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World Refugee Day: Human Face Of A Global Crisis

Above photo: People are protesting around the world, from Australia to the UK to countries in Africa @thefreeonline

World Refugee Day is marked annually on June 20 to raise awareness about the plight of refugees around the world.

1ref5This year, World Refugee Day comes as the number of displaced people around the globe hits records levels of nearly 60 million, the majority of whom are hosted in developing countries.

By the end of 2013, developing countries hosted 10.1 million refugees, or 86 percent of the global population of refugees. Countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Pakistan, and Jordan carry a considerable burden of hosting the world’s displaced, whereas wealthy countries such as U.S., Australia, Canada, and the U.K. are lagging far behind in helping to address the global refugee crisis.

This World Refugee Day comes as an opportunity to urge rich countries to do their part in welcoming refugees, instead of tightening border policing in the face of a crisis.

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Fleeing conflict, poverty, and other adversities in their own countries, refugees from the global South are often displaced directly or indirectly by actions of the global North, whose free trade economic policies, backing of repressive regimes, interventions, and carbon footprints continue to push people to migrate away from difficult social, economic, and increasingly climatic situations.

“Most of the world’s refugees – 86 percent — live in the developing world, compared to 70 percent 10 years ago,” said United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “Most of these countries have kept their doors open to people in search of safety, and have shown a generosity that is often well beyond their means,” he added, appealing to all states to further their efforts to support forcibly displaced people.

Events and campaigns around the world on World Refugee Day aim to raise awareness about the realities of refugees’ experiences around the world and show the human face of a global crisis. In countries such as Australia, people are demanding that refugees be treated better, and the detention centers be closed.

 

Update: As Australia battles with recently uncovered scandal of abusive camp guards at Nauru detention center, its cities swell with protesters showing support for refugees. 1ref2  


1ref3Outrage over Nauru dentention center on social media:

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Update: During ongoing protests, people around the world discuss how first world countries causing many of the world’s refugees directly through invasion and intervention, and economically through exploitation and colonization policies, looting countries of their own natural resources.

 


Update: “Who’s stealing our homes? Developers, speculators, politicians. Not migrants!”

Solidarity in the UK austerity march against racism, inequality and poverty stands with migrants and the migrant rights movement in the UK.

Update:  “We are waiting for our residence premits while our families in Syria are waiting for death” sports a banner in a protest for #WorldRefugeeDay in Germany.  

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