In response to a global refugee crisis, many people are calling for a new way to approach the problem. This doesn’t necessarily mean a militarized border or callous treatment of migrants, but rather reimagining our policies.
Millions of people around the world are displaced from their homes every year because of war, conflict or natural disasters. They are forced to flee their homeland, often with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Some are refugees—people who have fled a well-founded fear of persecution and crossed a country’s border to seek asylum, usually in another sovereign nation—while others are migrants who do not fit this legal definition. The United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, is tasked with assisting those who are displaced.
For some, the solution to their displacement is local integration, where they can return to their home communities and rebuild their lives with the help of a host community. However, due to the protracted nature of most conflicts today, this option is becoming less and less realistic.
Resettlement, the process of permanently moving a refugee to a third-country country, is a more long-term solution that offers refugees stability and a fresh start. Unfortunately, only a few wealthy nations resettle a fraction of the world’s refugees. We must do more.
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