June 20 2011 - The Drum
Today is World Refugee Day and while we continue to bicker about a few thousand refugees arriving by boat to Australia, the UNHCR 2010 Global Trends report released today reveals that four-fifths of the world's refugees are currently being hosted by developing countries.
Pakistan, Iran, and Syria have the largest refugee populations at 1.9 million, 1.1 million, and 1 million respectively.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, said in a statement: 'Fears about supposed floods of refugees in industrialised countries are being vastly overblown or mistakenly conflated with issues of migration. Meanwhile it's poorer countries that are left having to pick up the burden.'
But during Refugee Week in Australia it is a safe bet that our politicians will be more focused on their own political needs than the suffering of the now 43.7 million people displaced worldwide. The Gillard Government will continue to carve out its policy to send women, men and children back to Malaysia and Opposition immigration spokesperson Scott Morrison says he will fly over to Malaysia himself.
For full article: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2764446.html
Susan Metcalfe is a writer and researcher. She is the author of The Pacific Solution (Australian Scholarly Publishing).
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