The Extent and Causes of Human Displacement

Abstract

Today, approximately 82.4 million people are in some stage of migrancy, including more than 26.4 million, or around 33%, who are officially classified as refugees who have been forced to flee their homes due to internal or external strife. Furthermore, an inordinate percentage of refugees around the world today are aged 18 years or younger, placing this already vulnerable population at greater risk for developing lifelong medical and/or mental health problems as a result. During a period in world history when a global pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the world’s economy, these already disturbing refugee statistics fail to capture the full breadth of human misery that being a refugee entails. To determine the facts, the purpose of this paper is to 1) provide an overview of the current global refugee crisis, 2) discuss why this issue deserves attention, changes in the refugee crisis and possible future directions; and 3) identify the main causes of refugee displacement at present. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the foregoing issues are presented in the paper’s conclusion.

Migrants on the Run: The Modern Refugee Crisis

Today, more than 82.4 million people in the world are currently in a migrant status due to myriad problems in their homelands, including most especially armed conflict and social unrest. Moreover, nearly one-third (about 26.4 million) of these migrants are refugees and about half are juveniles younger than age 18 years (Total refugees in the world, 2022). In addition, there are millions of more people around the world who are currently stateless and, lacking a nationality, have limited access to basic living needs including health care, education, employment, freedom of movement as well as the other fundamental rights guaranteed by the United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These problems have been further exacerbated by the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic, and these disenfranchised people are at far greater risk of becoming sick and dying due to their current living situations. During a period in history when fully one in every 95 people in the world has been forced to leave their home, identifying opportunities to mitigate these challenges represents a timely and valuable enterprise. To this end, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current global refugee crisis and why this issue deserves attention and a discussion concerning changes in the refugee crisis and possible future directions. Finally, the paper provides a description of the main causes of refugee displacement followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning the foregoing issues in the conclusion.

Overview of the refugee crisis and why it deserves attention

The vast majority of the world’s eight billion people will never know the fear, anguish and anxiety that forced migration causes, and they will live out their natural lives secure in the knowledge that they enjoy the blessing of a permanent homeland regardless of the other challenges they may face (Amnesty International, 2021). For tens of millions of others, though, fleeing their homes is their only recourse due to existential threats of all types. As noted above, the refugee crisis is already severe but the long-term impact of being a refugee on people of all ages remains understudied. The research to date indicates that young people who are forced into a refugee status are at especially high risk of developing mental and psychosocial problems. Other problems that confront refugees of all ages include xenophobia, poor living conditions, social marginalization and the trauma that is associated with being uprooted from one’s home (Aghajafari et al., 2020).

On a personal note, I have been e refugee in 1999 when I fled my country Kosovo because of the war with Serbia we had to leave our homes and we went to Montenegro for about a month until we were able to come back home. Shortly after that we tried to go to France so me and my family were a refugee in Bosnia but we were not able to make it to France. Based on this author’s empirical experiences and observations, the adverse impact of being uprooted from one’s homeland can be devastating in ways that transcend just the economic costs and inconveniences that are involved. Indeed, becoming a refugee after a lifetime of relative security can have lasting effects that can dimmish quality of life factors for entire families, even if they receive the full range of assistance they need to transition to a new life (Right to asylum, 2022). Unfortunately, the percentage of refugees who fall into this category is miniscule compared to the need,

Changes in the refugee crisis and future directions

In 2015, there were approximately 65 million forcibly displaced people in the world, a figure that include asylum-seekers, migrants and refugees. This figure represents a 20% increase over the refugee totals for 2014 (Moskal, 2017). As noted above, at present, there are more than 82.4 million people classified in these categories today, and current trends indicate the problem will intensify even further far into the foreseeable future. Indeed, Russia is poised to invade Ukraine yet again even as this paper is written, and China’s eyes are ever on its errant territories in Taiwan, among multiple other military hotspots around the world. Any one of these events could trigger another wave of refugees that the international community is currently ill equipped to help in any meaningful ways. Identify the antecedents of displacement can help fine-tune relief efforts and allocate scarce resources where they will do the most good, though, and these issues are discussed below.

Causes of displacement

Many people may be forced to flee their homes for a combination of reasons, including fear of persecution for their nationality, religious beliefs or sexual orientation, while some fear persecution based on their ethnicity or political views (Who is a refugee?, 2022). The common denominator that runs through most of these reasons is an inability to return to their homes due to continued threats. In this regard, the UN Refugee Agency emphasizes that, “Most likely, [refugees] cannot return home or are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries” (Who is a refugee?, 2022, para. 3). In sum, while the reasons for displacement are numerous, they all combine to harm innocent people in a wide range of ways.

Conclusion

The research was consistent in showing that the number of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants continues to escalate each year, and the impact of the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic will inevitably further exacerbate these trends. Beyond the economic toll that is exacted by the mass movement of such large numbers of people across national borders, there is a concomitant but incalculable human costs that is involved that demands action on the part of the international community. The research also showed that people are forced to flee their homes for a number of reasons, but most especially violent and the threat of persecution for their fundamental beliefs. In the final analysis, it is reasonable to conclude that the refugee crisis will continue to intensify in severity unless and until the world sits up and takes notice of the suffering that is being caused by forced displacement.