With more people displaced, high praise for gracious hospitality
In a year of rising humanitarian needs, some countries step up with a welcoming spirit, earning praise from global leaders.
Venezuelans cross the border into Colombia.
AP/file
Over the past year, the world’s need for compassionate hospitality has risen sharply. The number of people forcibly displaced from their homes has topped 80 million, equal to a quarter of the U.S. population. On a larger scale, the United Nations estimates more than 235 million people now require humanitarian aid and protection, or a 40% increase. Wars, climate change, and the pandemic are largely to blame. But so is extreme poverty, which is up for the first time in 22 years.
No wonder global humanitarian officials are praising those countries stepping up to the task.
Jordan, which is home to more than 1 million refugees, gets high marks for including refugees in its vaccination program. Safeguarding their health, says Jordanian King Abdullah II, is “a global responsibility.” An estimated 51 countries have refugees high on the list in vaccine priority.
Turkey receives thanks for continuing to host the largest refugee population – mainly Syrians – while Uganda, home to 1.7 million refugees, is noted for integrating refugees into its communities. Praise has also gone to President Joe Biden for a plan to expand the number of refugees resettled to the United States to 125,000 each year.
On Monday, Colombia received some of the highest praise. It is host to 1.8 million Venezuelans, or more than a third of those who have fled that country’s persecution and economic meltdown under a dictatorship. In a neighborly act, Colombian President Iván Duque announced he will provide the refugees with residence permits, enabling them access to health care and legal jobs.
This action is an “extraordinary gesture” of humanity, said Filippo Grandi, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, and offers an example for other countries to follow. (Peru and Ecuador have deployed their military to stop the flow of Venezuelans across their borders.) While a Gallup Poll indicates less public support in Colombia for Venezuelan migrants, the government has spent money to beef up services for them at the border. Last year, a number of political parties signed a pact to not pander to xenophobia during an election campaign.
Two years ago, the U.N. General Assembly approved the Global Compact on Refugees, a nonbinding agreement to better integrate refugees into host countries. That spirit of a welcoming heart for the world’s most needy people is now needed more than ever. It also serves as a moral counterpoint to COVID-19, wars, and natural disasters. Gratitude for generous host countries is indeed in order.