In 2014, the number of asylum-seekers and refugees across the world surged past 50 million, coming close to 60 million, a nation of the displaced almost equal to the population of the United Kingdom, said the Washington Post in June.
Chaos, war, famine, and government instability has forced many people to flee their homes in desperation. But many of the systems in place for managing this migration crisis have broken down. In some cases, refugees are stuck in refugee camps for years, even decades with no hope or future, no chance for human rights or a real home.
San Francisco real estate tycoon Jason Buzi, originally from Israel, has come up with what some people are calling a “hair-brained” idea. It’s a plan to solve the global refugee crisis by creating a new country for them. No, Buzi isn’t a politician or academic. He doesn’t work with refugees directly, either.
Buzi calls his project Refugee Nation. His message is simple and to the point. He says the world’s governments have failed to deal with the problem and it’s time for a “radical solution.” He writes, “Today’s status quo — where millions of refugees around the world continue to lead miserable and hopeless lives — is intolerable.”
“Just because something has gone on for many years doesn’t make it acceptable. Ask the millions living in refugee camps around the world how they feel about waiting 10, 20, or 30 more years before having a real life, human rights, and a home.”
Buzi talked to the Washington Post by phone the other day, pointing out that the idea would be to give these stateless people a “state of their own, at least they’d have a place to live in safety and be allowed to live and work like everybody else.”
Many people dismiss the idea of giving all those people someplace to set up their own country, saying it’s like a science-fiction story but is it, really? Buzi cites the nation of Israel, a homeland created for the Jewish people after WWII. “Israel was essentially founded as a refugee nation, exclusively for Jewish refugees,” he writes.
Buzi is calling on the world’s billionaires to chip in, as well as the United Nations and the world’s nations to make Refugee Nation a reality. “If even one of [the world’s 2000 billionaires] can be persuaded to enthusiastically embrace the cause, success becomes much more likely,” he writes.
“For instance, one billionaire could buy multiple islands or a vast area of land where the new nation could be implemented. They may even be able to help transport many thousands of refugees to their new home. Sooner or later, sovereignty should follow. Their contribution or investment in an economy, may also persuade a country to take in a large number of refugees.”
Is this a well-thought-out idea, or an off-the-wall solution to the a crisis that isn’t getting any better? What do you think of a Refugee Nation?
