As we move through our day to day lives, we often stress about seemingly important items such as rush hour, work deadlines, our busy schedules and so much more. However, imagine if you had to worry about where your next meal was going to come from, or if you and your children will be able to survive another night in the middle of a hostile conflict. This is the reality for refugees and displaced people around the world. When we begin to think about how hard the lives of these refugees are, suddenly our stressors become a little trivial.
The lives of refugees are centered around survival and the future hope of peaceful living once again. While many peoples’ lives in America and abroad are spent rushing from one business meeting to another, or from class to class, refugees often spend their day trying to make sure they have enough food and water for themselves and their families.
While refugee camps do provide some level of assistance, many camps are overcrowded and vital supplies are still lacking. Resources in these camps are allocated towards food, water, and shelter. Therefore these refugees have little access to medical care, education, and employment.
The more we know about refugees, the more we can make changes in our lives that can positively impact the lives of displaced persons around the world. Here are a few important pieces of information to note about refugees across the world.
- 1% of the global population is displaced
This accounts for refugees who have been forced to leave their home countries. As well as those who have been displaced within their own country.
- Over half of the world’s refugees are under the age of 18
These children have been displaced as a result of growing conflicts and natural disasters around the world.
- Developing countries are home to over 80% of the world’s refugees
While developed countries have taken in 16% of the world’s refugees, developing countries
have taken in 84%. This puts strain on their already delicate economic system and makes it
challenging to meet the needs of an ever growing refugee population.
- Approximately 70% of refugee families live below the poverty line
These refugees struggle to meet the basic needs of their families.
- 68% of refugees come from only five countries
The five countries who make up 68% of the refugees include 6.6 million refugees from Syria, 3.7 million are from Venezuela, South Sudan accounts for 2.2 million refugees and 1.1 million from Myanmar.
- Over 95% of resettle needs are not being met
It has been estimated that 1.4 million refugees are in need of replacement from their host
countries. However in 2019 only 5% of those people were able to be resettled in other countries.
- More refugees live in urban areas than they do in camps
Up to 60% of refugees live in urban areas, struggling to make ends meet and provide for their
families. While less refugees live in camps, those who do often stay for decades. This is due to
the fact there is little support for them to survive on their own.
- Less than 3% of refugees were able to return to their country of origin
The number of displaced persons able to return home have been declining over the years. Those who were able to return to their home countries were still not able to offset the number of
new displacements.
- The number of refugees under the care of UNHCR has doubled since 2012
In 2012 the number of refugees under the care of the UNHCR was 10.5 million, as of 2018 that
number has grown 20.4 million.
- Over 75% of refugees are in a protracted crisis
Three quarters of the refugee population are in a long term displacement situation. This is equal
to 16 million people in 2019, which is a 12 percent increase from the previous year.
- The longest protracted refugee crisis is 40 years
Pakistan has been home to 2.4 million Afghan refugees for the past 40 years.
- Fundraising has only been able to reach half the estimated needs
$16 billion was raised for refugee relief. However it is only a little over half of the estimated requirements to provide adequate resources to refugees.
Giving Hope
It seems impossible to raise enough money to end the global refugee crisis. But we can make
conscious changes in our lives that will support refugees around the world. A perfect example is
by purchasing clothing and accessories from Epimonia.
Not only do we donate 50% of all our profits to refugee organizations, we actively include refugees in the design and manufacturing process. By choosing to purchase goods from companies who support refugees, we can all play a part in bringing this crisis to an end.
