Refugee Resettlements – A burning Issue of World Humanity. 

            2016  is the deadliest year so far for refugees in the Central Mediterranean.  As per the estimate of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) about 400,000 Refugees from the Afro-Asian and the Middle East – mainly from Syria – escaping war, persecution, and poverty have entered Europe.  One of the most common routes for those fleeing the war-torn nation involves moving across seven countries by foot, boat, and train.  The chances of dying on the Libya to Italy route are ten times higher than when crossing from Turkey to Greece.  Syrians are fleeing their country because it is engulfed in a civil war that has killed more than 220,000 people since 2011, the UN estimates. There could be 4.27 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN by the end of 2015.

                An estimated 200,000 Syrian refugees are staying in camps of Turkish cities along the Syria border. A large number are in a camp at Nizup, while many others are entering through the border at Akcakale, in the southeastern Turkish province of Sanliurfa.  According to local Turkish median at least in 10 cities the number of Syrian refugees “now constitutes a sizeable portion of the city”, including in Kilis, which sits on the border.

             The United Nations refugee agency today flagged that while the number of deaths of refugees seeking safety via the Turkey- Greece route into Europe has fallen dramatically, the use of the North Africa-Italy route 

has remained constant – with the latter experiencing an increase in the number of deaths, making 2016 the deadliest year so far for refugees in the Central Mediterranean.  The chances of dying on the Libya to Italy route are ten times higher than when crossing from Turkey to Greece   UNHCR says, the number of refugees arriving in Greece has dropped dramatically, from over 67,000 in January 2016 to 3,437 in August 2016, following the closure of the so-called Balkan route and the implementation of the European Union-Turkey Statement, an agreement on methods to end the irregular migration from Turkey to the EU and replace it instead with legal channels of resettlement.  The number of arrivals to Italy, meanwhile, has remained more or less constant, with some 115,000 refugees and migrants landing in Italy as of the end of August this year, compared to 116,000 during the same period last year. 

         “The main change, however, has been the number of casualties,” Mr. Spindler the UNHCR spokesperson said. “So far this year, one person has died for every 42 crossing from North Africa to Italy, compared to one in every 52 last year – this makes 2016 to date the deadliest year on record in the Central Mediterranean.”

          Overall, during the first eight months of 2016, some 281,740 people have made the sea crossing to Europe, with UNCHR that some 4,176 people have died or gone  

missing on the Mediterranean since this time last year – an average of 11 men, women and children perishing every day over the last 12 months. 

               In his remarks, Mr. Spindler the UNHCR spokesperson noted that it was also one year since the drowning of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi while attempting to enter Europe via the Turkey-Greece route with his family – an image of his corpse had led to strong international outcry over the circumstances of people seeking refuge in Europe.

               “The death of Alan Kurdi resulted in unprecedented expressions of sympathy and solidarity for refugees all over Europe, with many people volunteering to help and spontaneously giving food, water and clothes to refugees.