中东难民逃离潮趋势仍未放缓

AS IT IS 2016-10-07 Migration¹ Out of the Middle East Shows No Signs of Slowing 中东难民逃离潮趋势仍未放缓

Recent conflicts in the Middle East are responsible for the worst global refugee crisis in 70 years.

Data from the United Nations showed that more than 1 million migrants escaped to Europe last year. Syrians refugees made up 28% of that number. Refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan were the next largest groups.

William Lacy Swing is the director general of the International Organization of Migration, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

He says that if conflicts in the Middle East and South Asia continue, the flow of refugees into Europe will likely continue as well.

The top priority, he said, "is to get the biggest problem solved, which is Syria."

Syria

Half the population of Syria has fled the country since the civil war started in 2011.

Currently six million Syrians live outside of Syria. One million have escaped to Europe. The majority live in temporary shelters in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.

International migration officials hoped the September 12 ceasefire created by the U.S. and Russia would lead to peace and to Syrians returning to their country. But the ceasefire ended suddenly when U.S. airplanes struck Syrian troops, and the Syrian government bombed a U.N. convoy².

William Lacy Swing of the IOM observes that collapse³ of the ceasefire shows that the causes for migration in Syria have not changed.

Mediterranean⁴ migration is down, but deaths are up

The International Organization for Migration released new data last month about migration through the Mediterranean Sea.

The numbers showed that migration to Europe using the Mediterranean Sea has gone down 40% so far this year.

About 300,000 migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean into Europe between January 1 and September 25. During the same period last year, about 500,000 entered.

But over the same time, the number of deaths rose 20%.

IOM data showed that 3,501 migrants and refugees died from January 1 through September 25th. That number includes the more than 200 people whose overcrowded boat sank off the coast of Egypt at the end of September. The victims were trying to enter Europe illegally.

The director general of the IOM, William Lacy Swing, told VOA, "This is a tragedy.” He said government policies accidentally make the migration situation worse.

Because countries do not offer enough ways for people to get out of dangerous situations safely, refugees are forced to use smugglers and travel in overcrowded boats, such as the one that recently sank.

Resettlement

More than 50 countries and organizations met in September at the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss the refugee problem. They all agreed to double the number of refugees they take in through the UN program.

Together, the countries will take a total of 360,000 refugees next year. But the UN says far more refugees will need to be resettled in 2017. It predicts that at least 1.2 million people will need to find new homes.

IOM director William Lacy Swing is confident all the nations will honor their agreements. But, he said, “I do think it is pretty bad ... that we cannot reach a quota⁵ of 1 million."

President Barack Obama told the UN General Assembly that the migrant crisis was "a test of our international system where all nations ought to share in our collective responsibilities, because the vast majority of refugees are hosted by just 10 countries."

To persuade other countries to take in refugees, the Obama administration announced a new funding system. The system allows wealthier nations to give money to less developed nations.

The fund will be managed by the IOM and the UN’s refugee agency. The U.S. has already contributed $11 million to the fund.

The U.S. has also agreed to increase the number of refugees it takes from 86,000 to 110,000. Immigration critics oppose the increase. They fear increasing the number of refugees in the U.S. will also increase the threat of terrorism.

William Lacy Swing believes their fears are unfounded.

"I think that if you look at the hundreds of thousands of cases that have come in here, up to now they have found virtually none," he said. "More likely is what happened in Europe: If they get here and they're not properly integrated, then they can become a problem.”

Words in This Story

global – adj. involving the entire world

migrant - n. someone who moves from place to place, usually for economic reasons

migration – n. movement of people from one country or place to live or work in another

smuggler(s) – n. a person who moves people or things from one country into another illegally and secretly

confident – adj. certain that something will happen or that something is true

collective – adj. shared or done by a group of people

vast – adj. very great in size, amount, or extent

host(ed) – v. to be cared for or provided with the things one might need

funding – n. the way to provide money for something

unfounded – adj. not based on facts or proof

virtually – adv. almost entirely⁶

integrated – adj. allowing all types of people to participate or be included

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

5 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。