Alarm about the state of exile in the world

(Baonghean) - Recently, a non-governmental organization has just published a report warning about the situation of exiles around the world. Especially in Europe, the conflict in eastern Ukraine has caused the number of migrants to increase many times over the past decade.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NCR) has sounded the alarm about the ever-increasing number of exiles worldwide. According to the NCR, there are currently around 38 million exiles worldwide. This figure does not include the 16 million refugees who have fled to neighboring countries to escape conflict. The NCR estimates that in 2014, 30,000 people were forced to leave their homes every day, creating 11,000 new exiles.

A Ukrainian family in exile. Photo: AP

NCR assessed that the above figure has increased by 1.4% compared to 2013. According to Mr. Jan Egeland - Secretary General of NCR, this is an extremely bad figure for those who are forced to relocate and this once again proves that we have completely failed to protect innocent people.

Mr. Jan Egeland said that the two main regions in the world where this phenomenon often occurs are the Middle East, North Africa and parts of the Sahara desert in Africa. The NCR organization estimates that about 60% of exiles live in five countries: Iraq, South Sudan, Syria, the Republic of Congo and Nigeria.

In Nigeria alone, since 2009, the activities of the terrorist group Boko Haram have forced 1.5 million people into exile. However, the Iraqi people have been the most affected, with 2.2 million people forced to flee areas occupied by IS jihadists. As of December 31, 2014, most Syrians have also been forced to leave their homes. 40% of the Syrian population, equivalent to 7.6 million people, have sought refuge elsewhere in the country.

The Middle East is not the only region facing this situation. The conflict in eastern Ukraine has also caused significant changes in the region. “For the first time in a decade, Europe is facing a large number of exiles,” Mr. Jan Egeland emphasized. The conflict in Ukraine is known to have forced 646,500 people to leave their homes in 2014, and this number doubled to 1.2 million in 2015.

These figures are an alarming record for the number of people in exile around the world. The recent devastating earthquake in Nepal will certainly add to the record number of exiles. Meanwhile, in March, the United Nations threatened to reduce or stop its support for Syrian exiles and refugees if donor funds were not provided on time.

Chu Thanh

(According to Le Figaro)