Some are seen lying on the roadside, while others, who have lost their families, and quite a few are seen striving all alone. Images of such humanitarian crises emerge immediately after a war breaks out. Only the impact of a war varies from country to country. What is happening in Ukraine is terrible, as nearly 2.2 million people perished in the first couple of weeks of the Russian invasion that began on February 24, 2022. UNHCR Chief Filippo Grandi called it a “terrible milestone“, saying that a total of 37 million people lived in areas controlled by the Government of Ukraine prior to the Russian invasion. However, 6% of them have been rendered homeless, added the UNHCR chief. The number of foreign nationals leaving Ukraine has also exceeded 0.1 million. The world has not seen such an influx of refugees in the 21st Century. In fact, apart from the Yugoslav War of the 1990s, Europe did not experience such an unprecedented scenario after the Second World War. The UN has used the term phenomenal in various reports on the Ukraine crisis.

The refugee crisis has taken an unprecedented turn in the 21st Century. As per a report prepared by the UN, six people used to lose their homes every minute at the beginning of this Century. The number has jumped to 24 in the last two decades. At present, more than 60 million people are homeless, and this is the biggest humanitarian crisis in the post-Second World War era. Nearly 20 million people have become refugees due to six wars or economic crises (Iraq, Libya, Syria, South Sudan, Venezuela and Myanmar) in the 21st Century. People in Palestine and Somalia have long been going through such a crisis. Various governments, voluntary organisations, and higher education institutions are concerned about this danger, while different disciplines of education are engaged in research and study on this particular issue. In such a scenario, Russia launched a military operation in neighbouring Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Even in the 21st Century, human beings have not learnt the actual meaning of Civilisation, it seems.

Perhaps, Diplomacy and strategic aspects of Politics are responsible for this, rather, the habit of considering it as collateral damage has become normal, and this tendency helps people stay calm, these days. According to researchers, there is a direct relation between the arms trade and the refugee crisis. Most of the border guards in West Asia and North Africa are large arms dealers. In other words, those, who initiate the refugee crisis, benefit the most from its consequences. Hence, one can easily understand the cause of the conflict.

Studies, which have revealed this fact, have further elucidated how events, which are seemingly existing on a different parallel, thus posing little threat to human beings, could be turned into a major one. The problem boils down to the fact that whether the political leaders have ceased to be responsible to the society politically, else why would they choose this path?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reminded the global community of this fundamental crisis, yet again.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das