World
According to an estimate by the U.N. refugee agency, the number of people displaced by conflicts across the world reached the 65m mark in 2015, the highest ever since World War Two. The annual report by the U.N.H.C.R. drew attention to the failure of nations in finding collective solutions to cope with a deepening migrant crisis. More than 50 percent of the displaced come from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia while Turkey remains the biggest host of refugees, sheltering about 2 million.
The number of forcibly displaced people rose sharply from 59.5m in December 2014 to 65.3m in December 2015, notes The Guardian. The steep rise in refugee count last year is mainly attributed to conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. Civil war in Syria alone has left about 11m people homeless while bloodshed in Iraq drove 4.4m people from their shelters.
The high influx of migrants has created a “climate of xenophobia” in Europe, writes the BBC. Significant “political rifts” have emerged within the European Union, with some states sealing off their borders while others have “re-imposed frontier controls.” In an environment characterized by negative stereotypes about refugees, far-right groups are thriving and controversial anti-immigration policies are being introduced.
Although the world focuses on Europe’s migrant crisis, approximately 86 percent of the refugees find shelter in “low- and middle-income countries close to conflict situations.”
