REFUGEES HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE PROTECTED
António Guterres thinks that we can solve the global refugee crisis -- and he offers compelling, surprising reasons why we must try.
(TED Talk)
THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO WORK, SO THEY ARE TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT, AND THEY FELT, "THE WORLD IS ABANDONING US."
The trigger was when all of a sudden, international aid decreased. The World Food Programme was forced, for lack of resources, to cut by 30 percent food support to the Syrian refugees. They're not allowed to work, so they are totally dependent on international support, and they felt, "The world is abandoning us." And that, in my opinion, was the trigger. All of a sudden, there was a rush, and people started to move in large numbers and, to be absolutely honest, if I had been in the same situation and I would have been brave enough to do it, I think I would have done the same.
THERE IS NO LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
We just had research with the World Bank, and 87 percent of the Syrians in Jordan and 93 percent of the Syrians in Lebanon live below the national poverty lines. Only half of the children go to school, which means that people are living very badly. Not only are they refugees, out of home, not only have they suffered what they have suffered, but they are living in very, very dramatic conditions.
2015
