A new frontier?

World Refugee Day, which was celebrated on Tuesday, was a day of mixed sentiments for Sri Lanka. On one hand, many of the internally displaced in the country have made strides towards a normal life, but on the other, many are yet to return to their lands of origin and most of them face long-term challenges of livelihood as well as holistic security.

The latest UNHCR figures in its recently-released Global Trends 2011 report shows that worldwide 4.3 million people were newly-displaced during 2011, with 800,000 fleeing from their countries becoming refugees – the highest number becoming refugees in the last decade.

Worldwide, 42.5 million people ended 2011 either as refugees (15.2 million), internally displaced (26.4 million), or in the process of seeking asylum (895,000). In such a dire situation the fact that Sri Lanka has managed to reduce its numbers is a great achievement.

The Global Trends report shows in 2011 that of the 26.4 million internally displaced, 15.5 million received UNHCR assistance and protection. One bright spot in the Global Trends report was that 3.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) returned home in 2011 – the highest number in 15 years.

That number includes some 144,000 Sri Lankan IDPs who returned home during that period. A big part of UNHCR’s work in Sri Lanka has been supporting the Government with the return of IDPs and refugees to their homes or finding other solutions.

However, a little known fact is that there are some 136,600 Sri Lankan refugees in various countries in the world, mainly in India. Since the conflict in Sri Lanka ended in May 2009, UNHCR has helped over 4,900 Sri Lankan refugees voluntarily return home and restart their lives.

There is a strong need to find economical ways of bringing these people back home, especially after the ferry service between India and Sri Lanka was stopped, and assisting them to re-establish themselves in their former homes. Greater awareness of the security environment in the north and east as well as economic opportunities in these areas could encourage them to return to Sri Lanka.  

However, they must be assured of physical and social security. This means that implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations as well as other mechanisms such as the impartial rule of law and political autonomy will go a long way in assuaging their fears of being victimised.

Sri Lanka is also among countries hosting refugees and asylum seekers with 88 refugees and 243 asylum seekers registered with UNHCR according to its mid-June figures. These numbers are small compared with other Asian countries such as Pakistan, which hosts some 1.7 million refugees.

Nonetheless, there are ever-increasing numbers of Sri Lankans attempting to illegally crossover into other countries, particularly Australia, which means that they are contributing to increasing the number of refugees in the world. This is feeding a growing market for human smuggling or trafficking that is a dangerous trend that must be arrested to prevent the public being led astray and victimised.

One could argue that this is the new frontier of managing refugees in Sri Lanka for the island is now creating refugees by means other than war. Economic and social causes are the main reasons for this and while it is not as big a problem as the conflict, there is a common need to develop long-term solutions for both the asylum seekers and internally displaced within Sri Lanka.