the care and resettlement of Europeans that were made homeless by World War II. It terminated its work in 1952 after resettling around 1,000,000 people and was superseded by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Around the world, there are over 100 million people living in countries not their own, against their wills and another 25 million are displaced within their own countries. In 1974, there were 2.4 million refugees in the world, by 1980, there were seven million and by 1994 estimates of internal and international refugees was 49 million, rising rapidly. Tens of millions of unrecognized people are also on the move for many reasons. The United Nations takes the lead in providing help to refugees. The UN's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is struggling to help the flood of migrants. The Commission now has an annual budget of 1.3 billion dollars and its staff has doubled in recent years; it was begun as a temporary agency but is now a permanent fixture.
The UNHCR is chronically short of money. Funds come from the voluntary contributions of UN member states. In late 1994 it was 30 percent short of its financial targets; contributions of 60 million were needed but only 18 million were received. Increased needs for services and a lack of funding brings concern for the future of UNHCR. Many believe the agency should return to its original job of protecting refugees, others want the agency to expand to new areas. The UNHCR has been involved in delivering aid, providing medical evacuations, and helping orphanages and old people's homes.
Distinctions are being made between good and bad migrants. Good migrants are trying to escape political, religious, or other oppression. Bad migrants are trying to improve their standard of living. Receiving countries blame migrants for increased unemployment, crime, and other social ills; studies show this is not true and migrants become a scap...