On the occasion of World Refugee Day, people from all over the world express solidarity with the millions of refugees who find themselves without a home to call their own.
It is tragic and heart-breaking to learn that, all across the world, more than 70 million people were displaced at the end of 2018, a statistic that is, even by the UN’s estimates, a conservative number.
The prominence with which such crises take place all over the world is saddening, and is nothing short of an insult to the humanity we owe our fellow human beings.
But there are instances where humanity did come first.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Bangladesh, where over a million Rohingya have taken shelter, having fled the brutality of the Myanmar army, which has used every deplorable act possible against them to ethnically cleanse the region of the Rohingya population.
No doubt, Bangladesh has emerged as an example of generosity and humanity in this regard, tackling what is by any means among the greatest refugee crisis of contemporary times.
But with 20 people fleeing persecution every single minute -- another statistic that should have all of us stopping in our tracks -- it is time for the world to take a stand and ensure that refugees are no longer terrorized and driven out of their homelands.
It is unfortunate that the majority of the refugee population in the world reside in the poorest nations, nations which barely have the resources to provide for their own people.
The developed nations across the world have a much larger role to play for, at the end of the day, they have the resources to step in and make a difference.
We can no longer stand by and watch as millions of people across the world suffer in this manner, and it is time for the world to step up and do the right thing.
