Add climate change [think shortage of food, etc] into the mix - and just one reason for people wanting to relocate from their home-countries - and the flow of refugees is an ever-growing issue for many countries around the world. Yes, there is a cost of accommodating these essentially homeless people - but when one considers the extent of monies being spent on armaments, the massive cost of the Iraq War and simple government waste - all misdirected funding- the world needs to extend compassion and humanity to those who are genuine refugees.
The IHT reports:
"The number of refugees fleeing to other countries to escape conflict and persecution rose in 2007 for the second year as factors from climate change to overly scarce resources threatened to increase the flow, the United Nations refugee agency warned Tuesday.
A total of 11.4 million refugees were under the care of the agency, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in 2007, including about 400,000 experiencing conflict in their home countries, the agency said. The total for 2006 was 9.9 million.
The total was modest compared with the 17.8 million refugees in 1992 at the time of the Balkan wars, but after a steady drop from 2001 to 2005 it represents a worrying trend, the relief agency said.
"We are now faced with a complex mix of global challenges that could threaten even more forced displacement in the future," António Guterres, the high commissioner, said in a statement. "They range from multiple new conflict-related emergencies in world hot spots to bad governance, climate-induced environmental degradation that increases competition for scarce resources and extreme price hikes that have hit the poor the hardest and are generating instability in many places."
The number of people displaced by conflict but remaining in their countries also rose in 2007, to 26 million, the agency said, citing statistics provided by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, a private organization based in Geneva.
The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan accounted for more than half the refugees in 2007. More than two million Iraqis have sought refuge in Syria and Jordan, and three million Afghans in Pakistan and Iran, the agency said."
The IHT reports:
"The number of refugees fleeing to other countries to escape conflict and persecution rose in 2007 for the second year as factors from climate change to overly scarce resources threatened to increase the flow, the United Nations refugee agency warned Tuesday.
A total of 11.4 million refugees were under the care of the agency, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in 2007, including about 400,000 experiencing conflict in their home countries, the agency said. The total for 2006 was 9.9 million.
The total was modest compared with the 17.8 million refugees in 1992 at the time of the Balkan wars, but after a steady drop from 2001 to 2005 it represents a worrying trend, the relief agency said.
"We are now faced with a complex mix of global challenges that could threaten even more forced displacement in the future," António Guterres, the high commissioner, said in a statement. "They range from multiple new conflict-related emergencies in world hot spots to bad governance, climate-induced environmental degradation that increases competition for scarce resources and extreme price hikes that have hit the poor the hardest and are generating instability in many places."
The number of people displaced by conflict but remaining in their countries also rose in 2007, to 26 million, the agency said, citing statistics provided by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, a private organization based in Geneva.
The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan accounted for more than half the refugees in 2007. More than two million Iraqis have sought refuge in Syria and Jordan, and three million Afghans in Pakistan and Iran, the agency said."
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