Since the Syrian Civil war and resulting migrant crisis, most of the narrative around refugees
has been the burden they place on European countries, such as Greece, France and the
UK.
But these and other wealthy nations are actually absorbing very few people in need.
In fact, of the 21 million refugees in the world, most are living in just a handful of
countries, many of which are suffering from their own financial and political problems.
So we wanted to know, which countries have taken in the most refugees?
Well, a refugee is someone who is forced to leave because their country has become too
dangerous, for instance from a war or natural disaster.
As of the end of 2015, Pakistan hosts about 1.6 million refugees, a vast majority of which
have entered from neighboring Afghanistan.
Most fled when the Soviet Union invaded during the Cold War, and as a result, a majority
are second and third generation.
In the 1970’s and 80’s, the Pakistani government welcomed Afghan refugees, allowing
them to open businesses and settle with local populations.
However as more and more arrived, and relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan declined,
Pakistan gradually changed its tune.
In December 2015, it gave all refugees six months to leave, later extending the deadline
another six months.
More than 250,000 have since returned to Afghanistan, most of whom were not even born there.
Another destination for refugees is Turkey, which hosts an estimated three million asylum-seekers
as of June 2016.
While roughly 90 percent are from Syria, many are from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Somalia.
Over the course of 2014 and 2015, nearly one million migrants and refugees fled Turkey
for Greece or other European countries, often taking dangerous and unorthodox routes on
land or sea.
After hundreds of deaths, the EU and Turkey brokered a deal in which all migrants attempting
to settle in Greece would be returned to Turkey.
In exchange, Turkey got a number of benefits, including more than six-and-half billion
dollars for resettlement efforts.
The idea was that Turkey would be a safe haven for migrants to resettle, however it hasn’t
exactly played out that way.
Turkish officials have reportedly failed to provide asylum seekers with adequate aid,
and have even shipped many to other war-torn countries.
Like Turkey, Jordan hosts more refugees than just about any other country.
Nearly 3 million refugees live in Jordan, a majority of which live in urban areas below
the national poverty line.
More than 2 million are Palestinian, most of whom settled in Jordan after it occupied
and annexed the West Bank in the mid 20th century.
But some are actually Palestinian Syrians who fled from the Syrian Civil War, making
them double refugees.
In 2014, Jordan closed its border with Syria, and in 2016 Jordan’s King Abdullah II announced
that the country had reached a “boiling point”, and that it could no longer provide
aid to refugees without further help from the international community.
World leaders have met countless times to come up with a permanent solution to the global
refugee crisis, however no tangible plan has been put in place.
For instance the UK has taken in just 8 thousand refugees since 2011, while its population
is 10 times bigger than Jordan’s.
With few world powers willing to take in anywhere near the amount of refugees living in Pakistan,
Turkey or Jordan, these asylum seekers will continue to live in a state of uncertainty.
Millions of refugees are fleeing from conflicts all over the world.
But when these men, women and children leave their home country, what rights do they still
have?
Find out in this video.
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