The world of Tzu Chi June 2021 (Vol.135)

TZU CHI 135 09 I Was Told to Run, and to Run Quickly Rohingyas started to flee, with two massive groups of Rohingya refugees flooding international borders. In early 2018, over 700,000 Rohingyas had crossed the border to seek asylum in Bangladesh. The speed and scale of Rohingya’s escape has evolved into today’s fastest-growing refugee and humanitarian crisis. The December 2020 Mid-Year Trends report released by UNHCR shows that globally forced displacement had surpassed the 80 million mark as of mid-2020, exceeding one per cent of the global population. Due to war, violence and persecution, these people fled their countries, crossing national borders to find safety in other countries, under the status of “refugee”. The phenomenon of refugees has dominated the global landscape for thousands of years. The term was officially defined only after World War II. For refugees fleeing persecutions in wars, United Nation formulated the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1951 which defines refugees as persons who are outside their country of origin for reasons of feared persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order and, as a result, require international protection. In 1960s, the decolonization of Africa triggered many major refugee crises. Over the next two decades, UNHCR continued to help resolve refugee crises in Asia and Latin America. Towards the end of last century, new refugee issues began to surface in Africa. The Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee camp in Southeastern Bangladesh, hosts nearly a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. The hunger-stricken women and children lined up for relief assistance, living by the day. [Photo courtesy of Shutter Stock]