Without a home, without a solution: Short-term fixes won’t solve the world’s refugee crises

Recently, a destabilising and disturbing trend has been proliferating throughout all corners of the globe. This year has seen record numbers of refugees fleeing economic hardship, political prosecution, and vicious attacks in countries ravished by instability. This influx in forced migration cannot be linked to one geographic location, but instead seems to be a systematic failure committed by members of the international community.

Rights groups publically condemn countries for failing to address this growth in refugee flows, often ignoring human right violations. New techniques initiated by recipient countries – aimed at discouraging refugees from seeking sanctuary – have become increasingly more inhumane. The utilisation of blockades and towing practices have, in essence, made asylum seekers the ball in a game of hot potato. Put simply, countries have gone out of their way to ensure that resettlement and integration is a near impossibility for refugees.

Those “fortunate” enough to receive refuge are often times forced to endure inhumane conditions inside camps. Plagued by insufficient security, supplies, food, shelter, and water, these camps have become permanent installations in the barren corners of recipient countries. The absence of educational and employment opportunities within these camps creates an environment not conducive to escaping this cycle of poverty.

Close-up view of the Za’atri camp for Syrian refugees as seen on July 18, 2013, from a helicopter carrying U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh [U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE]

In Kenya, the Dadaab refugee camp has facilitated extremism, allowing it to fester in the depths of this dysfunctional site. In their attempt to combat the spread of extremism, the Kenyan government has often times only exacerbated the issue. Inherent within counterinsurgency is a catch-22: the more authorities implement heightened security measures, the greater the incentive to resist authority. The underemployed and uneducated youth have limited life opportunity. As such, counterinsurgency efforts can further alienate the disenfranchised members of the population, seemingly helping extremist recruitment and escalating security threats.

Though the extremists make up a small minority of both those within camps and those that have been resettled in there new home, stigmas are often applied to all; ultimately making integration a near impossibility. This is compounded by the dissemination of xenophobia throughout many countries in the world – recently seen in South Africa, the United States, and Germany. Often times catalysed by internal economic disparity and inequality, refugees are frequently viewed as a drain on public funds, subsequently becoming the scapegoat for disenfranchised domestic populations.

Rohinga Muslims Refugee adrift at sea, searching for asylum [GETTY]

Ultimately, countries are faced with the question of how to effectively address this burgeoning problem. Though refugee camps present the most efficient and immediate way to distribute and allocate resources, they leave much to be desired. While satisfying immediate needs of both refugees and host countries, camps can detract attention away from the underlying problem – financial and political instability. A more apt approach may in fact be to encourage integration into their new society as well as addressing the economic and political failures within the poorest countries in the world; from which many asylum seekers originate.

If the goal is to stifle the spread of forced migration, then economic stagnation and recession in the poorest countries must be addressed. Effectively, a fundamental change in policy implementation is needed at the highest level. Quick fixes, in the form of cash transfers, development aid and refugee camps, will never solve this complex problem.

Metaphorically speaking, when faced with a leaking roof, attempting to catch and contain droplets of rain into buckets will never prove successful. One must incur a short-term cost that addresses the fundamental problem in order to procure long-term stability.