Pakistan and Iran Play Host to 2.5 Million Refugees
The United Nations recognized June 20th as “World Refugee Day.” By definition a refugee is “someone who fled his or her home and country owing to well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” According to UN estimates at the end of 2011, 43.3 million people were classified as refugees. The majority of these refugees live and/or seek asylum in developing countries.
In developed countries like the US, Canada, Australia, and most of Western Europe refugees are not a typical topic of conversation. While thousands of individuals and families may seek asylum in these countries, they are not pouring in across the border as can be seen in countries like Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan where civil wars and political instability continue to force people from their homes. The individuals and families that flee their homeland typically do so with only the things they can carry, leaving behind family, friends, homes, careers, and treasured possessions. It is a tragic scene that is played out all too often around the world.
According to UNHCR (United Nations High Commission on Refugees), the continents of Asia and Africa represent 72 percent of the individuals who seek asylum around the word. In Africa alone, Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo have a combined estimate of 2 million refugees in other countries. Currently, Pakistan and Iran host the most refugees with 1.7 million and 887,000 respectively.
These two countries, along with the hundreds of others that open their borders, take on enormous responsibility that, in some cases, pushes the limits of their own capabilities. As the US is currently experiencing (on a smaller scale) on the Mexican border, host countries end up needing to provide shelter, food, water, toiletries, medical care, and translational services in order to process these individuals. It can be an enormous undertaking that can cost millions of dollars and can last for years.
The status of refugees in the world is important because it gives a glimpse into the stability of nations. When one feels safe they need not flee. The current numbers suggest that too many nations are struggling to care for their own people, hence other nations step in and take responsibility. This in turn can stretch the host nation’s resources and begin domestic problems. It is an issue that has the potential to become a domino effect.
Sources: World Refugee Day: http://www.un.org/en/events/refugeeday/index.shtml, “Which Countries Take in the Most Refugees?”: http://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/world/asia/refugees-asylum-statistics/
Image Courtesy of Office of Refugees Archdiocese of Toronto.
