UNHCR (the United Nations Refugee Agency) says that at the end of 2023 the number of forcibly displaced people in the world amounted to 1 in every 69 of the global population. Over 42 million of them were children!
I find that quite staggering.
Why should we worry about refugees?
It seems to me that common humanity would be a good place to start! But that doesn’t seem to be the case in most corridors of power these days. The world has become a very frightening and violent place, and many more people are on the move. They come in the form of refugees/migrants/asylum seekers/displaced people – call them what you will but in any case, they are people far from home who really want to be home.
There are specific legal terms in international law for people who choose to leave home. A refugee is a person fleeing their country because of persecution, war or violence. They will probably seek asylum in a foreign country. If granted they will have refugee status and protection in that country. A migrant is a person who has chosen, usually for economic reasons to leave home, and settle for some time at least in another country. An immigrant will have chosen to move to another country and settle there permanently.
UNHCR says that at the end of June 2024 over 120 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced (i.e. forced to leave their homes). This includes almost 44 million refugees, 72 million internally displaced people and 8 million asylum seekers. It does not include another 44 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality, and who lack access to basic rights such as healthcare and education.
Many of the refugees come from just 5 countries: Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine and Sudan. Conflict is a key reason why people become refugees but is not the only one. Increasingly Climate Change is a contributing factor, if not the principal cause.
Clearly this is truly terrible for the displaced people. But dealing with an influx of refugees and migrants is also becoming hard for the world to handle.
Have we lost our compassion?
With the increase in numbers of refugees and migrants looking for a better life, many governments are trying to find a way to exclude them.
I must stress at this point that there are always individuals within countries that care very much indeed about the fate of the people seeking a different future for themselves and their families. This is also the case with some countries. A recent article in the Guardian shows how well Spain is doing with their active welcome to refugees.
However, in general, especially with a movement to support more right-wing governments, people and their governments have become increasingly hostile to foreigners trying to make a future. This comes at a time when more people than ever are leaving their homes in search of a decent life.
The Reception of Refugees Has Been Warm in Some Cases
Unfortunately, these wretched people who have often lost everything, are facing many barriers to their settlement in new countries. This frequently includes considerable hatred, violence and racism in their daily lives.
Many governments are ambivalent about migrants. At one level they are trying to reduce the number they receive. At another they know they need the migrants as workers because of ageing populations and low birthrates.
There have been huge hurdles put in the way of refugees and migrants who wish to settle. These have included locking them up, returning them to their unsafe country of origin, building walls to keep them out and trying to deport them to countries such as Rwanda.
It is true that for some countries the inflow of refugees specifically has been completely overwhelming. This article shows some of the countries with the biggest problems: these include Poland, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Chad, Turkey and so on. A number of these countries are already very poor.
Other countries like those in Europe are a magnet for economic migrants who wish to settle. Often this has created problems because of the improper management of the settlement process. For example, in the UK people living near the south coast where migrant boats arrive are up in arms because of the effect of the asylum seekers. Likewise in the UK, right-wing Conservatives and members of the Reform Party have stirred up hatred instead of coming up with solutions.
The press are simply not helping the situation when, for example, they refer to migrants as “Criminals, terrorists and freeloaders”.
This article gives a clearer idea of why people are hostile to immigrants.
What Will the Future Bring if We Don’t Change?
Melting Glaciers
The future for humankind does not look promising if we don’t change. Climate Chaos and loss of biodiversity will add to the violence of endless wars and petty irritations with each other.
This article by Zurich.com suggests that we could have 1.2 billion climate refugees by 2050 if we don’t come up with some solutions. (Even if we do the time is getting short and we may have them anyway.) There is incidentally no such term in international law as climate refugee. Clearly the concept already exists even if there is no law.
We need to plan the future
What I am trying to say here is that if we don’t sort ourselves out there will be so many refugees we will be inundated. The Himalayan glaciers are starting to melt and disappear. They are responsible for providing drinking water and irrigation for farming for over 2 billion people. The glaciers are also responsible for providing hydro power for millions of people and for regulating regional weather. The situation in the Andes is similar only it seems to be happening much faster. Other issues, which I don’t have the space for here, will have similar effects on people’s lives.
My conclusions from all this are that we must help people stay at home if we possibly can. Somehow governments must get their act together and fund the adaption and mitigation of Climate Change in developing countries.
We have been fighting about this since the COP in Copenhagen in 2009 when we promised poorer countries $100 billion per year for climate action. There has been a lot of fighting and very little giving since then. The situation was slightly improved at the last COP, but not enough money was pledged and very little received.
Developing countries cannot move to renewable energy by themselves. Right now they are being seduced down the path of continued fossil fuel use by countries like China who are getting rid of their own coal, gas and oil. Likewise, the awarding of loans is stacked against poorer countries as their rates of interest are much higher.
In short, and no matter how much it costs, we must help these countries transition to renewable energy and help them do what is needed to assist their people to stay at home.
What Can You Do?
- All the things that I have mentioned before that will help hold back Climate Change and save loss of biodiversity.
- Write to the World Bank and ask them to give proper loans and grants to countries that need them.
- Write to your political representatives, or better, go and see them. Tell them they must do better on Climate Change and on funding developing countries to adapt.
- Support organisations that are helping fund the transition to a more sustainable lifestyle.
- Use your buying power and don’t buy from the big multinational organisations as they don’t care about the planet (especially the American ones for now). Tell them why.
- Don’t buy fuel from BP!
- If you are thinking of buying an electric car, don’t buy a Tesla!
To subscribe to my blog, please use the form on the Home page.
Photos by Jametlene Reskp, Maria Teneva and Jairo Gallegos on Unsplash