Refugee Movement: Causes, Impacts and Solutions

Introduction

In recent years, refugees have been all over the news. Refugee movement has always due to the push of history. All sectors of society hold a different opinion with this phenomenon. Most people know the meaning of refugee movement, but there is no doubt that most take no notice of the consequence of this movement. In fact, there has never been more forcibly-displaced people at any point in human history. As can be seen, the refugee problem has already become serious internationally.

Current Issues

Firstly, it is true that there is not enough quotas for refugees but the refugee numbers keep increasing. This means that a country has to offer more quotas for refugee by the humanitarian laws. In Syria’s north-western ldlib governorate, where at least 180,000 people have been displaced in three weeks (Kristy Siegfried, 2019), the demand of offer far exceeds the range allowed by the countries. In addition, there is too much argument about do we really need to resettle more refugees between European Union countries. The refugee movement has already become one of European countries’ biggest problem. It has indirectly affected the Brexit (Britain exiting from the EU). Besides, the issue has also caused some countries spending on additional expenditure. This issue is important because it can help people in understanding the invisible problem they created as a result of refugee movement.

Causes

To understand how these problems’ started, we should know the root cause of the problem.  There are some main reasons such as the religious or political persecution, war and hunger. According to statistics, since 2011, the Syrian war was created by over 5 million Syrians who left their country to find a new home (Syria emergency, 2018). As can be seen, the drought leads to hunger, and people leave their homelands in search of food sources. For these reasons, refugees can only flee to other countries to seek resettlement. Some countries which allow resettling refugees, have to invest more materials and financial resources. Such as in 2015, over one million refugees have made their way to the EU (Refugee crisis in Europe, 2016) and this country had to give the financial assistance which was up to €3 billion. The European countries’ citizen feel dissatisfied with this.

Impact

The refugee movement has caused trouble for some countries, which had strong impact on society and life of citizens, especially for the developing countries. Accepting a large number of refugee means it is easy to mix with terrorists and it could also affect the people who are living in the border areas. Beyond that, it is not difficult to imagine that different beliefs of religion may bring cultural conflict for a city. In fact, 46% refugees in 2016 who came to the US were Muslims and 44% Christians (Europe’s refugee culture clash, 2016). As mentioned above, continuous service for resettling refugees will unquestionably spend more resources. On the other hand, the impact of movement is mutual as refugees also face some problems when they come to a new country. Learning different languages, securing work and helping their children to succeed in school are serious problems. Many parents report bullying and discrimination as a result of cultural difference (Christina Nuñez, 2014).

Solution

It is necessary to give different solutions to different aspects of the problem. In terms of international influence, the most important thing is to stop local wars. Maybe it sounds hard. However, unless the conflict of interest between the two different factions ceases, the number of refugees will only continue to increase. In addition, raising the threshold of consent to resettlement can effectively reduce the number of refugees and help some countries to reduce costs and pressures to some extent. For local citizens, strengthening their awareness and inclusiveness can reduce unnecessary cultural clashes，by keep an open mind when speaking with newcomers. Helping newcomer to identify and tap into their own strengths can facilitate improved health and adaptation (Maureen Mayhew. 2018 ).

Conclusion

Finally, if the refugees are self-reliant and know how to improve their shortcomings to integrate into society, they will probably be welcomed by the citizens. Otherwise, they are just a burden that citizens may not like. Nevertheless, key decisions or projects must be taken by the States or Governments, and finding a balance between resettlement and calming public sentiment is a priority. 

References

• Commission, E. (2018, 04 13). Forced displacement: refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced people (IDPs). (E. Commission, Producer) Retrieved from European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/echo/what-we-do/humanitarian-aid/refugees-and-internally-displaced-persons_en
• Hill, C. (2016, 08 16). Retrieved from marketwatch: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/46-of-us-refugees-are-now-muslim-and-44-christian-2016-08-16
• Mayhew, M. (2018, 04). Adaptation and acculturation. Retrieved from kidsnewtocanada: https://www.kidsnewtocanada.ca/culture/adaptation/
• Nuñez, C. (2014, 12 12). The 7 biggest challenges facing refugees and immigrants in the US. Retrieved from globalcitizen: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-7-biggest-challenges-facing-refugees-and-immig/
• Siegfried, K. (2019, May 22). The refugee brief. Retrieved from Unhcr: https://www.unhcr.org/refugeebrief/latest-issues/
• unhcr. (2018, 04 19). Syria emergency. Retrieved from unhcr: https://www.unhcr.org/syria-emergency.html