The Refugee Crisis Is Only Getting Worse But The UAE Has Made Incredible Moves To Help

People fleeing persecution, families being separated, homes being destroyed and cities that once flourished are now left behind.

The world is facing an extremely high level of displacement with 68.5 million people from around the globe who’ve been forced to flee from home. Among them, 25.4 million are refugees, half of whom are below the age of 18.

The refugees are the only single group of people who’ve been failed by the world so consistently, despite the many initiatives taken by several countries.

Image sourced from unhcr.org

Currently, 57% of the world refugees come from Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan

…in numbers, Syria has 6.3m registered refugees, Afghanistan 2.6m and South Sudan 2.4m.

The Syrian crisis is getting out of hand day by day and has accelerated more dramatically than any previous crisis. After war broke out in 2011, one million people were displaced in the first two years and another million is the next SIX MONTHS.

Years of violence, ongoing war, unemployment and political instability has led to a massive migration from Afghanistan.

Inside South Sudan, nearly two million people are displaced and over two million refugees have fled outside the borders.

The next three countries to source refugees are Venezuela with 1.5m refugees, Myanmar 905K and Yemen 279K.

Image sourced from unhcr.org

The countries giving a home to refugees surprisingly, aren’t the richest

According to UNHRC’s annual report, 85% of the world’s refugees are hosted by developing countries. The sad bit is, these refugees don’t always get into wealthy countries. They come from poor countries and due to lack of resources, opt for the closest, relatively stable country, often with borders connecting to their own nation.

The result being, other poor and middle-income countries have to take in and feed these refugees.

Turkey has been, for the fourth consecutive year, hosting the largest number of refugees globally with 3.5 million and counting. Throughout 2017, Turkey has had to expand its reception capacity due to an increase in displaced persons by 21% as compared to the previous year.

Pakistan has come in second place with 1.4 million and more building up. People from Afghanistan began migrating to Pakistan in the late 1970s to flee ongoing war and instability in their own country.

Lebanon has taken in a million Syrians before becoming the world’s second largest country to host refugees. An additional 7,300 people from Iraq entered there too.

The next in line who’ve done their bit and welcomed refugees are Iran, Uganda and Ethiopia.

Image sourced from unhcr.org

It is incredibly heart-breaking to see the response by wealthier countries who’re barely doing anything to help the situation. Appeals for humanitarian help for refugees are consistently unfunded.

President of the so-called hegemony of the world, Donald Trump, clearly stated that America “will not be a refugee holding facility.”

Many wealthier states continue to prioritize policies that will keep people from seeking asylum and finding ways to stop them from coming altogether – rather than providing them with aid and sending their military troops to fight the injustice where ever necessary.

It’s tragic that our world is more prosperous than ever and yet totally incapable of – or unwilling to – care for the needy. Such restrictive policies are forcing these poor men, women and children to opt for dangerous routes both on land and on sea, putting their lives at risk.

Authorities of various wealthy nations have raised their voice when images went viral, makes us think why this issue isn’t strong enough to be taken care of without excessive causalities.

Alan Kurdi, left and Omran Daqneesh, right, caused a major uproar around the world. The French President, British Prime Minister and Irish Prime Minister were among the world leaders who raised their voice for the good on the issue of refugees

UAE’s take on the refugee crisis

The UAE Cabinet adopted a resolution wherein those who are fleeing war and natural disasters can reside in the country for a year on residency visa.

The UAE is already home to almost 200 nationalities, and at time where the world is slowly closing its doors to these people, the commitment our country is showing is something to be praised.

This decision is great as it’ll give the vulnerable another chance at building their life up from the ground and to plan their return home.

Apart from this, UAE has also donated millions for the aid of refugees around the world

Earlier this year, the UAE government donated AED7.35 million to the United Nations Refugee Agency in support of the Rohingya women and children refugees in Bangladesh. The Rohingya refugee crisis is one of the fastest growing in the world with more than 655,000 people who were forced to flee Myanmar and seek safe heaven in Bangladesh since August 25.

In 2017, the government signed a cooperation agreement worth AED14.5 million in support of South Sudanese refugees and the host communities in Uganda. The agreement was believed to improve water, education, shelter projects and professional training.

In April 2018, UAE has said to donate AED220 million to help the people of Syria. UAE has been one of the first to contribute towards the betterment of Syrian lives. Since the start of the Syrian refugee crisis seven years ago, UAE has donated around AED3.23 billion in total.

UAE’s donations and visa initiative is a start and a stepping stone for the Middle East in terms of aid and help provided to the refugees.

If people increasingly raise their voice, sign petitions and fight for the lives of these refugees, governments will be forced to make a change.

Collectively, if wealthier countries come together to provide for these refugees, the global refugee crisis can be slowly, but surely, tackled.

It’s as basic as removing boundaries and granting people asylum – it IS a human right. Raise awareness about sponsoring refugees. Many countries allow groups of people and families to sponsor people and help them settle in.

Countries need to stop denying access to refugees by providing baseless justifications and signing them off as threats to national security because at the end of the day, all these people need is a home to live in and start new lives.