THE CRISIS BY DATA

• 60% of the world’s refugees and 80% of the world’s Internally Displaced People (IDPs) reside in urban settings (statistics from 2016 UNHCR report).

• In 2019, one person became displaced every 3 seconds. That means that every minute, 20 people have become newly displaced. In one day, 30,000 people have become displaced.

THE CRISIS BY COUNTRY

Yemen

Yemen is currently experiencing one of the worst humanitarian disasters. Since 2015, Yemen has been plagued by a civil war between the state-backed army and the Houthi rebels. This civil war has forced approximately 3 million Yemeni citizens to flee their country, has caused 75% of the population to require some form of humanitarian aid, and has led to a massive famine, where over 15 million people (53% of the population) are on the brink of starvation. This war has also led to regional turmoil, involving Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., and Iran.

South Sudan

South Sudan is currently facing a mass refugee crisis - the third largest after Syria and Afghanistan. Due to political conflict between the state and opposition groups, exacerbated by poverty and unemployment, millions of South Sudanese citizens have been forced to flee their country. Roughly 3.7 million people have fled the country, and about 60% of the refugees are children. Within South Sudan, nearly 2 million people have become internally displaced. The situation is only projected to become worse, with increasing levels of starvation. Current statistics estimate that almost 8 million people will face crisis levels of famine.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The D.R.C. has been in a state of civil war and conflict, involving more than 140 different armed militias, since the 1994 Rwandan Genocide which sparked an African ‘World’ War. Because of the conflict over the past two decades, the D.R.C. has become home to one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. The situation has been particularly bad for women and girls, who are tortured and abused as a way of forcing concessions from the opposition. In 2018, there was an ebola outbreak in the D.R.C. which further decimated an already devastated country. Since the conflict, about 4.5 million people have been forced to flee their country and more than 13 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

SOMALIA

For over two decades, Somalia has been witness to mass chaos, conflict, and civilian casualties. This humanitarian crisis has been further exacerbated due to Al-Shabaab’s control over the region, as well as the increasing drought, famine, and public health crisis (outbreak of cholera). There are approximately 2 million internally displaced people within the country, and over the past 30 years, over 5 million Somali citizens have fled to neighboring countries. Kenya has hosted the most Somali refugees, about 4.5 million. However, due to recent activity from Al-Shabaab, the Kenyan government has begun deporting Somali refugees, forcing many of them to return to the state that they desperately fled.

MYANMAR

For years the Rohingya people in Myanmar have been systematically persecuted and discriminated against. However, in 2017, the Rohingya became targeted through the worst acts of discrimination. They watched as their villages were burnt to the ground, their families were killed, and the women/girls were sexually abused and tortured by male armed forces. This atrocity caused a massive refugee crisis, and nearly 1.5 million people have fled Myanmar. The majority have fled to the neighboring country of Bangladesh, however, this massive flow of people has left refugee camps unbearable and unlivable, with conditions including no clean water, sexual abuse/trafficking of young girls, and public health crises.

VENEZUELA

Due to political conflict in Venezuela, compounded by socioeconomic factors and the lack of resources, approximately 4 million people have fled Venezuela. Politically, there is conflict between the President, Maduro, and those who oppose his dictatorship. Economically, the country has nearly no accessible resources, and many Venezuelan’s can’t even access products such as deodorant, soap, or medicine. There has been a flow of Venezuelan’s fleeing their country for years now, and by the end of 2014, the amount of refugees fleeing Venezuela had risen by 8,000%. The majority have fled to neighboring countries such as Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, however, the mass flow of people has led to significant rates of xenophobia across the Americas.

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan has been in a state of devastation for almost 40 years, beginning with the Soviet invasion in 1979. During the first decade of conflict, about 5 million Afghan citizens fled their country, fleeing to neighboring countries Iran and Pakistan. In our current time, almost 3 million Afghan people have fled their country, and there are about 2.6 registered Afghan refugees in the world. Currently, action from the Taliban and the U.S.-supported Northern Alliance have made life extremely dangerous, unbearable, and brutal for the majority of Afghan citizens. It is nearly impossible to access basic resources, and most girls are currently unable to access necessities such as a basic education.

IRAQ

Iraq has been in a state of political conflict and economic despair for decades, resulting from years of invasions, political unrest, war, and ethnic rivalries. Because of the conflict, millions have fled Iraq. There was a massive wave of Kurdish refugees who fled Iraq and founded Kurdistan, under the mandate of the UN in 1991, which was officially recognized by Iraq in 2005. Another ethnic minority, the Yazidi people, have been systematically discriminated against by the Iraqi state. However, their situation has become extremely dire to the deliberate ethnic targeting of Yazidi women by Daesh. After the second Gulf War, U.S. action in Iraq decimated an already devastated country, and set up brutal and inhumane prisons, while also stripping every member of the Iraqi armed forces of their position. This action, coupled with anti-Western ideology, poverty, and desperation set the stage for the rise of terrorist organizations, specifically Al Qaeda in Iraq, and later on, Daesh (ISIS). Currently, millions have, and are still, fleeing Iraq due to attacks from the terrorist group Daesh. Within Iraq, nearly 2 million people are internally displaced and approximately 11 million require dire humanitarian aid. Outside of Iraq, nearly 400,000 people have fled their country. Similarly to the other refugee crises, once these asylum-seekers have fled and sought solace in another country, their struggles are far from over. Due to the devastating nature of the current global refugee crisis, refugee camps are far too unprepared and under-resourced to adequately aid these refugees. This has led to situations where refugee camps have become unlivable, lacking clean water, food, safety, and body security.

PALESTINE

In 1948, following the end of WWII, Palestine was divided and a significant part of the country was given to Israel, towards the creation of a Jewish state. Since its inception, Israel and Palestine have not been able to coexist peacefully, due to the nature of the founding of Israel, coupled with economic and social inequity between both countries. However, after 1967, things drastically escalated due to Israeli colonialism, which is manifested under the guise of Israeli settlements. Palestinians are being kicked out of their homes, are being arrested arbitrarily, and are denied the basic rights given to every Israeli citizen. Furthermore, Israel is a fairly prosperous country, with a quality education system, employment opportunities, and excellent healthcare. However, Palestine has none of these basic rights, and is lacking necessities such as clean drinking water. Because of this dire humanitarian situation, there are over 5 million Palestinian refugees, most of whom are residing in the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip, or in refugee camps in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

Burkina Faso

Since the beginning of the year, attacks on civilians has led to mass displacement in Burkino Faso. It is estimated that roughly 4,000 people are fleeing their homes each day in this country.

Central African REPUBLIC

The Central African Republic (CAR) is one of the poorest countries in the world. Poverty, augmented by recent political clashes between armed opposition forces, has forced thousands of civilians to flee their country. In 2013, violence escalated in the CAR, as violence ensued between armed forces. The clashes dissipated briefly in 2016, and many refugees began to return home. However, towards the end of the 2016, violence once again ensued, forcing thousands more to leave. Today, violence between armed opposition groups is sporadic, creating an environment where there is no long-term peace or safety. Since 2017, roughly 600,000 people have fled CAR, and more than 600,000 are currently internally displaced. The majority of refugees have fled to neighboring countries, predominantly Chad, which is one of the largest refugee intaking countries.