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There are millions of people around the world. Many of them have been traumatized by war and suffer from hunger and thirst. Few have known a normal family life and many will never return to their homes. They are the poorest of the worlds poor. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) divides these impoverished wanderers into two groups:
- A refugee is defined as someone who flees his country because of fears of persecution and violence.
- An internally displaced person has likewise been forced to leave his home because of war or similar grave dangers, but he still resides in his country.
Nobody knows for sure how many refugees and displaced persons eke out a living in makeshift camps or how many wander helplessly from place to place in search of security. According to some sources, the total worldwide figure may be about 40 million, and half of them are children. Where do they come from? The refugee problem took a new dimension at the end of the First World War. In the aftermath of that war, empires were dismantled and ethnic minorities persecuted. As a result, millions of Europeans sought asylum in countries other than their own.
The Second World War, much more devastating than its predecessor, sent millions more fleeing their homes. Since 1945, wars have become more localized, but they are just as traumatic for the civilian population caught in the crossfire. Furthermore, many of today’s conflicts are civil wars that take a terrible toll, not only on men of military age, but also on women and children. Fuelled by deep-rooted ethnic and religious divisions, some of these conflicts seem interminable. In one African country, where the current phase of civil war has already dragged on for 18 years, there are four million internally displaced persons, while hundreds of thousands more have fled abroad.
Invariably, the only way that war-weary civilians can escape violence is to leave home. “Refugees leave their homeland and seek admission to another country not from choice or for reasons of personal convenience, but out of absolute necessity”, explains the book The State of the World’s Refugees: 1997-98. Nowadays, however, gaining admission to another country may not be that easy.
During the 1990s, the worldwide total of refugees dropped from about 17 million to 14 million. This apparent improvement however is misleading; it is estimated that the number of displaced persons at that time reached a total between 25 million and 30 million. What is happening? Meeting the needs of the world’s displaced people- both refugees and internally displaced– is much more complex than simply providing short-term security and assistance. It requires the addressing of the persecution, violence and conflicts which bring about displacement in the first place. It is about recognizing the rights of all men, women, and children to enjoy peace, security and dignity without having to flee their homes.
Until there no longer are a first class and second class in every nation, until equal human rights are guaranteed to all with no regards to their race, until that day the entire human race will not know peace.
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chidiebere arinzechukwu
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