< Return to Video

Number of world's refugees double that of ten years ago | DW News

  • 0:01 - 0:04
    Now the number of people fleeing wars,
  • 0:04 - 0:07
    violence, or civil disorder rose again
  • 0:07 - 0:09
    last year, even as the coronavirus
  • 0:09 - 0:11
    pandemic brought much of the world
  • 0:11 - 0:12
    to a standstill.
  • 0:12 - 0:15
    By the end of 2020, there were
  • 0:15 - 0:17
    82.4 million people who were forcibly
  • 0:17 - 0:19
    displaced from their homes.
  • 0:19 - 0:22
    That's according to the
    United Nations Refugee Agency and
  • 0:22 - 0:24
    as you can see that is double
  • 0:24 - 0:25
    the number that it was a decade ago.
  • 0:25 - 0:27
    More than two-thirds of those
  • 0:27 - 0:29
    officially recognized as refugees
  • 0:29 - 0:31
    came from just five countries:
  • 0:31 - 0:33
    Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan,
  • 0:33 - 0:36
    South Sudan and Myanmar.
  • 0:36 - 0:38
    Our next report takes us to Pakistan
  • 0:38 - 0:40
    which has hosted hundreds of thousands
  • 0:40 - 0:41
    of Afghan refugees
  • 0:41 - 0:45
    for four decades.
  • 0:45 - 0:48
    Bahauddin Khan runs a small grocery store
  • 0:48 - 0:51
    in this refugee camp in Pakistan.
  • 0:51 - 0:53
    Every day he checks his income
  • 0:53 - 0:54
    and expenses.
  • 0:56 - 0:58
    He was about the same age as this child
  • 0:58 - 1:00
    when his family fled Afghanistan
  • 1:00 - 1:02
    some 40 years ago.
  • 1:02 - 1:07
    Today it's a distant memory.
  • 1:09 - 1:12
    We had to get out of Afghanistan.
  • 1:12 - 1:14
    There was a war going on.
  • 1:14 - 1:17
    So when the situation became worse,
  • 1:17 - 1:18
    we fled.
  • 1:20 - 1:21
    Pakistan took us in.
  • 1:21 - 1:23
    We've been able to live here
  • 1:23 - 1:26
    ever since.
  • 1:28 - 1:30
    Haji Bahadur also fled Afghanistan
  • 1:30 - 1:34
    after the Soviet invasion in 1979.
  • 1:34 - 1:37
    He has lived in the camp ever since.
  • 1:37 - 1:38
    It's one of 20
  • 1:38 - 1:39
    in this province alone.
  • 1:39 - 1:40
    More than a
  • 1:40 - 1:42
    million Afghans live in Pakistan,
  • 1:42 - 1:45
    they're largely on their own.
  • 1:45 - 1:48
    [Music]
  • 1:49 - 1:51
    i would be lying if I said we got
  • 1:51 - 1:52
    financial support.
  • 1:52 - 1:54
    The truth is we don't get any aid from
  • 1:54 - 1:58
    the Pakistani government.
  • 2:01 - 2:04
    Now, for the first time, Pakistan is
  • 2:04 - 2:06
    registering the Afghan refugees residing
  • 2:06 - 2:10
    in the country.
  • 2:10 - 2:12
    Registered refugees are issued a
  • 2:12 - 2:16
    biometric identity card.
  • 2:16 - 2:18
    Many children born here have never been
  • 2:18 - 2:21
    registered at all.
  • 2:22 - 2:23
    It's hoped the data will give
  • 2:23 - 2:26
    international aid agencies
    a clearer picture
  • 2:26 - 2:31
    of the needs in the refugee community.
  • 2:33 - 2:35
    This exercise, we are collecting
  • 2:35 - 2:37
    a most updated information
  • 2:37 - 2:39
    of Afghan refugees such as
  • 2:39 - 2:42
    education level, vocational
  • 2:42 - 2:46
    skills, also maybe language,
  • 2:46 - 2:47
    also vulnerability.
  • 2:47 - 2:49
    And this updated information is also
  • 2:49 - 2:51
    going to assist us
  • 2:51 - 2:54
    to better design from our activities,
  • 2:54 - 2:57
    not only in Pakistan but in Afghanistan
  • 2:57 - 3:01
    when they return to Afghanistan.
  • 3:01 - 3:03
    Pakistani authorities have tried to
  • 3:03 - 3:06
    encourage refugees to return home.
  • 3:06 - 3:09
    Nadeen Ejaz is interviewing families to
  • 3:09 - 3:11
    see if they're ready to make the move
  • 3:11 - 3:14
    after NATO troops leave Afghanistan.
  • 3:14 - 3:16
    Their new ID cards are only valid
  • 3:16 - 3:17
    until 2023.
  • 3:20 - 3:22
    In a questionnaire, they're asked if the
  • 3:22 - 3:25
    situation in Afghanistan normalizes,
  • 3:25 - 3:27
    then do they want to leave?
  • 3:27 - 3:29
    Ninety percent of the refugees answer
  • 3:29 - 3:31
    with a no. They do not want to go back to
  • 3:31 - 3:34
    their home country.
  • 3:34 - 3:37
    For Bahauddin Khan, one thing is clear:
  • 3:37 - 3:39
    he will only return home
  • 3:39 - 3:41
    if there's peace.
  • 3:41 - 3:44
    They are the caminantes or walkers.
  • 3:44 - 3:47
    Millions of them have left Venezuela,
  • 3:47 - 3:50
    fleeing the country's
    humanitarian crisis.
  • 3:50 - 3:52
    Now some of them are going back.
  • 3:52 - 3:54
    The pandemic and political turmoil in
  • 3:54 - 3:56
    neighboring Colombia has prompted
  • 3:56 - 3:58
    a wave of Venezuelans
  • 3:58 - 4:00
    worn down by economic hardship to make
  • 4:00 - 4:03
    the journey home.
  • 4:04 - 4:06
    I left with the goal of succeeding
  • 4:06 - 4:08
    and helping my family but now
  • 4:08 - 4:10
    prices are too high in Colombia.
  • 4:10 - 4:13
    I could not make ends meet.
  • 4:13 - 4:15
    Luis Arias just made it back to
  • 4:15 - 4:17
    Venezuela after walking for two weeks
  • 4:17 - 4:18
    with his family from
  • 4:18 - 4:20
    the Colombian capital Bogota.
  • 4:20 - 4:22
    They survived on goodwill along the way
  • 4:22 - 4:23
    but that dried up
  • 4:23 - 4:26
    when they crossed the border.
  • 4:26 - 4:29
    The situation at home is dire.
  • 4:29 - 4:31
    NGOs say that the country needs much more
  • 4:31 - 4:32
    international aid
  • 4:32 - 4:34
    to stave off crippling hunger.
  • 4:34 - 4:36
    Financing has been
  • 4:36 - 4:39
    way below what is necessary in regards
  • 4:39 - 4:42
    to the dimensions of the crisis
    in the country.
  • 4:42 - 4:46
    The numbers are shameful.
  • 4:46 - 4:48
    Even the aid that does reach Venezuela
  • 4:48 - 4:50
    is hard to distribute.
  • 4:50 - 4:52
    Activist efforts are often hampered by
  • 4:52 - 4:54
    fuel shortages,
  • 4:54 - 4:59
    violence, corruption,
    and political meddling.
  • 5:00 - 5:03
    According to the World Food Program,
  • 5:03 - 5:04
    Venezuela is among the four
  • 5:04 - 5:08
    worst countries in the world
    with food insecurity.
  • 5:08 - 5:09
    And the UN predicts that
  • 5:09 - 5:11
    by the end of this year, seven
  • 5:11 - 5:13
    million people could have left Venezuela,
  • 5:13 - 5:16
    making it the second largest migration
  • 5:16 - 5:19
    after Syria, yet humanitarian aid for
  • 5:19 - 5:21
    Venezuela is at its minimum.
  • 5:21 - 5:23
    Andreina Bermudez thought
  • 5:23 - 5:25
    about joining the exodus
  • 5:25 - 5:27
    but says the risk was and is too high
  • 5:27 - 5:30
    with young children.
  • 5:30 - 5:32
    Through her eldest daughter's school,
  • 5:32 - 5:34
    her family received food and educational
  • 5:34 - 5:36
    supplies from UNICEF until December.
  • 5:36 - 5:38
    Now they're hoping more aid can restart
  • 5:38 - 5:41
    the program.
  • 5:42 - 5:44
    I noticed that when we received the aid,
  • 5:44 - 5:46
    many parents were happy and thankful,
  • 5:46 - 5:48
    mostly for the food because we could
  • 5:48 - 5:49
    give the children
  • 5:49 - 5:54
    in our school a balanced meal.
  • 5:54 - 5:57
    To make ends meet, this stay-at-home mom
  • 5:57 - 5:59
    relies on what she can't find.
  • 5:59 - 6:01
    Today a neighbor has extra eggs for sale
  • 6:01 - 6:05
    but the supply of cheap food is sporadic.
  • 6:05 - 6:07
    We cannot buy imported products in
  • 6:07 - 6:10
    regular supermarkets at dollar prices,
  • 6:10 - 6:12
    so we have to settle for small markets
  • 6:12 - 6:13
    near home,
  • 6:13 - 6:15
    vegetable merchants and places that sell
  • 6:15 - 6:18
    at better prices.
  • 6:20 - 6:22
    That is the Venezuela the caminantes are
  • 6:22 - 6:24
    walking home to,
  • 6:24 - 6:27
    a country still ravaged
    by economic decline.
  • 6:27 - 6:29
    It's people still struggling to feed
  • 6:29 - 6:31
    themselves, still waiting for
  • 6:31 - 6:34
    international help.
  • 6:34 - 6:36
    We can speak now to Chris Melser, he's a
  • 6:36 - 6:39
    spokesperson for the UN's refugee agency.
  • 6:39 - 6:41
    Good morning, Chris, thank you
    for joining us.
  • 6:41 - 6:42
    We just saw a report
  • 6:42 - 6:46
    there with Afghans who fled conflict.
  • 6:46 - 6:47
    And your report shows
    there's been
  • 6:47 - 6:50
    mentioning again that
    the number of people
  • 6:50 - 6:51
    who have been forced
  • 6:51 - 6:53
    to flee their homes rose again
    despite the pandemic.
  • 6:53 - 6:55
    So what are the biggest drivers
  • 6:55 - 6:58
    behind this rise?
  • 6:58 - 6:59
    Yes, this is indeed, these were
  • 6:59 - 7:01
    very, very depressing numbers and
  • 7:01 - 7:04
    you already mentioned that more than
  • 7:04 - 7:06
    two-thirds of the refugees are only from
  • 7:06 - 7:08
    from five countries and
  • 7:08 - 7:10
    the most of the refugees are
  • 7:10 - 7:14
    still from Syria, 6.7 million.
  • 7:14 - 7:16
    Another hotspot is for example is
  • 7:16 - 7:17
    Venezuela where
  • 7:17 - 7:20
    also millions of people flew that country
  • 7:20 - 7:22
    Afghanistan, South Sudan, these are all
  • 7:22 - 7:25
    these drivers of the development.
  • 7:25 - 7:28
    Plus this is also not
  • 7:28 - 7:30
    that big like in other years but
  • 7:30 - 7:33
    yes, 82.4 million, this is the
  • 7:33 - 7:35
    complete, all the inhabitants of Germany
  • 7:35 - 7:40
    or one percent of the human kind is
  • 7:40 - 7:44
    now refugee or internal displaced person.
  • 7:44 - 7:46
    And Chris, where are the majority of
  • 7:46 - 7:47
    these refugees ending up
  • 7:47 - 7:49
    and are they able to stay
  • 7:49 - 7:51
    where they end up?
  • 7:51 - 7:52
    Well the last question
  • 7:52 - 7:54
    is a very important question.
  • 7:54 - 7:55
    Still the biggest
  • 7:55 - 7:56
    host country for refugees is Turkey
  • 7:56 - 7:59
    with 3.7 million refugees who found
  • 7:59 - 8:02
    protection there, most of them
    from Syria.
  • 8:02 - 8:04
    Colombia is another country
  • 8:04 - 8:07
    who accepted millions of people.
  • 8:07 - 8:11
    Pakistan, as you mentioned
    in the report.
  • 8:11 - 8:12
    Uganda and Germany is
  • 8:12 - 8:15
    number five with 1.2 million refugees
  • 8:15 - 8:17
    finding protection in Germany.
  • 8:17 - 8:18
    But don't make a mistake.
  • 8:18 - 8:21
    86 percent of all the refugees,
  • 8:21 - 8:24
    86 are in developing countries
  • 8:24 - 8:26
    and these are very often also countries
  • 8:26 - 8:29
    who also suffer of problems
  • 8:29 - 8:31
    with malnutrition and other things.
  • 8:31 - 8:32
    But anyway,
    they are hosting
  • 8:32 - 8:35
    almost 9 out of 10 refugees.
  • 8:35 - 8:37
    Another staggering number, Chris, is that
  • 8:37 - 8:39
    more than 40 percent of those who are
  • 8:39 - 8:40
    fleeing are children.
  • 8:40 - 8:42
    Many are born as refugees,
  • 8:42 - 8:43
    many are stateless.
  • 8:43 - 8:45
    What kind of impact does that have on
  • 8:45 - 8:48
    these children's futures?
  • 8:48 - 8:51
    This is also depressing and I was in many
  • 8:51 - 8:53
    refugee camps in Bangladesh.
  • 8:53 - 8:54
    I'm just returned from Ethiopia
  • 8:54 - 8:56
    and I've heard from several
  • 8:56 - 8:59
    refugees around the world actually,
  • 8:59 - 9:00
    parents telling me,
  • 9:00 - 9:02
    forget us, we are a lost generation,
  • 9:02 - 9:04
    but do something for our children.
  • 9:04 - 9:06
    Give them education, they have a chance.
  • 9:06 - 9:07
    Well we don't want to give up the
  • 9:07 - 9:10
    parents' generation as well but indeed,
  • 9:10 - 9:13
    education is the key factor for
  • 9:13 - 9:14
    the children so these refugees
  • 9:14 - 9:16
    will not stay refugees that
  • 9:16 - 9:18
    they become engineers, pilots,
  • 9:18 - 9:21
    doctors, whatever um handyman.
  • 9:21 - 9:23
    But at least that they have a future,
  • 9:23 - 9:25
    that's why this is also priority for us.
  • 9:25 - 9:26
    Unfortunately, quite often,
  • 9:26 - 9:28
    we do not have enough money
  • 9:28 - 9:30
    to give more than just basic education.
  • 9:30 - 9:32
    Yeah, that is indeed troubling, and Chris,
  • 9:32 - 9:34
    I want to ask you about something we saw
  • 9:34 - 9:37
    in a report, the prospect
    of refugees returning
  • 9:37 - 9:38
    back to their home countries.
  • 9:38 - 9:40
    We've also seen Denmark, for example,
  • 9:40 - 9:43
    declare parts of Syria safe for refugees
  • 9:43 - 9:45
    to return so they're canceling
    residency permits.
  • 9:45 - 9:48
    So what happens to refugees
    who do return?
  • 9:48 - 9:51
    So what are conditions like for them?
  • 9:51 - 9:53
    Well this is very very different from
  • 9:53 - 9:54
    from country to country.
  • 9:54 - 9:56
    When it comes to Syria,
  • 9:56 - 9:58
    we don't think that Syria is in any way
  • 9:58 - 10:00
    a safe place again that you can
  • 10:00 - 10:03
    return refugees against their word to
  • 10:03 - 10:04
    Syria.
  • 10:04 - 10:06
    In other places, it might be possible, for
  • 10:06 - 10:08
    example, about a quarter million of
  • 10:08 - 10:10
    refugees returned last year and this is
  • 10:10 - 10:11
    of course a glimmer of hope.
  • 10:11 - 10:13
    But unfortunately for
  • 10:13 - 10:15
    most of the refugees,
  • 10:15 - 10:18
    and about three quarters of all refugees
  • 10:18 - 10:20
    stay in the neighboring countries
    always and hope to
  • 10:20 - 10:22
    go back where they come from
  • 10:22 - 10:23
    very soon.
  • 10:23 - 10:26
    For many of them, this is unfortunately
  • 10:26 - 10:28
    not a near-time solution.
  • 10:28 - 10:29
    And I do want to
  • 10:29 - 10:31
    come back to Germany because you
  • 10:31 - 10:34
    mentioned that this is a country
    that also hosts
  • 10:34 - 10:35
    millions of asylum seekers.
  • 10:35 - 10:38
    It did register fewer asylum seekers
    last year
  • 10:38 - 10:40
    but the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
  • 10:40 - 10:43
    Philippa Grandia said inclusion is key
  • 10:43 - 10:45
    so just briefly if you can, Chris,
  • 10:45 - 10:47
    what is needed here to, these tools that
  • 10:47 - 10:48
    are needed to make refugees in
  • 10:48 - 10:51
    Germany feel at home?
  • 10:51 - 10:53
    We just talked to Paul Landfield,
  • 10:53 - 10:54
    he's a refugee in Austria,
  • 10:54 - 10:57
    but I think it's the same thing,
  • 10:57 - 10:59
    who came from Hungary
    more than 60 years ago
  • 10:59 - 11:02
    and he's now a well-known journalist
  • 11:02 - 11:03
    in Austria and he said,
  • 11:03 - 11:04
    integration is a key
  • 11:04 - 11:06
    because refugees are a treasure.
  • 11:06 - 11:09
    So that's why refugees learn the language,
  • 11:09 - 11:12
    try to use your chances that also
  • 11:12 - 11:14
    the host community, Germany,
  • 11:14 - 11:16
    or that case, Austria
  • 11:16 - 11:20
    used this treasure, integrate the people,
  • 11:20 - 11:23
    teach refugees language and so on and
  • 11:23 - 11:25
    then this is the best you can do because
  • 11:25 - 11:28
    integration is one part of the solution
  • 11:28 - 11:31
    for the worldwide refugee problem.
  • 11:31 - 11:33
    Chris Melzer from the UNHCR, thank you for
  • 11:33 - 11:44
    sharing your insights with us today.
Title:
Number of world's refugees double that of ten years ago | DW News
Description:

more » « less
Video Language:
English
Team:
Amplifying Voices
Project:
Refugee Crisis and Solutions
Duration:
11:47

English subtitles

Revisions Compare revisions