Flight of people out of Ukraine brings global refugee crisis to the fore

The fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War has drastically increased the global population of forcibly displaced. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 03 April 2022
Follow

Flight of people out of Ukraine brings global refugee crisis to the fore

  • Fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since Second World War swells global population of forcibly displaced
  • UN aid agencies scrambling to find funds and resources to house, feed and treat traumatized Ukrainians

DUBAI: They have become a sign of our times: Long queues of people in distress at border checkpoints, carrying the few belongings they could grab before hurriedly abandoning their homes and livelihoods. Hunger gnaws away at their dignity while their eyes plead for mercy, yet they must do exactly what they are ordered by impassive border guards tasked with maintaining order.

Nearly seven years after a record number of arrivals of refugees and migrants led to a crisis in the European Union, the spectacle of a mass flight of people out of Ukraine has brought the global refugee crisis to the fore. It has also prompted accusations of double standards and racial discrimination in Europe’s embrace of civilians displaced by war.

Since February 24, more than 4.1 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, producing the sixth-largest refugee outflow of the past 60-plus years, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of UN data.

These Ukrainians, taken in by Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia, Russia and Belarus, are part of a human tide made up of more than 10 million people, representing over a quarter of Ukraine’s pre-war population, who are thought to have fled their homes.

UN aid agencies are scrambling to find funds and resources to house, feed and treat wounded and traumatized Ukrainian refugees, all the while hoping a peace deal can be secured quickly to allow them to return home safely.

But even the biggest refugee crisis of modern times cannot obscure the mind-boggling scale of the problem on a global level. According to the UN, at least 84 million people, almost half of whom are children, are currently displaced worldwide.

If the war in Ukraine drags on without a clear conclusion, the civilians forced from their homes by the fighting may end up as a mere statistic, accounting for no more than a small fraction of the total number of war-affected people the world over who have nowhere to go, in many cases even decades later.

These victims of conflicts are denizens of refugee camps across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, South America and Southern Europe, unable to return home or move on to a new country. What were originally intended as temporary shelters became over time permanent settlements, absorbed by host communities.

Across the Middle East and Central Asia, there has been scant progress in returning or resettling the millions of people who have fled the spate of major conflicts over the past 20 years.




Poland has welcomed more than 2 million people from Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict, when refugees braved freezing cold temperatures and long queues to make the journey westward. (AFP)

The US invasion of Iraq in 2003, which ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, sparked a deadly Sunni insurgency and a sectarian war in 2014 that contributed to the rise of Daesh. The resulting violence and insecurity forced millions of Iraqis — ethnic Arabs, Kurds and other minorities — from their homes.

More than 260,000 fled Iraq and 3 million more were internally displaced during this period. Many of those who remained inside the country settled in camps or informal settlements in urban areas of the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR estimates more than 4.1 million Iraqis, around 15 percent of the country’s post-war population, still need some form of protection or humanitarian assistance, years after Daesh’s territorial defeat in late 2017.

The conflict spilled over into neighboring Syria, where an uprising against the regime of Bashar Assad had already sparked an exodus of civilians into Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, three countries where the bulk of them remain to this day.

Since 2011, more than half of Syria’s pre-war population of 22 million have faced forced displacement, many more than once. An estimated 6.7 million Syrians remain internally displaced.

A large number have sought shelter in Idlib, a volatile, rebel-held corner in the northwest that comes under routine regime and Russian bombardment.




At least 84 million people, almost half of whom are children, are currently displaced worldwide, according to the UN. (AFP)

Hajj Hassan, originally from Syria’s Homs region, was first displaced in 2012, then again in 2016. The 62-year-old has been in Idlib ever since. “We lost everything in 2012,” he told Arab News.

“Not a single building was left standing. I moved again and the bombardment followed. I now live in the world’s most miserable place. I am a refugee in my own country.”

Syrian children have borne the brunt of displacement, through exposure to violence, shock, trauma, hunger and harsh weather conditions. Many have been forced to grow up in exile, often separated from their families, where they have been subjected to violence, forced early marriage, recruitment by armed groups, exploitation and psychological distress.

Elsewhere in Asia, since the collapse of the internationally recognized government in Kabul in August last year, Afghanistan has been beset with humanitarian challenges, made worse by reductions in foreign aid, international trade and the nature of Taliban governance.

Afghans have been the victims of civil wars, insurgencies, natural disasters, poverty and food insecurity for the past 40 years, and today form one of the world’s largest refugee populations, with at least 2.5 million registered by the UN, most in neighboring Iran and Pakistan.




Since February 24, more than 4.1 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, producing the sixth-largest refugee outflow of the past 60-plus years. (AFP)

When the humanitarian crises in Yemen, Myanmar and North African countries are added to the mix, the refugee numbers seem too large for a war-weary world and an overstretched NGO community to handle.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East, aid agencies have been struggling to secure donor funding to support projects in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. “Compassion fatigue” is threatening the viability of health and education programs in all three countries, senior aid workers say.

“Now, with Ukraine, there is going to be even less focus on Yemen than before. It may well be time to do something else,” one Middle East-based aid worker told Arab news. “I can’t deal with the crushing blow that would be walking away when the money runs out, so I may as well exit first.”

One thing common to the Ukraine war and recent Middle East conflicts is the major role played by neighboring countries in the humanitarian effort.

Just like the countries bordering Syria, which took in millions of refugees over the past decade, Eastern European nations that have accepted that displaced Ukrainians will likely need outside help to deal with the increased population pressure, especially if the invasion turns into a long, grinding war.

Lebanon currently hosts about 850,000 of the Syrians turned into refugees by the civil war, Jordan another 600,000 and Turkey more than 3 million. But weighed down by their own socioeconomic problems and fiscal difficulties, these countries have shown an increasing reluctance to shoulder the burden while attempting to push some refugees back to Syria.




Migrants wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of Libya. (AFP)

Many of those who returned to their homes in the war-torn country found themselves rapidly enlisted into the national army or shaken down by mafia-style groups for protection.

While the influx of Ukrainians has elicited an outpouring of generosity from European governments, the continent’s unified welcome is in marked contrast to the lukewarm reception that the Syrian refugees received, to say nothing of the outright hostility to migrants who tried to cross the Belarus-Poland border late last year.

Indeed, it seems hard to believe that just a matter of months ago, Poland began work on a $380 million wall along its border with Belarus to block thousands of non-European refugees seeking asylum in the EU.

“The situation of non-Ukrainian refugees at the borders, especially right now, has been horrible. It’s been appalling to watch,” Nadine Kheshen, a Lebanon-based human rights lawyer, told Arab News.

“On the one hand, it’s beautiful to see Ukrainians being welcomed with open arms. On the other, it’s heartbreaking to see how Syrian, Afghan, Kurdish, Iraqi and other refugees are being treated on the Polish border.”

Kheshen’s opinion is echoed by Nadim Houry, executive director of the Paris-based Arab Reform Initiative think tank. “There is no doubt some sort of double standard in the way refugees are being treated,” he told Arab News. “I would say, particularly vis-a-vis Afghan refugees in Europe, this must be condemned. People fleeing violence should be welcomed.”




Rohingya refugee children play in Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia, on March 27. (AFP)

Although the needs of refugees are the same no matter where they come from, it does seem that the kind of conflict they are fleeing could well determine how long they are displaced, or whether they can return at all.

“There is a major difference between Ukraine and Syria, for example,” said Houry. “In the case of Ukraine, people are fleeing an external aggressor. The moment the external aggressor stops, people will feel safe going back. However, in Syria, people were fleeing the Syrian regime mostly.

“The same happened between Israel and Lebanon in 2006. You had massive displacement, but once the Israelis stopped, the Lebanese went back to their towns.”

Although Eastern and Central European countries have been quick to welcome the millions of Ukrainians arriving on their soil, there are concerns that the new arrivals could ultimately find themselves consigned to a life as permanent refugees. Many might eventually outstay their welcome.

“We are now seeing high levels of support and welcoming by neighboring countries and high levels of solidarity,” Houry told Arab News. “However, some countries, such as Moldova and Poland, will require support so as not to be strained.

“People tend to forget the beginning of the conflict in Syria. Syrian refugees were generally welcomed. But then it changed as the conflict raged on.”

So far, Europe’s show of solidarity with people fleeing the war in Ukraine has been impressive. But given that the invasion is entering just its fifth week, it may be early days yet.


Senegal leader ‘did everything’ to bring Sahel trio back to regional group

Updated 12 sec ago
Follow

Senegal leader ‘did everything’ to bring Sahel trio back to regional group

  • The three Sahel countries quit the Economic Community of West African States at the beginning of the year, accusing the bloc of failing in the fight against terrorism

DAKAR: Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said he had “done everything possible” to bring junta-led Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger back into west Africa’s ECOWAS regional group, to no avail.

The three Sahel countries quit the Economic Community of West African States at the beginning of the year, accusing the bloc of failing in the fight against terrorism.

The breakaway countries have formed their own Alliance of Sahel States, or AES, turning away from former colonial power France and pivoting toward Russia.

In July last year, Faye was appointed by ECOWAS as a mediator for the three Sahel countries, which are now led by juntas that seized power in recent coups.

“I pleaded for people to come together around a table and talk, to preserve the chances of maintaining a strong subregional organization,” Faye told local media during a marathon four-hour interview.

“But the fact remains that these countries, like others, are sovereign. They are free to make their own choices.

“All we owe them is to respect their will, knowing that we have done everything possible to reintegrate them” into ECOWAS, he said.

As for the new relationship between Senegal and former colonial power France, Faye insisted that Paris “remains an important partner for Senegal on all levels.”

Senegal is negotiating the departure of French troops from its territory by the end of this year.

“It happens that a country decides to redirect its trajectory at a certain point in its history. And that’s what happened with the French military presence in the country,” said Faye.

Last month, several facilities used by the French army in Dakar were returned to Senegal — the first to be transferred as part of the withdrawal.


How aid cuts have brought Afghanistan’s fragile health system to its knees

Updated 2 min 8 sec ago
Follow

How aid cuts have brought Afghanistan’s fragile health system to its knees

  • Forty percent of the foreign aid given to Afghanistan came from USAID prior to the agency’s shutdown 
  • Experts say pregnant women, children, and the displaced will be hardest hit by the abrupt loss of funding

 

LONDON: Amid sweeping foreign aid cuts, Afghanistan’s healthcare system has been left teetering on the brink of collapse, with 80 percent of World Health Organization-supported services projected to shut down by June, threatening critical medical access for millions.

The abrupt closure of the US Agency for International Development, which once provided more than 40 percent of all humanitarian assistance to the impoverished nation of 40 million, dealt a devastating blow to an already fragile health system.

Researcher and public health expert Dr. Shafiq Mirzazada said that while it was too early to declare Afghanistan’s health system was in a state of collapse, the consequences of the aid cuts would be severe for “the entire population.”

“WHO funding is only one part of the system,” he told Arab News, pointing out that Afghanistan’s health sector is fully funded by donors through the Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund, known as the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund before August 2021.

Funding shortages resulting from foreign aid cuts have already forced scores of health facilities across Afghanistan to reduce services or close altogether, with the most vulnerable bearing the brunt, according to the WHO. (AFP file)

Established in 2002 after the US-led invasion, the ARTF supports international development in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban retook Kabul in August 2021, the fund has focused on providing essential services through UN agencies and nongovernmental organizations.

However, this approach has struggled to meet the growing needs, as donor fatigue and political challenges compound funding shortages.

“A significant portion of the funding goes to health programs through UNICEF and WHO,” Mirzazada said, referring to the UN children’s fund. “Primarily UNICEF channels funds through the Health Emergency Response project.”

Yet even those efforts have proven insufficient as facilities close at an alarming rate.

By early March, funding shortages forced 167 health facilities to close across 25 provinces, depriving 1.6 million people of care, according to the WHO.

Without urgent intervention, experts say 220 more facilities could close by June, leaving a further 1.8 million Afghans without primary care — particularly in northern, western and northeastern regions.

The closures are not just logistical setbacks, they represent life-or-death outcomes for millions.

“The consequences will be measured in lives lost,” Edwin Ceniza Salvador, the WHO’s representative in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

“These closures are not just numbers on a report. They represent mothers unable to give birth safely, children missing lifesaving vaccinations, entire communities left without protection from deadly disease outbreaks.”

Bearing the brunt of Afghanistan’s healthcare crisis are the most vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, children in need of vaccinations and those living in overcrowded displacement camps, where they are exposed to infectious and vaccine-preventable diseases.

Because Afghanistan’s health system was heavily focused on maternal and child care, Mirzazada said: “Any disruption will primarily affect women and children — including, but not limited to, vaccine-preventable diseases, as well as antenatal, delivery and postnatal services.

“We’re already seeing challenges, with outbreaks of measles in the country. The number of deaths due to measles is rising.”

This trend will be exacerbated by declining immunization rates.

“Children will face more diseases as vaccine coverage continues to decline,” Mirzazada said.

“We can already see a reduction in vaccine coverage. The Afghanistan Health Survey 2018 showed basic vaccine coverage at 51.4 percent, while the recent UNICEF-led Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey shows it has dropped to 36.6 percent in 2022-23.”

IN NUMBERS:

• 14.3 millions Afghans in need of medical assistance

• $126.7 millions Funding needed for healthcare

The WHO recorded more than 16,000 suspected measles cases, including 111 deaths, in the first two months of 2025 alone.

It warned that with immunization rates critically low — 51 percent for the first dose of the measles vaccine and 37 percent for the second — children were at heightened risk of preventable illness and death.

Meanwhile, midwives have reported dire conditions in the nation’s remaining facilities. Women in labor are arriving too late for lifesaving interventions due to clinic closures.

Women and girls are disproportionately bearing the brunt of these health challenges in great part due to Taliban policies.

Restrictions on women’s freedom of movement and employment have severely limited health access, while bans on education for women and girls have all but eliminated training for future female health workers.

In December, the Taliban closed all midwifery and nursing schools.

Wahid Majrooh, founder of the Afghanistan Center for Health and Peace Studies, said the move “threatens the capacity of Afghanistan’s already fragile health system” and violated international human rights commitments.

He wrote in the Lancet Global Health journal that “if left unaddressed, this restriction could set precedence for other fragile settings in which women’s rights are compromised.”

“Afghanistan faces a multifaceted crisis marked by alarming rates of poverty, human rights violations, economic instability and political deadlock, predominantly affecting women and children,” the former Afghan health minister said.

“Women are denied their basic rights to education, work and, to a large extent, access to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The ban on midwifery schools limits women’s access to health, erodes their agency in health institutions and eradicates women role models.”

Majrooh described the ban on midwifery and nursing education as “a public health emergency” that “requires urgent action.”

Afghanistan is facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with 22.9 million people — roughly half its population — requiring urgent aid to access healthcare, food and clean water.

Critical funding shortfalls and operational barriers now jeopardize support for 3.5 million children aged 6 to 59 months facing acute malnutrition, according to UN figures, as aid groups grapple with the intersecting challenges of economic collapse, climate shocks and Taliban restrictions.

The provinces of Kabul, Helmand, Nangarhar, Herat and Kandahar bear the heaviest burden, collectively accounting for 42 percent of the nation’s malnutrition cases. As a result, aid organizations are struggling to meet the needs of malnourished children, with recent cuts in foreign aid forcing Save the Children to suspend lifesaving programs.

The UK-based charity has closed 18 health facilities and faces the potential closure of 14 more unless new funding is secured. These 32 clinics provided critical care to 134,000 children in January alone, including therapeutic feeding and immunizations, it said in a statement.

“With more children in need of aid than ever before, cutting off lifesaving support now is like trying to extinguish a wildfire with a hose that’s running out of water,” Gabriella Waaijman, chief operating officer at Save the Children International, said.

As well as the hunger crisis, Afghanistan is battling outbreaks of malaria, measles, dengue, polio and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. The WHO said that without functioning health facilities, efforts to control these diseases would be severely hindered.

The risk may be higher among internally displaced communities. Four decades of conflict have driven repeated waves of forced displacement, both within Afghanistan and across its borders, while recurring natural disasters have worsened the crisis.

About 6.3 million people remain displaced within the country, living in precarious conditions without access to adequate shelter or essential services, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

Mass deportations have compounded the crisis. More than 1.2 million Afghans returning from neighboring countries such as Pakistan in 2024 are now crowded into makeshift camps with poor sanitation. This had fueled outbreaks of measles, acute watery diarrhea, dengue fever and malaria, the UNHCR said in October.

With limited healthcare access, other diseases are also spreading rapidly.

Respiratory infections and COVID-19 are surging among returnees, with 293 suspected cases detected at border crossings in early 2025, according to the WHO’s February Emergency Situation Report.

Cases of acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia, have also risen, with 54 cases reported, primarily in children under the age of 5.

The WHO said that returnees settling in remote areas faced “healthcare deserts,” where clinics had been shuttered for years and where there were no aid pipelines.

Water scarcity in 30 provinces exacerbates acute watery diarrhea risks, while explosive ordnance contamination and road accidents cause trauma cases that overwhelm understaffed facilities.

Mirzazada said that “while the ARTF has some funds, they won’t be enough to sustain the system long term.”

To prevent the collapse of Afghanistan’s health system and keep services running, he urged the country’s Taliban authorities to contribute to its funding.

“Government contributions have been very limited in the past and now even more so,” he said.

“However, the recently developed health policy for Afghanistan mentions internally sourced funding for the health system. If that happens under the current or future authorities, it could help prevent collapse.”

He also called on Islamic and Arab nations to increase their funding efforts.

“Historically, Western countries have been the main funders of the ARTF,” Mirzazada said. “The largest contributors were the US, Germany, the European Commission and other Western nations.

“Islamic and Arab countries have contributed very little. That could change and still be channeled through the UN system, as NGOs continue to deliver services on behalf of donors and the government.

“This approach could remain in place until a solid, internally funded health system is established.”
 

 


Zelensky meets European military leaders to plan for a peacekeeping force

Updated 05 April 2025
Follow

Zelensky meets European military leaders to plan for a peacekeeping force

  • UK Ministry of Defense said that officials addressed the structure, size and composition of any future “reassurance force”
  • Britain has been promoting the idea of a European-led peacekeeping force for Ukraine

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met the leaders of the British and French armed forces in Kyiv Saturday to discuss the potential deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force to Ukraine, despite the reluctance of US President Donald Trump to provide security guarantees.
The UK Ministry of Defense said that officials addressed the structure, size and composition of any future “reassurance force,” while the chief of the defense staff, Adm. Antony Radakin, emphasized that the UK would look to “build on the formidable capabilities of the Ukrainian army and put them in the strongest possible position to deter Russian aggression.”
The weekend discussions are planned to set the ground for a further meeting between defense ministers in Brussels and the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Friday.
Britain has been promoting the idea of a European-led peacekeeping force for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire but it has said such a force needed a US “backstop” to make it credible in the face of possible Russian reprisals.
Building a force big enough to act as a credible deterrent — UK officials have talked about possibly 10,000 to 30,000 troops — would be a considerable effort for nations that shrank their militaries after the Cold War but are now rearming.
Trump, who has been pushing for a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, temporarily paused military aid to Kyiv and has repeatedly said that the country will never join the NATO military alliance.


Sri Lanka, India forge defense, energy ties during Modi’s visit

Updated 05 April 2025
Follow

Sri Lanka, India forge defense, energy ties during Modi’s visit

  • Indian leader awarded island nation’s highest civilian honor
  • Sri Lanka, India, UAE agree to build energy hub in Trincomalee

Colombo: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a ceremonial guard of honor in Colombo on Saturday as his delegation signed energy and defense agreements with Sri Lanka, where New Delhi competes with China for greater influence.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake rolled out the red carpet for Modi and welcomed him with a 19-gun salute in the capital’s Independence Square.
He also conferred Sri Lanka’s highest civilian honor, Mithra Vibhushan, on the Indian prime minister.
“This prestigious honor, which was introduced in 2008, is conferred upon heads of states and government for their friendship, and honorable Prime Minister Modi highly deserves this honor. That is what we firmly believe,” Dissanayake said during a joint press conference with Modi, after the two countries signed seven cooperation agreements.
Modi arrived in Sri Lanka on Friday evening from Thailand, where he participated in the annual summit of BIMSTEC, a regional grouping of the seven countries on the Bay of Bengal.
He is accompanied by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who signed agreements on defense cooperation, information and technology sharing, and energy imports and exports with the Sri Lankan government.
Another energy deal was signed between India, Sri Lanka, and the UAE on cooperation in the development of Trincomalee port as an energy hub.
“We welcome the important agreements made in the area of defense cooperation. We have also agreed to work together on the Colombo security conclave and security cooperation in the Indian Ocean,” Modi said.
“The agreement reached to build a multiproduct pipeline and to develop Trincomalee as an energy hub will benefit all Sri Lankans. The Grid Inter-Connectivity Agreement between the two countries will create opportunities for Sri Lanka to export electricity.”
The Indian prime minister is the first foreign head of state to visit the island nation since Dissanayake and his leftist alliance swept last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
The visit comes as Colombo balances ties with India, its powerful neighbor, and China, its biggest lender, which at the same time is India’s main regional foe.
Dissanayake’s first foreign visit as president was to New Delhi in December, followed by a visit to Beijing in January, highlighting Sri Lanka’s careful diplomacy between the two powers.
“Within the Indian subcontinent and Chinese belt, Sri Lanka is caught as a strategic island — not only in the Indian Ocean — between these two giants,”  historian and analyst Dr. B.A. Hussainmiya  told Arab News.
“Their geopolitical interest is centering in the Indian Ocean and in the Himalayas, so Sri Lanka, being a very small country, cannot hold its strength unless it creates a balanced and nuanced diplomatic approach between these two powers to keep it afloat in the system.”


UK’s Starmer and France’s Macon share concerns over tariff impacts

Updated 05 April 2025
Follow

UK’s Starmer and France’s Macon share concerns over tariff impacts

  • The prime minister and president agreed that a trade war was in nobody’s interests

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron shared their concerns over the economic and security impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs when they spoke on Saturday, Starmer’s office said.
“They agreed that a trade war was in nobody’s interests, but nothing should be off the table,” the statement from Downing Street said.
“The prime minister and president also shared their concerns about the global economic and security impact, particularly in Southeast Asia.”
The pair agreed to stay in close contact over the coming weeks.