Dina Mahmoud (London)
Amid pessimistic expectations that the number of refugees and forcibly displaced people from countries in the Middle East and North Africa region may increase significantly during 2024, fears are mounting about the deterioration of conditions in the camps and temporary shelters in which these people are sheltering in the current period, due to the outbreak of more crises in the region, and the exacerbation of these conditions. The list is already there.
During the past year, the Middle East witnessed the outbreak of the Gaza war with its devastating humanitarian repercussions, and some countries in the region were the scene of severe natural disasters and political crises, such as the devastating earthquake that shook Syria in February, followed by another that struck Morocco on September 8, just two days before Massive floods swept the eastern part of Libya.
While these conflicts and disasters have led to the forced displacement of more citizens of countries in the region from their homes, whether to other areas within their homelands or outside them, international estimates indicate that it is expected that refugees and those forcibly displaced from their countries and those who lack any nationality will constitute the people of the Eastern region. The Middle East and North Africa, 12% of the total number of people belonging to this category, worldwide during the current year.
UN sources indicated that these people will be forced to seek refuge or displacement, for reasons ranging from the outbreak of wars, the outbreak of humanitarian crises, or the occurrence of environmental disasters, especially since the Middle East and North Africa are among the parts of the world most affected by the consequences of the phenomenon of climate change, and the resulting effects. Record high temperatures, prolonged droughts, and exceptionally heavy rains. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, up to 131 million people are expected to be displaced around the world in 2024, including 63 million displaced people and 57 million refugees.
It is likely – as stated in a report published by the Asia Times website – that children and women constitute the vast majority of these displaced people and refugees.
In addition to the estimated six million Palestinian refugees, Syrians constitute the majority of those who fled their homes in the Middle East and North Africa and obtained asylum in other countries.
Independent estimates indicate that more than 5.3 million refugees from Syria are currently distributed among Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, in addition to other countries, in addition to Germany, which hosts approximately 560,000 of these refugees, the largest number in all of Europe.
At the same time, experts concerned with the refugee issue in the Middle East warn of the deteriorating conditions in refugee camps in a number of countries in the region, especially Lebanon, which has been afflicted by an unprecedented economic crisis since late 2019, which negatively affects its citizens and those who have taken refuge in its lands, whether Syrians and Palestinians. Both.
In this regard, experts pointed to the huge increase in population density in the camps in Lebanon, and the insufficient basic infrastructure for their residents, especially in terms of education, sanitation, and health care services, as well as the outbreak of clashes from time to time between armed factions stationed there. As a result of the deterioration of living conditions in these camps and their counterparts in other countries, some of those living there say that the situation they are experiencing there has become like a “very dark nightmare,” stressing that they do not consider themselves living there, but rather “just existing,” in reference to Lacking all the usual necessities of life.
#crises #Middle #East #exacerbate #suffering #refugees #region