Migration: Global Trends and the Protection of Refugees

MIGRATION: GLOBAL TRENDS
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Migration: Global Trends
Migration is the movement of people from one place to another. At the same time, a migrant is a person who moves from his or her residential place regardless of whether the movement is legal or illegal ("Migration," n.d.). According to statistics on the United Nation's website, the estimated number of migrants by 2019 was 272 million people globally. These people migrate from their residential places voluntary or involuntary. The people migrating to other places voluntarily maybe want to further their education, in search of better jobs or voluntary change of residential areas. On the other hand, civil war, natural calamities, terrorism, and tribal clashes may involuntarily force people out of their residential homes.
According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR 70.8 million people had been forcibly displaced from their homes over one decade from 2018 (Grandi, 2018). This number increased to 79.5 million in 2019 (UNHCR, 2019), with most of them coming from African countries and Asian countries who seek refuge in countries abroad. The 2018 statistics show Ethiopia leading with the number of refugees at 1,560,800, 98 percent being internal displacement. Other countries include DRC. Many people were displaced because of the unending war due to political instability. Cameroon is another example highlighted in the UNHCR refugee report of 2018. Most of the migrants from Cameroon ended up in Nigeria and other neighboring countries. Ironically, Cameroon, during the same period, hosted refugees from the Central African Republic and Nigeria (Grandi, 2018).
From the statistics, the number of displaced people is indeed increasing steadily. A critical question would be on the reasons for the steadily growing numbers. The World is experiencing a myriad of challenges caused by different issues. In a video posted on youtube by UNHCR, this trend is caused by natural disasters like storms and earthquakes that have hit countries (UNHCR, 2019). In Burkina Faso, close to half a million people fled their homes for insecurity reasons.
However, the displaced people do not find any better lives in their destination places, but at least they are safer than home. UNHCR says that only one percent of the displaced people are willing to go back to their homes while the rest fear for their lives. A considerable responsibility now rests with UNHCR and other organizations to take care of these displaced people. In 2018, UNHCR had around 11 million refugees under its care (Grandi,...