5 Countries contributing to the highest number of refugees: Forced To Leave

According to oxford dictionary a refugee is a person who has been forced to leave his/her country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster. United Nations High Commission for Refugees has stated in a report that 1 in every 113 human globally is either a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum. These are the list of top 5 countries contributing to the highest number of refugees in the world:

(V) Somalia : 1 Million refugees
Somalia’s ongoing civil war which started in 1991 gave rise to Al-Shabab an Islamic radical group linked with Al-Qaeda and is fighting the weak Somalian government for the creation of a fundamentalist Islamic state. It has taken control of large parts of Central and Southern Somalia and has carried out many terror strikes in Somalia and a few in Uganda and Kenya as these countries have joined the Somalian government to fight against it. It is infamous for forcing the harsh and regressive interpretation of Sharia law on people, carrying out public executions, harsh punishments like stoning and amputations, kidnapping children and forcing them to fight for their cause. The government is also accused of targeting and killing innocent civilians, destruction of property and sexual violence against women. The war- torn country also faces prolonged drought and that combined with the continued fighting has made the malnutrition rate very high in the country. People have fled to neighboring countries namely Kenya and Ethiopia to find food and safety. Source

(A newly arrived Somalian family in a refugee camp)

(IV) South Sudan: 1.1 million refugees
South Sudan fought its independence from Sudan and came into existence in 2011. The young nation located in the centre of Africa is fighting a civil war (2013 – present) between the governing SPLM party led by President Salva Kiir, from the country’s largest community Dinka and the rebel forces led by former vice president Riek Machar from the country’s second largest community Nuer. The war started because of political reasons but soon escalated into an ethnical conflict between the Dinka and the Nuer people. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in the war, sexual and human right violations have been committed by both the sides. Thousands of children instead of going to school have been recruited to fight in the war. The country is also facing severe food shortage as war has impaired farmers from sowing and harvesting their crops. Many people have fled to neighboring countries particularly Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Sudan to find shelter, food and other basic human necessities. Source

(South Sudanese seen leaving the village with their few belongings)

(III) Afghanistan: 2.7 million refugees
The complex and unpredictable political system in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989 from its soil nurtured the rise of an Islamic radical group- The Taliban. Its aim was to restore peace and enforce the harsh interpretation of Islam in the country. In their quest to control the country they killed thousands of civilians, burnt many houses and crops, enforced women to wear the head-to-toe burqa, punished men if their beard was short, banned music, internet and television. In 2001 the Taliban government was toppled with the help from the U.S and British forces and a democratic government was formed but the government security forces are not able to fight the Taliban who still torture and kill civilians, loot public and private properties, carry out suicide bomb attacks, rape women and girls.Many people have fled the country to lead a better life away from the violence. Pakistan and Iran host the maximum number of Afghan refugees. Afghanistan refugees make up the second largest refugee group to have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach the shores of Europe. Source

(An Afghan refugee holding his son sits on a rail track after crossing the Serbia-Hungary border)

(II) Syria Arab Republic: 4.9 million refugees
A rebel which started in March 2011 against the Syrian government headed by President Bashar al-Assad turned into a full-fledged civil war killing 250,000 people by August 2015. An extremist group Islamic State (IS) which came out of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) capitalized on the civil war and spread its operations to Syria. It has captured majority of northern and eastern Syria and has established a caliphate there. The rebel groups, government security forces and IS have been accused of war crimes, killing of innocent civilians, torture, rape and use of chemical weapons - including chlorine, ammonia and sulphur. Islamic State inflicts severe punishments like public execution, amputation on those who question its authority. It has been infamous for circulating the videos of brutal execution of various international reporters and humanitarian aid workers on internet for publicity The country has witnessed a large number of refugee exodus leaving for neighboring countries like Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.In 2015 Syrian refugees became the largest single group to have applied for asylum in Europe. Source

(Photo of a civil war victim)

(I) Palestine : 7.2 million refugees
With over 7 million refugees from Palestine, it is the largest refugee group in the world. The 1948 Arab-Israel war which led to the creation of the state of Israel destroyed 50% of Palestinian villages and forced them to move away from their home as there was a threat to their safety. It was followed by the 1967 Arab- Israel war where Israel occupied the Gaza strip and the West Bank which forced the Palestinians to run away to neighboring countries like Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Israel does not recognize Palestinian refugees right to return and is not willing to take them back as it believes that they pose a threat to its Jewish majority state and also reason their stand by stating that Israel does not have enough space to accommodate the refugees. United Nations relief and works agency (UNRWA) provides assistance and works programmes for around 5 million Palestinian refugees. Source

(Refugees walk around one of the first Palestinian refugees camp in 1952 in Lebanon)