(Estimated Pub Date) the Challenge of Ethnic Conflict to National and International Order in the 1990S: Geographic Perspectives- October 1995

Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268
and who is not a refugee is probably irrelevant, given
the ever-expanding number of groups worldwide who
are just as persecuted and uprooted as official refu-
gees. '
.
~‘
The problem of accurate accounting of refugees goes
way beyond the definitional problem, however. Every
day, we hear new figures about how many refugees are
here or there. Refugee statistics are fraught with
untruths and inaccuracies. Do not believe any of the
figures you hear; they are all made up. Most of these
figures are from thirdhand or fourtbhand sources,
many of whom are unreliable. There are vested
groups—including the refugees themselves—who
want those figures either inflated or deflated for their
particular interests. The numbers only provide a rela-
tive approximation of how many are in one region vis-
a-vis another, and they change dramatically over time.
Today, official recognized bona fide refugees—those
who register with the UN after crossing an intema-
tional border—number over 17 million. Broken down
regionally, they include:
~ In Africa, 5.7 million. This is so far below the actual
number; it is not even close. Africa is one of"the
worst regions.
~ In Europe and North America, 3.4 million. Of
course, this does not include what is going on in
Georgia.
~ In Latin America, 107,700, primarily in Central
America. '
' In East Asia and the Pacific, 399,000.
~ In the Middle East, 5.5 million.
' In South and Central Asia, 2.3 million.
More important than these numbers, however, are the
50 million intemally displaced people who are not
recognized as refugees. These are the people who
have never had any form of internationally recognized
status and who are probably never going to attain
nationhood. They are not counted. They are the
majority of displaced peoples in the world. They do
not consider themselves to be part of-any country and
have no sense of belonging to an individual, extant
country. That is the case whether we are talking about
Georgia or Burma or Afghanistan.
Meeting Refugee Needs
In terms of who attends to refugees, it is quite telling
to look at where the money comes from to support ref-
ugee aid. In absolute terms, the United States devotes
the most money, while the European Community as a
whole devotes the second-largest amount. I think a
better way to look at this, however, is on a per capita
basis. North European countries—notably, Norway-
give a disproportionate amount of money to the care
and treatment of refugees. Using this criteria, the
United States falls to about l0th or llth place.
There are strings attached to all this money. When a
country donates money to the UN, it always attaches a
string dictating where its aid can go. Aid from the
United States and the European Community always
goes to countries and regions where strong trade alli-
ances exist with the donor.
In any case, the people with the power and the money
are in the United States and Europe; they do not give
money to Africa until conditions there get out of con-
trol. And often, the humanitarian situation in Africa is
muted because__many of‘those affected are not, by def-
inition, real refugees because they have not crossed
any intemational borders. As far as the displaced are
concerned, however, when they leave their tribal or
clan homeland, they have crossed a border; they do
not need to go any farther than that. (Indeed, many
Africans do not recognize international borders on
their continent except as lines on the map.) As such,
money is not earmarked for most African areas until
conditions flare up to the extent that they become of
intemational concem. This usually occurs only after
the situation has already spiraled out of control.
156
Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268