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People fleeing through the desert (©Ömer Ünlü)
Do. 26.05.2022
Xplus: People fleeing – global causes and consequences
In this special program we look at different topics that are related to the topic of flight. Find out why protection status S is currently only used for refugees from Ukraine. Hear arguments why all refugees should have the same rights in Europe and Switzerland. And find out why the baker in Niger is out of work because of the war in Ukraine. by Danielle Burgin
05/22/26 and 05/22/28 Xplus on the subject of escape
In this special show, we show how everything is connected from a global perspective: from the war in Ukraine to expensive wheat, climate flight and refugee protection in Europe.
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The war against Ukraine has shocked people across Europe. The solidarity is enormous – also in Switzerland. In order to be able to act quickly and unbureaucratically, Switzerland has been using the Protection Status S for refugees from Ukraine. Organizations like that applaud this Refugee aid Switzerland. However, it is important that the same rights are applied to all refugees, regardless of their region.
“The solidarity of Europe and Switzerland with the war refugees from Ukraine shows what is possible if the political will is there,” says Miriam Behrens, Director of Swiss Refugee Aid.
Rapid and decisive political action in the name of solidarity and refugee protection would also be required elsewhere. After all, the main burden of global refugee protection is mostly borne by the neighboring countries of crisis areas.
Two-tier system for refugees?
There are few opportunities for refugees to seek protection in European countries such as Switzerland without having to take life-threatening escape routes. “The solidarity with the people from Ukraine cannot hide the fact that refugee protection is under pressure worldwide. However, there must not be a two-tier system. Refugees must have equal access to protection everywhere,” says Anja Klug, Head of the UNHCR Office for Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
There are numerous reasons why people have to leave their homes. In addition to the war, more and more people are fleeing because of the climate crisis. On the website of UN refugee aid you will learn that natural disasters cause more than three times as many displacements as conflict and violence. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC), according to the UNHCR, around 30.7 million people had to leave their homes in 2020 due to natural events such as constant rain, prolonged drought, heat waves and storms, both in the short and long term.
Famine due to war in Ukraine?
The price of wheat has risen drastically in recent weeks. For the people in East Africa, in the Sahel zone, but also in other regions, this means that they face unemployment – in the worst case, a famine. Because many countries in the Global South and East import more products than they export goods. They are therefore dependent on their suppliers. However, if the suppliers – as in the case of wheat – produce in the Ukraine, there are dramatic supply bottlenecks. And these in turn lead to numerous negative consequences for the customers who remain without goods. This explains to us Thais in the Smitten from the Swiss aid organization Swissaid.
In this program we use several examples to show that a global rethinking must take place on several levels so that there is more justice and worldwide solidarity.
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