Refugees are a problem that needs a global solution. Do you agree?

Have you ever noticed refugees in your own country? What can we do to help them? As we all know refugees are people who flees their homeland to a foreign country because of a bad economy, serious political situation, war or natural disasters. The problem of refugees is one of the toughest problems around the world. As many countries are still poor and the problem of refugees cannot be avoided. Since the problem of refugees exists in almost every corner of the world, so global solutions are needed. I agree that refugees are a problem that needs a global solution.

Firstly, the countries that produce refugees have the responsibility to reduce the numbers of refugees who flee due to poverty, politics and natural disasters. The government of these countries need to develop industries, offer job opportunities and create a system to care for the welfare of the people. The children, elderly and handicapped are particularly vulnerable. Governments need to ensure peace, avoid war and offer political stability. Last but not least, during time of natural disasters, governments are supposed to respond quickly and offer aid so that they do not cross national boundaries to seek for help. Often these countries may need the financial, organisational and practical help of a global organisations like the United Nations, Red Cross and other Non-profit organisations to carry out these tasks.

Secondly, the countries that receive refugees need to take proper care of the refugees. The first and most fundamental solution is to remove prejudice towards the refugees within their own country and abroad. They should welcome them into the country and take steps to help them assimilate into the country. One effective way is to offer them some professional training so that they can find a job in the country. If the receiving country cannot cope with the influx of refugees, another countries should volunteer to accept these refugees. Wealthy, developed countries can afford to accept and help these refugees to resettle in their new homes.

Thirdly, the refugees themselves need to be responsible and take steps to integrate and become good citizens of their new country. Refugees tend to face great deprivation and suffering in their journey to a new home. They may have acquired bad habits that have helped survive in chaotic conditions such as lying, cheating, stealing and scheming. These habits need to be replaced so that trust in a community, legislation and authority can be built. For example, refugees in similar situations could unit and negotiate for long term benefits for themselves. They could regulate their behavior amongst themselves and advocate for each other in cross cultural situations.

Critics against my position may say that a global solution to refugee problem will cause new problems such as countries interfering with local politics. However, it is not true. For instance, when the conflict between Palestine and Israel escalated, thousands of Palestinian refugees fled to Jordan. The local government of Jordan with the help from some global organizations received and sheltered the refugees. Their cooperative efforts were quite successful and limited interference with local politics occurred. From the example we can see that with global help we can better solve the refugee problem and can prevent the problem of countries becoming over dependent on one country for help. In effect combined aid efforts could make it harder for one country to interfere in the local politics of another.

From the solutions offered above, it is clear that the solution lies in a combined global effort to reach out to people who are displaced. The media helps spread a message of the plight of refugees to a global audience as people are made more aware. Governments of developed and undeveloped countries need to cooperate to find refugees a home and make them feel welcomed. Many global aid organisations, such as Oxfam, Red Cross, Doctors without Borders and others often draw expertise from many nations as they try to help refugees. Refugees themselves need to work with their host nations to find suitable solutions to their problems.

The UN Refugee Agencyhttp://www.unhcr.org/basics.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/unhcr

Read the solution offered in the Nobel Lecture 1954http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1954/refugees-lecture.html