Mobilizing for a century of dislocation
The Syrian civil war is the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis. Already, 13.5 million Syrians — more than half the prewar population — have fled their homes. And the flow of migrants shows no signs of abating.
Yet the Syrian conflict is but one of many around the globe. Some 35,000 people flee war or persecution each day. These brave men, women and children join a record 65 million others — nearly 1 percent of the globe’s population — who can’t return home. Not even World War II uprooted as many people. The humanitarian community’s aid distribution system, however, dates to the post-World War II era.
Then, most refugees needed donations of food and clothing as they waited out conflicts in camps. Now, 3 in 4 refugees live outside a camp. Nearly 9 in 10 reside in low- and middle-income nations, often those bordering their home countries. Lebanon, for instance, has taken in 1.5 million Syrians, who now make up a quarter of the tiny Mediterranean nation’s population.
Host governments frequently view these arrivals with suspicion, worrying that they’ll destabilize fragile political systems and take jobs from citizens. So they box refugees out of the labor market and make them dependent on charity or blackmarket work. Those fleeing the hell of war and disaster find themselves in purgatory — unable to return home but barred from building new lives.
The Trump administration too is limiting the number of refugees being resettled in the United States and is proposing cuts to our foreignaid budget at a time when we need it most.
Host nations have a choice. They can let refugees either burden the economy — or contribute to it.
Oxford University’s Alexander Betts, who heads the Refugee Studies Centre, urges host countries to allow refugees to work, pointing to Uganda as a model. More than 20 percent of refugees in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, “own a business that employs other people, and 40 percent of those employees are nationals of the host country.”
If refugees join the labor force, however, they’ll inevitably disperse into cities and towns. It’s logistically difficult for aid organizations to deliver food or clothing to these dispersed populations. That’s why David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee — which my organization previously honored with the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize — urges donors to simply give refugees cash.
Cash — which currently accounts for just 6 percent of all humanitarian aid — empowers refugees to buy exactly what they need. The committee studied 90,000 Syrian refugee families in Lebanon who received preloaded ATM cards. Families overwhelmingly spent the money on food, water, winter clothing and shelter. And cash keeps kids in school — “households receiving cash assistance were half as likely to send their children out to work,” according to the IRC.
But refugees can’t reach their full potential without an education. Two-thirds of refugee children aren’t in school. Yet less than 2 percent of humanitarian aid was devoted to education in 2016. My organization is working with international nongovernmental organizations, including Save the Children and Their world, to demonstrate how education initiatives for the most vulnerable young people are a smart investment for future peace and sustainability. Together, we’re supporting education programs for the children of Syrian refugees close to the epicenter of the crisis.
Regular Americans can encourage this shift from making refugees dependent to making them contributors by donating cash to organizations that implement modern approaches to humanitarian aid. To ensure their donations have the greatest impact, individuals can give to groups that offer cash assistance, help refugees find work and educate refugee children. They can also volunteer locally to support refugees who are beginning their new lives in the United States.
Conflict, a lack of economic opportunity and climate change will make this a century of dislocation. By quickly adopting new approaches, aid agencies, donors and host nations — including the United States — can turn the challenges of mass migration into opportunities.