Opinion:

We are constantly reminded of how war causes mass displacement, just look at Palestine, Syria, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ukraine or Sudan. It is usually poor neighboring countries that bear the brunt of hosting refugees, while rich countries do little to do their part. This has created chronic refugees in neighboring fragile and unstable countries.

This is a chronicle. Opinions in the text are the author’s own.

This year Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary. That’s 75 years since 750,000 Palestinians were displaced. This mass displacement was caused by a combination of immediate displacement, widespread fear propaganda, fear of massacre, and ongoing hostilities.

This is highly traumatic for the refugees, but also remains politically relevant for the outside world because Israel prevents Palestinian refugees from returning to their homes. This is contrary to the internationally recognized principle of the refugee’s right of return.

The host country is experiencing a crisis

Responsibility for Palestinian refugees is shared between two UN bodies: the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine (PCC) and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA). The PCC will seek a long-term political solution, while UNRWA will meet the humanitarian needs of the refugees while waiting for a solution. The solution fails and the PCC weakens.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian refugee population is growing. They made up now almost 6 million people, and live in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza. Here, the situation of Palestinian refugees is in a precarious condition.

In Syria, there is a long and brutal civil war. In Lebanon there was an economic collapse. Jordan is a poor country, but it remains one of the countries and places to host the largest refugees in the world 760,000 Syrians And 2.2 million Palestinians. Gaza is under Israeli siege, while in the West Bank its population suffers under increasingly cruel and entrenched Israeli occupation.

UNRWA is the same way chronically underfunded and on the verge of collapse.

Palestinian refugees seem unique because they are subject to a separate organization at the UN (UNRWA), while other refugee groups are under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Palestinians fled before UNHCR was founded. In addition, they stand out for having been refugees for a long period of time (75 years) and the fact that they constitute a large refugee group. IN THE In 2021, approximately 20 percent of registered refugees in the world were Palestinian refugees. Only Syrian refugees constitute a larger group.

Neighboring countries bear the brunt

Now the war in Ukraine and the war in Sudan have also created a new flow of mass refugees.

The common denominator of all conflicts that result in mass displacement is that it is usually neighboring countries that bear the brunt of the burden. These countries are often poor and unstable.

The burden is enormous and the system is maintained in part through a division of responsibilities in which rich countries bear too much of the economic costs. In increasingly tight economic conditions, becoming a refugee becomes more expensive, hosting refugees, and maintaining UNHCR or UNRWA services becomes more expensive. There is little will in donor countries to increase aid.

Western countries could certainly accept their share of refugees to reduce pressure on the most vulnerable host countries, but the political will to do so is even smaller. Thus, the burden is increasingly borne by the host country, while the lives of the refugees are getting worse.

Situations like this mean refugees have to make dangerous journeys or host countries force them to return to the countries they fled from. Both lead to loss of life.

The Mediterranean has become a mass grave for fleeing peoplewhile still reported that people who have returned to Syrians were imprisoned, killed and tortured.

There is no permanent solution

There are three “permanent remedies” in refugee law. They are returning to their country of origin, integrating locally, and resettling in a third country.

Meanwhile, for Palestinian refugees, Israel closed its borders to returnees, which violates international norms regarding the right of return and the wishes of refugees. Surrounding Arab countries accommodate refugees on the condition that there is no permanent solution, and as long as UNRWA covers the costs of their welfare.

This is comparable to how Türkiye received its first wave of Syrian refugees. This is earned “guest status” and as with Palestinians in neighboring Arab countries, this means that their stay is considered temporary. A decade later, the 3.7 million Syrians in Turkey are a huge burden on a country experiencing an economic crisis Türkiye’s agreement with the EU means that these refugees may not be transferred to Europe.

The danger is that more refugee crises will occur like what happened in Palestine. If ongoing war, persecution, or border closures prevent refugees from returning, they may become a long-term and growing refugee population in countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. If Western countries are unwilling to accommodate these refugees, and there is less willingness to bear the costs of ensuring their minimum welfare, then humanitarian tragedies will increase in countries that are unable to cope.

Only a political solution can solve the world’s refugee problem. Unfortunately, this will not happen in a number of prolonged conflicts. They have become chronic refugees.