World Marks World Refugee Day
Here in the United States, June 20 does not blare on our national radar as a day of significance. However, in many parts of the world, today is a day that can hardly slide unnoticed. Even though the number of refugees is at a 26-year low, there is still cause for serious concern. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, there are about 20.8 million people of concern around the world. 8.4 million are refugees fleeing wars and violence, 6.6 million are internally displaced persons, 2.4 million are stateless people and 1.6 million are returnees. The rest are either asylum seekers or people of another kind of concern.
One of the biggest problems the UNHCR faces is the increase in numbers of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), people who have fled war and persecution but have not managed to cross an international border and are therefore not qualified for refugee status as per the 1951 Refugee Convention. IDPs however have the same needs as refugees—assistance, protection, necessities, sanitation and prevention of sexual crimes against them. Though the global list is endless, Southern Sudan, Chad, Darfur and Bangladesh are presently in dire need of international assistance to cater for IDPs and refugees.
In harmony with this years theme, “Keeping the flame of hope alive” , Let us reach out in our various small but significant ways to the millions of people around the world for whom this day matters most. Whether through membership in an NGO, an international relief organization, a private Foundation or a religious mission, we can all make a difference by helping to ameliorate the plight of refugees and IDPs.