THE GLOBAL
REFUGEE CRISIS
By John Jonaid
Refugees are an individual or a group of people who are forced to flee their homeland, (a country, state, or region) for reasons of safety and survival.
Often the cause is a natural disaster, war, religious persecution, or some other form of oppression. The Jews during the Nazi Holocaust is one of the most memorable historical examples of people being forced from their homes and fleeing to other countries to escape the violence and hardship inflicted upon them.
The most widely accepted definition of a refugee is when someone has registered with the UNHCR and has been recognized as a person in need of protection. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) normally refers to refugees from countries that have signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and accept refugees for permanent resettlement.
“Migration is an expression of the human aspiration for dignity, safety, and a better future. It is part of the social fabric, part of our very make-up as a human family.” Ban Ki-moon
What is the global refugee crisis?
In the past decade, refugee crises claimed headlines on a daily basis. Millions of people have fled their homes to find safety and a future. Situations like the Syrian civil conflict, the Rohingya and Hazara exodus are just some examples.
Over the past few years, news coverage of refugees hasn’t been as prevalent. However, refugee crises around the world continue to be a major concern. In fact, the number of refugees and internally displaced people worldwide has grown to more than 84 million in mid-2021, up from 82.4 million at the end of 2020. Among them, 35 million are children, 1 million of whom were born as refugees. This means that roughly one in every 97 people in the world is now forcibly displaced.
The ongoing Ukraine crisis has also exacerbated the number of displaced people around the world, impacting official available figures. With a constant flow of people fleeing the country, reports estimate that more than 3.6 million people were displaced in the first 27 days of the crisis, which started in February 2022. This exodus is being considered “one of the fastest-growing refugee emergencies on record.”
A recent history of the global refugee crisis
Every person is born into their own unique circumstances. Some are born into wealth, privilege, and opportunity; others are born into poverty, disadvantage, and lack of opportunity. Refugees are the most under-privileged because they are defined as a crisis in almost every country. This situation is worsened by the fact that there is lack of scrutiny of the UN and also lack of transparency in their processes.
Since the end of World War 2, the UN has been promoted, along with other parts of the global system, to promote social progress, improved living standards and human rights. However, the rights of refugees have remained problematic and under-developed.
The UN should have considered refugees as a part of its processes from the beginning and developed a mechanism enabling them to have their human rights promptly defined and protected.
"The UN should have considered refugees as a part of its processes from the beginning and developed a mechanism enabling them to have their human rights promptly defined and protected."
This way they would have been able to travel legally and enjoy the privileges of globalization like other citizens. They would be properly protected, have a say in their own affairs, work and study, even enjoy scholarship opportunities. Had this occurred, today, we would not have to rely on donations and remain as a burden in the host country.
Careful consideration of the world’s refugee crisis demonstrates that this crisis was created by politics and governments’ determination to regulate refugee flows rather than resolve the crisis. Yet the UN Declaration of Human Rights was based on the refugees’ need to escape war and the conflicts destabilizing their countries; and in which they have no say.
Those governments that believe that locking up refugees and handling them like cattle will end the refugee crisis are wrong. People's movements will never stop because the desire, or the need to move, is intrinsic in human nature. Humans are one global family; every human being deserves an equal and fair chance towards safety, not only privileged people traveling by plane with valid visas.
The system is broken, and here's why
The one and only reason refugees are locked in their first country of refuge, where they arrive after leaving their war-torn country, is because the international community has decreed that they will deal with refugees systematically, under the supervision of the UNHCR.
Parliamentarians and foreign officials know the truth but still pretend that refugees should join an orderly queue, knowing full well that UNHCR representatives are not available in many key locations and that refugees seeking registration with the UNHCR have to travel far, sometimes through several countries, in order to present at a responsive UNHCR office. Unfortunately, humanitarian crises are unpredictable, as demonstrated in the Myanmar genocidal attacks against the Rohingya, which created a flow of nearly eight hundred refugees in just a few months.
"Unfortunately, humanitarian crises are unpredictable, as demonstrated in the Myanmar genocidal attacks against the Rohingya."
The major UN donor countries, mostly in the northern hemisphere, which are almost never affected by large-scale tragedies, are slow to respond and when they do, their response is inadequate. Politicians squabble routinely over the amount of funds provided for foreign aid, or to resolve world issues. Yet, when crises come closer, they become truculent and close their borders. Two good examples are Australia’s treatment of arriving migrants, and the US building a wall on their border with Mexico.
What should happen next
It is clear that natural and man-made tragedies will not end just because they are complex and costly. It is therefore indispensable for civilized countries to lend a hand in finding lasting solutions for the refugees who are displaced against their will.
As refugees, we strongly confirm that all displaced people want an opportunity to be part of the world and to belong to some country. Refugees are part of the human race just like all others. We became refugees as a result of the circumstances that forced us to flee from our own countries and seek safety in other countries.
We ask for the freedom we deserve to live like all other human beings. We want to fulfill our potential and become part of the global community. In a spirit of trust and cooperation, together, we can make this world a home for the whole human race.