THE SITUATION OF REFUGEES ON THE PLANET

Alright, one day everything is normal, and the next, you wake up and no longer have a home. In a matter of seconds, everything turns into chaos, and you don’t know when or where you’ll be five seconds from now. What would you do?

This is the daily reality for over 100 million displaced people around the world, according to UN data: the refugees. You’ve probably seen donation campaigns for people in this situation, and it’s not always possible to help.

Contrary to what many believe, the causes aren’t always wars—like in Syria, Ukraine, Sudan, or Palestine. Political or religious persecution, natural disasters and climate change, and extreme economic crises are also major causes.

Refugees and displaced people are classified as: refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), or stateless individuals. Refugees are those who cross borders due to persecution or war; IDPs are those forced to flee but remain within their own country. Stateless individuals are those whose nationality is not recognized, and therefore lack basic rights.

The challenges they face are numerous:

1. Lack of shelter, food, and clean water;
2. Legal barriers to obtaining asylum;
3. Xenophobia and discrimination in host countries;
4. Psychological trauma and loss of identity.

In an effort to address this issue, governments and organizations such as UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency), NGOs, and some countries have established protection and assistance programs for refugees—but it’s not enough. The problem is widespread and happening across the globe.

There are countless refugee stories online. One example is the case of eight Venezuelan women who walked 214 kilometers to escape hunger, sexism, and political conflict, seeking asylum in Brazil. Their journey became a documentary, featured on the UNHCR website. If you’re interested, the documentary is called “Adelante”, released in 2022. This is just one of many stories.

Many say the main ways to help are: donations, volunteering, spreading awareness, fighting xenophobia, and most importantly, supporting inclusive public policies. I want to focus here on Inclusive Public Policies, which seem to be, by far, the most powerful legacy in solving this issue.

We must think about increasingly effective inclusive public policies. They are far more impactful than any other method mentioned above, because society needs to mobilize and understand that humanity is shared—shared by all of us. And many of us did not choose to be refugees or displaced persons. In fact, almost no one chooses that.

Being a refugee is not something you want. You just wake up and...

There will only be justice in the world when you can be sure you won’t have to wake up and flee just to survive. And all of us are vulnerable to that.