Hot Spots
10/13/2016
The Refugee Crisis
Amnesty International recently released a report on the countries that are hosting the world’s refugees, 21 million, titled “Tackling the global refugee crisis: from shirking to sharing responsibility.”
56% of refugees are being sheltered in just 10 countries, according to the report, with Amnesty proposing a solution whereby the world’s nations find a home for 10% of the planet’s refugees every year.
Said Amnesty secretary general Salil Shetty: “A small number of countries have been left to do far too much just because they are neighbors to a crisis. That situation is inherently unsustainable, exposing the millions fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq to intolerable misery and suffering.
“It is time for leaders to enter into a serious, constructive debate about how our societies are going to help people forced to leave their homes by war and persecution.”
The top refugee hosting countries:
Jordan 2.7 million
Turkey 2.5m
Pakistan 1.6m
Lebanon 1.5m
Iran 979,000
Ethiopia 736,000
Kenya 553,000
Uganda 477,000
Democratic Republic of Congo 383,000
Chad 369,000
The statistics are based on figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Amnesty said many of the world’s wealthiest nations “host the fewest and do the least.”
I am saving my own viewpoints on the topic for my “Week in Review” column.
But I will just say that for Jordan and Lebanon, not only have they both been going above and beyond the call of duty, they deserve far more funds from the international community than they have been receiving. They are both ticking time bombs.
Source: Agence France Presse
Hot Spots will return in a few weeks.
Brian Trumbore
