5,700 PEOPLE have died on refugee and migrant routes around the world in the last year, an increase of more than a fifth.
Just a year ago, the world awoke shocked at the images of three-year-old Syrian Alan Kurdi lying lifeless on the beach, having drowned in the Mediterranean as his family tried to cross to Europe from Turkey. Yet, despite the public outcry in response, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people dying while attempting to flee to safety.
The numbers of people who have died on refugee and migrant routes since the start of 2016 equates to one almost every 80 minutes.
Photographs of Alan Kurdi became headline news around the world a year ago. Independent research shared with Oxfam by the Visual Social Media Lab, based at the University of Sheffield, found a subsequent rise in interest in the refugee crisis on Twitter, with four times as many tweets on the subject than in the year before. The #refugeeswelcome hashtag began trending worldwide in the days after Alan Kurdi’s death and has been used 2.35 million times in the 12 months since.
The recent images of Omran Daqneesh, the child pictured bloodied and covered in dust after being pulled from the rubble of his apartment block in Aleppo, have had a similar effect, showing the strength of public feeling about the violence that is forcing many refugees to flee.
On Saturday, September 17, ahead of two major summits on the global refugee and migration crisis set to take place in New York, Oxfam Cymru and partner organisations including Save the Children and Christian Aid are organising a Stand As One Rally in Swansea, to show support for refugees and to celebrate their contribution to life in Wales. A march to show solidarity with refugees will take place in London the same day.
Oxfam Cymru is also calling on local authorities in Wales to resettle more refugees through the Home Office’s Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme, and is calling on a National Assembly Committee to undertake scrutiny of not just the Welsh response in resettling Syrian refugees, but how Wales’ public services support our refugee and asylum-seeking communities.
Latest Home Office figures highlighted that between April and June 2016, while Scotland resettled 249 refugees from Syria, and Northern Ireland 104, Wales only resettled 34 Syrians through the Home Office resettlement scheme.
Kirsty Davies-Warner, Head of Oxfam Cymru, said: “A year ago today, the world awoke to pictures of a drowned three-year-old. Everywhere you looked – from the front pages of the newspapers to our social media feeds – Alan Kurdi was there; a reminder of the horrific reality of the refugee crisis. And yet a year since, the situation has not improved for refugees and migrants who are risking everything in search of safety and a better life for their families.
“In Wales, the latest Home Office figures released last week revealed that 112 refugees from war-torn Syria had been resettled here by the end of June this year, with more having arrived over the summer. While we welcome the fact that more people have been resettled here, we cannot ignore how painfully slow the resettlement process still is in Wales.
“I hope we will have a big crowd joining us at our rally in Swansea, to remind refugees that they are not alone, and that we value their contribution here in Wales. This is also a chance for people to show our political leaders here in Wales and around the world that we want them coordinate an adequate response to this ongoing crisis.”
Oxfam’s Stand as One campaign calls for global action to welcome more refugees, prevent families from being separated and keep people fleeing their homes safe from harm.
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