The home truth about refugees

The number of refugees has shown an increase for the first time in five years, the UN refugee agency says. This rise has been largely attributed to the chaos in Iraq where more than two million people have fled the country and two million more are internally displaced.

Globally, the number of refugees rose by more than 14 per cent last year to nearly 10 million with 13 million internally displaced.

It is important to realise that these figures do not include more than four million Palestinians (including those born in exile) displaced since 1948. Neither do these figures reflect the strain on some host countries who find their resources stretched to the breaking point to cope with the influx.

The sheer magnitude of what these figures represent is difficult to grasp. The tide of human suffering that is a natural consequence of conflict is growing and with it the anger, frustration and despair that feeds on injustice.

A refugee who has nothing has nothing to lose. No part of the globe is safe if millions of people are denied their homes, their livelihoods, their sense of hope and in some cases even their desire to live. Despite the massive numbers involved, solving the problem is not impossible.

Many of the conflicts in Lebanon, East Timor, Sudan and Sri Lanka that have contributed to the crisis have in the past been either been close to resolution or have been resolved before flaring up again. There are political solutions but what is lacking is the political will of the international community.

Billions of dollars can be spent going to war or on the means to make war. Yet only a fraction of that is spent on providing basic shelter for those who have lost their homes because of fighting. The priorities are wrong.