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Plight of refugees

The 2013 UN Report on Global Trend of Refugees published recently in Khaleej Times confirms that the number has eclipsed 50 million for the first time after 2nd World War.

This figure is mind-boggling indeed but not unexpected. Over the past two to three years the endless bloodshed going on in various countries like Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine etc., are the major contributor.

The danger is when and how this will end. Till now no solution is in sight. Over and above, recently Iraq has also joined the fray making the problem more complicated.

A well-developed country like Crimea had to face the same problem. The problem of boat people from the Far East with no taker has now become a part and parcel of our life.

Apart from these mindless bloodshed, a major number of refugees (we call them internally displaced people) are generated by major projects like on-going Sardar Saravar Dam in India.

More than a million people mostly tribal will be displaced. They will become refugees in their own country and gradually vanish in the crowd of a billion.

We do feel proud about the development but sad about those millions who vanish without any trace for the good of all.

The worst thing that can happen to a person is to become a refugee. You lose your identity. You lose your roots. You lose almost everything that you have achieved so far.

Parikshit Dey, by email