The Current refugee crisis
3771 people lost their lives crossing the Mediterranean in 2015 and to date 87 have lost their lives (or are missing at sea) in 2016 (UNHCR data source).
LÉ Eithne saved over 3,400 people’s lives during its deployment in the Mediterranean
LÉ Niamh rescued 4200 people during its operations in the Mediterranean
LÉ Samuel Beckett rescued 1088 people during its operations in the Mediterranean
@IOM_news report: 1 in every 75 of the 150,000 men, women and children who have crossed the Mediterranean in 2015 have died (figure may be dated now, has most likely increased)
Arrivals of asylum seekers and migrants by sea 2015/16
2015: 1,014,836 people
2016: 31,381 people
31% are children. 19% are women. 49% are men.
85% of people come from the world’s top refugee producing countries.
48% are Syrian. 21% are Afghan. 9% are Iraqi. 4% are Eritrean.
These numbers grow every day. In the summer month Greek Islands were receiving up to 1,000 people per day. Ireland has agreed to take in 4,000 people over a two year period.
Global context (UNHCR data): http://data.unhcr.org/
Where are Syrian refugees?
Jordan: 635,324 people | Lebanon 1,070,189 people | Turkey 2,503,549 people
Europe 813,599 people between Apr 2011 and Nov 2015
There are now 4 million refugees from Syria in neighbouring countries since early July – this is the largest refugee crisis since World War II;
Syrian conflict now in its 5th year.
Those who have reached Europe by boat last year were from Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan, according to figures compiled by the UN. These are countries torn apart by war, dictatorial oppression, and religious extremism – and, in Syria’s case, all three. Their citizens almost always have the legal right to refuge in Europe. And if you add to the mix those coming from Darfur, Iraq, Somalia, and some parts of Nigeria – then the total proportion of people likely to qualify for asylum rises to well over 70%.
Every 1 in 122 people are displaced and global forced displacement is now exceeding 50 million.
Other info
Some context:
a. A country that is more than 100 times smaller than the EU has already taken in more than 50 times as many refugees as the EU will even consider resettling in the future.
b. A country with the same size population as Ireland, roughly 4.5 million people, which is only half the size of Munster has taken in 1.2 million refugees. Ireland has agreed to take in 4,000 people over a two year period.
c. That country is the Lebanon.
A quarter of Europe's people are already aged 60 or more; by 2050 deaths will outnumber births by 32m. The UN warns that only migration will prevent the region's population from shrinking further. (Global population forecasts)
The number of people ‘forcibly displaced from their homes’ has, for the first time since the Second World War, risen to more than 50 million people.
50 million people is higher than the populations of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania combined!
It could be argued that Europe has forgotten its own history. In the last century, two world wars reduced millions of Europeans to refugees. The numbers of displaced in the world today are at levels not experienced since the Second World War, yet Europe dithers in its response to an increasingly urgent situation.
Ireland has the highest percentage of people living abroad out of all OECD countries. One out of every six Irish-born people currently resides in another country.