As the world’s refugee crisis continues, it is important to remember that the people who are displaced are individuals, and they need to be treated as such. They also deserve the chance to rebuild their lives, and to do so in a safe and secure place.
While conflict and persecution are the main causes of displacement, natural disasters — floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, mudslides — are increasingly common and often force people to flee their homes. And climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of these events. Although most of these movements are internal, they can also push people across international borders.
Large-scale forced migration can have a profound impact on the host state and the refugees in its territory. It can contribute to destabilization in the country of asylum and cause violations of humanitarian and legal protections for those displaced. And it can undermine peace efforts.
Ultimately, the response to the refugee crisis must involve all countries. Middle- and high-income nations, including Japan, must increase their share of refugees they take in, and wealthy nations should make a greater contribution to the global effort to protect people from the conflict that drove them to seek shelter in the first place.
Those who have fled from their homes should be allowed to build lives for themselves in their new countries, with freedom of movement and access to jobs that allow them to support themselves. In doing so, they will be able to avoid the temptation to engage in a distorted informal economy that can include criminal networking and even human trafficking.
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