 to 2020.
Step-by-step explanation:
Refugees in Kenya, specifically those involved with the Mau Mau uprising, revolted due to the injustice of British colonialism, which left many native Kenyans disenfranchised on their own land. These individuals, when they fled to the U.S., would generally be categorized as refugees, a term used to describe people forced out of their homelands due to various reasons including war, persecution, or natural disaster. The refugees from the Mau Mau uprising experienced extreme duress under the British colonial rule, where they were subjected to policies that were "distressingly reminiscent of conditions in Nazi Germany or Communist Russia." This indicates a severe violation of human rights and provides a historical context for their refugee status if they sought asylum in the United States.
In the broader context, refugees are protected under the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, which is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This international law provides a right to seek asylum, offering legal protection extended by one country to citizens of another. As part of global efforts to alleviate the suffering of refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) organizes aid for displaced individuals.
Even before policy changes and the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States admitted a relatively small number of refugees annually. For instance, in 2016 there were about 85,000 refugees admitted, a figure that sharply decreased to 18,000 in 2020. This illustrates the challenges that refugees face when seeking safety and a new beginning in countries like the United States, where admission policies can greatly vary over time.