Hans Friedrich Schodder, UNHCR representative, talks about the changing world. In a world faced with a huge influx of refugees, some lessons have to be learned, otherwise the whole system will collapse
We have witnessed an increased number of refugees passing through Serbia in the last year, from which we drew some very important conclusions and learned some very valuable lessons. Over the past few years we have seen a staggering escalation in the displacement of people due to conflict. Since 2012, the number of people forced to leave their homes, usually because of violence and war, has nearly quadrupled. Today there are some 60 million people, persons like you and me, who have been forcibly displaced due to war or persecution, which is the highest number since World War II. From Syria alone there are 4.4 million displaced people, mostly residing in neighbouring countries like Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. Over eight million Syrians are internally displaced within their own country, while there are also persecutions in Iraq, Somalia, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Mali, Yemen … you name it.
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