The Canberra Times
OPINIONAndrew Giles
June 19 2020
Rohingya Muslims who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, wait for their turn to collect food aid at the Cox's Bazar refugee camp in 2017. Picture: Shutterstock
It's said that crises expose and exacerbate existing structural weaknesses.
The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing and exacerbating one of our greatest weaknesses - the treatment of refugees and people seeking asylum around the world.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates there are now more than 70 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, including almost 30 million refugees and more than 40 million who have fled to other parts of their own country. Last year more people were forcibly internally displaced than ever before.