100 Million Refugees - World Abysmal Record: What's Next?

20 июня 2022
June 20 is the World Refugee Day. This is a day of remembrance of the tragic fate of millions of people who, because of wars or poverty are forced to seek a new refuge away from their homeland. Alas, the global problem fails to gain attention. Moreover, it is being deliberately and methodically amplified. A new abysmal has been set this year. The number of those forced to leave their homes has reached 100 million.

100 million people who have lost their homes and their homeland, that is a hundred million tragedies, an ocean of suffering that has spilled out and flooded the lands of formerly prosperous countries. In the first months of this year alone, the number of refugees has grown radically: 7 million Ukrainians have left their homes. Some of them, about a million and a half, found a haven in Russia. According to Belarusian official data, 32,500 citizens who fled from their southern neighbor, found shelter in Belarus by the beginning of this week. They have received shelter, bread and an opportunity to find employment. The number of Ukrainian refugees in Western Europe is hard to keep track of. Some of them have already returned home after experiencing the delights of camp life. The official Kiev speaks of two million people. The European countries failed to absorb the multimillion human sea. 

Refugees. Difficult integration

The initial humanitarian enthusiasm has been shattered by limited resources, with refugee packages having to be cut. In most cases it has proven difficult to integrate Ukrainians. In Poland, where there were about 4 million refugees at the peak, food allowances, small, less than 10 euros a day, have been canceled, but even these have proved excessively burdensome to the country's budget. Ukrainians are encouraged to look for jobs more actively. In Bulgaria, Ukrainians are being relocated from seaside towns inland. It is difficult to get used to living side by side with refugees because of the great difference in cultures and everyday habits. This has led to many conflicts.

Europe is tired of refugees

In addition, the standard of living of Europeans is already severely affected by the economic crisis. People are willing to share their surpluses with refugees, but they are no longer willing to give up what they need. The Old World has experienced more than one flood of refugees in recent years. They tried to integrate more than 2 million Syrians, they try to give shelter to hundreds of thousands of Africans annually arriving from hunger and war in Libya. But by 2022, they have clearly become weary of the migrants. And Eastern Europe has never been sympathetic to them. Just remember the battles with refugees on the Polish borders, which were waged to keep Africans and Asians fleeing hunger and war out of Polish and Lithuanian borders.

Europe

The position of the Ukrainians in this sense was much more advantageous. They were surrounded by care and attention, but European fatigue with foreigners flooding the cities is becoming more and more tangible.

Migration Crisis in the U.S.

The helplessness to cope with the flood of migrants is not limited to the Old World. At the southern border of the United States, all control over the movement of new arrivals has been abolished. In some months, more than a million people crossed the border. Drug traffickers, murderers and other "bandidos" from the Mexican cartels easily find shelter among the hungry homeless crowds. The meaning of this man-made crisis is unclear: either the authorities cannot stop these human flows, or, as the Trumpists believe, Biden and the Democrats are providing themselves with an electoral base, because in the States there is virtually no control at the polls. 

Lola Castro, regional director of the World Food Program:

We all see caravans, huge columns of people moving toward the United States. We used to talk about migration only from North Central America, but now, unfortunately, we have to state migration on a hemispheric scale. We have the entire continent on the move.

Hunger and Global Migration

But the 100 million-planetary record will surely be surpassed many times over in the coming months. The problem of global hunger will be magnified by an equally global movement of people. There are already 36 million refugee children alone in the Horn of Africa. Drought in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan will displace tens of millions more people. Not everyone will make it to the Mediterranean Sea, but hundreds of thousands and millions more African children will try to come the coast of France, Italy and Spain. Countless number of people will drown, new hordes will settle in camps and spill out onto the streets of European cities. There is still a chance to avoid this calamity, but it will most likely be squandered again. The international community prefers to wait until disaster happens before dealing with its consequences.