Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Quito (Agenzia Fides) - The year 2011 was a "record year" for displacement, considering the figures since 2000: says a report published by the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) of which a copy was sent to Fides. Regarding the situation in America, Ecuador is the country with the largest number of refugees: there are 55,092 people and at the end of 2011 more than 20,000 applications for asylum were pending.
Second place: Costa Rica, which granted refugee status to 12,571 people displaced because of armed conflicts. The number of registered refugees in Argentina, Chile, Panama, Brazil and Mexico increased in 2011 compared to previous years. In Argentina, the figure of 3,276 refugees registered in 2010 increased to 3,361 in 2011. Of the 1,621 registered refugees in Chile in 2010, in 2011 increased to 1,674. In Brazil the number of registered refugees in the same year is 4,477 compared to 4,359 people registered in 2010. In Panama, the number of refugees increased from 2,073 in 2010 to 2,262 at the end of 2011. Even Mexico increased the total number of refugees: in 2010 it had 1,395 and in 2011 was 1,677. In Venezuela, people recognized as refugees were 3,175, already in 2010 they were more than 2,900.
According to the report, America is characterized by a particular sense of solidarity towards refugees, based on the continuing efforts to develop programs and activities that allow for the international protection of those who were forced to leave everything behind. Although the majority of African Americans are facing serious economic problems and crises, and open their borders to allow refugees to find shelter in their territory. According to the report, the largest group of refugees come from Colombia, with 392,600 people. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 20/6/2012)
