Wednesday, June 20, 2018

So Many Refugees

The United Nations reported this week that 68.5 million people were forcibly displaced because of conflict or persecution in 2017, the highest number since the end of World War II. 

We picture refugees coming across the border into Texas or fleeing from Africa to Italy in boats.  Many of the refugees, however, escape to countries as poor as the places from which they fled.  For example, 5.6 million people have fled from Syria, but most ended up in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon.  

Afghanistan is full of people fleeing violence from military conflict or Taliban brutality.  It has the largest refugee population in Asia.  Incidentally, Pakistan has started returning Afghanis seeking asylum there.

South Sudan refugees are fleeing, mostly to Uganda, which hosts over a million.  Uganda, as you may guess, is not a rich country. 

Myanmar is driving out its Rohingya population, and the refugees are ending up in Bangladesh.

Somalia, a “failed state,” is the fifth largest refugee producer.  Those refugees mostly go to Kenya, Yemen, and Ethiopia.  Can you imagine how desperate you must be to seek refuge in Yemen?

We have been warned about the carrying capacity of the globe for years.  Malthus, it now seems, had a point.  We have too many people and too little food.  

The burdens borne by the industrialized countries are slight compared to countries like Kenya, Bangladesh, or Uganda.  The world is asking some of the poorest people on the globe to host millions of desperate people.  


Statistics for this post are from Megan Sepcia, “Humanity of the Move:  5 Conflicts That Drive the Global Refugee Crisis, New York Times, (June 20, 2018), p. A19.

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