The hunger crisis in the world, exacerbated by the Russian war against Ukraine, is particularly hard on refugees. Their number has reached an alarming record. Germany wants to help.
Wars, conflicts and crises have further exacerbated the global refugee crisis. For the first time, more than 100 million people are fleeing, more than at least since the Second World War, as the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported on Thursday in Geneva.
Coupled with the exploding food prices, this is catastrophic, said Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD): “The worst famine since the Second World War is looming,” she warned in Berlin. The ministry spoke of a frightening record.
High food prices are fueled in part by Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has prevented grain and other exports from there. This is a catastrophe, especially for developing countries that are themselves affected by poverty, drought and hunger and have also taken in millions of refugees, said Schulze. “As a global community, we are called upon to support these countries with shared responsibility and solidarity.” Germany is helping countries in the Global South after the rise in world market prices for grain, said Schulze.
Ukrainians: second largest refugee group
In just a few weeks, Ukrainians have become the second-largest refugee group in the world, after Syrians, UNHCR reported. So far, 4.9 million people have fled Ukraine and almost seven million from Syria.
The World Refugee Report actually always refers to the previous year. Due to the dramatic consequences of the war against Ukraine, the UNHCR also exceptionally named the number of refugees for May 2022, which exceeded the 100 million mark. But by the end of 2021, a record number of people had already fled: 89.3 million, eight percent more than a year earlier, the UNHCR reported. More than twice as many people were fleeing than ten years ago. Around 60 percent of those displaced found refuge elsewhere in their own countries.
“What we are seeing in eastern Ukraine is very brutal and very scary,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. But it would be fatal if the focus was only on Ukraine. Huge sums of money were missing to help people in other parts of the world. Among other things, he mentioned tensions in West and East Africa, in the Middle East, the situation of the Rohingya displaced from Myanmar and the situation in South America, where many countries have taken in refugees from Venezuela.
Three quarters of the refugees stay in the neighboring country
Germany was the largest host country behind Turkey, Colombia, Uganda and Pakistan, with 1.3 million people admitted. Most people who flee across borders stay close to their home country. “Three-quarters of the refugees are in the neighboring country because they hope to be able to return home as soon as possible,” said UNHCR spokesman Chris Melzer. 87 percent of all refugees have found refuge in low- and middle-income countries.
According to Grandi, the crises are becoming more and more complicated. Conflicts would be fueled by growing inequality. Bad governance prevents development in many places. Climate change is intensifying the struggle for resources, for example in the Sahel zone in Africa, which is fueling smoldering ethnic conflicts. Along with refugees who are threatened in their homeland and are in need of protection under international humanitarian law, more and more other migrants are also on the move. Many, in desperation because they could no longer support their families, went in search of a better life.
Source: Stern
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