7 crore people displaced worldwide last year

The UN refugee agency has confirmed that more than 71 million people in the world have been displaced from their native home due to war, persecution and other violence. Some four-fifths of the displacement situations have lasted more than five years.

Geneva:More than 71 million people in the world have been displaced from their native places in the past year. Most of them from war-torn Syria.

In a sad reflection on the human plight, the UNHCR or the UN Refugee Agency in its annual report the ' Global Trends' has stated that the number of displaced people in the past year has gone up from 68.5 million in 2017 up to 70.8 million in 2018. The Agency adds that its findings give a conservative estimate, the actual number of displaced persons may be higher.

The main reason why people leave their places is mainly turmoil in their own countries, often resulting from war, economic mess, government oppression, gang killings, sexual abuse, militia murders, etc. For example, while it is war in Syria, it is economic travails in Venezuela.

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees says, "This movement of people is due to many reasons. It is what we would call a mixed flow. There's no doubt about that. Some people are looking for better economic opportunities and others, however, and I was there as you know, you remember - others are there... are fleeing because of the horrifying violence that is perpetrated against them."

The UN Refugee Agency expresses concern at the dangerous conditions the refugees go through while migrating to safer lands. People struggle to survive by crossing rivers, deserts, seas, fences and other barriers, natural and man-made, the report says.

The UN Refugee Commissioner says that countries, where the refugees seek asylum, should be more compassionate. They should not look upon refugees as threats to their countries.