Refugee Statistics
1st May 2018
Since the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011, around 6.1million Syrians have fled the country, according to research conducted by the United Nation’s in 2016. The problem of refugees has subsequently become a hot topic around the world, especially in the West; with people complaining that the influx of refugees has impacted upon their society's.
However, is the claim that Western countries have taken on “too many responsibilities,” true?
Source: UNHCR Global Trends 2016, http://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends2016/
As the data from the United Nation's Refugee Agency (UNHCR) shows, Turkey received the largest amount of new refugees at the end of 2016, hosting 2.9 million, up from 2.5 million in 2015. Pakistan was the second- largest hosting country, with 1.4 million refugees at the end of 2016, closely followed by Lebanon who were hosting just over 1 million. Except for Germany, the other nine major refugee-hosting countries were developing countries or least developed countries (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and Uganda).
Refugees in the UK
As the UNHCR’s statistics showed, about 84% of refugees worldwide live in developing countries, not in industrialised ones. Regarding the UK, 26,350 refugees applied for asylum in 2017. This was a 14% reduction from the year before, leaving the United Kingdom ranking fifth among the EU’s 28 member states. Conversely, Germany accepted the highest number of applications (199,200), followed by Italy (128,800), and France (98,800).
Source: Immigration statistics, October to December 2017 second edition, UK Government Home Office.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
Refugees in the North East
The North East is known for its friendly nature, and there is a lot of support for refugees, something they recognise themselves; but it is only one side of the story....
Police Logs reveal a 450% increase calls containing "refugee"
A Freedom of Information request to Northumbria Police revealed that there was a 450% increase from 9-51 in calls to the police including the term "refugee*" between 2014- 2017. Calls spiked in 2016, when over the course of the year Northumbria police received 62 phone calls. Both June and November saw surges with 13 and 25 calls logged in the respective months.
The spike in figures during 2016 correlates with nationalist sentiment and divisive issues raised during the Brexit campaign and referendum. During the campaign, the Leave movement was accused of stoking divisions with some of their political material.
Additionally, November’s surge in calls corresponds with Donald Trump’s presidential election. This shows even international foreign affairs have a palpable effect on the lived experiences of refugees in Britain.
The Freedom of Information request also revealed that there were three calls between 2016-17 containing both the terms ‘hate crime’ and ‘refugee’ in the first three lines of the police log. As no calls containing both terms were recorded in 2014 or 2015, it appears that Brexit has had an impact on the integration of refugees in society; though hate crimes against refugees may have been taking place beforehand, but not being reported.
‘By definition there are no refugees in Newcastle. They are all illegal immigrants’ – That is how the Newcastle Upon Tyne branch of the EDL responded to our request to speak with them about refugees integrating into North East Life.
Definitions as set out by the UNHCR. Source: https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/what-is-a-refugee/)
Since Newcastle City Council signed up the Syrian Vulnerable Person Refugee Scheme (SVPRS), 171 refugees have been resettled in the local authority over two years. This makes it the second highest local authority in the North East to receive Syrian refugees after Gateshead who had 199 over the same period.
Graph comparing the number of refugees in Newcastle, Gateshead and County Durham compared to the rest of the North East. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
Though the SVPRS was established in 2014, only 216 refugees were resettled in the whole of Britain over one year. The graphs below start at the end of 2015 when the British Government significantly extended its pledge to the SVPRS, promising to accommodate an extra 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020.
Graph comparing the number of Syrian refugees resettled through the SVPRS in the North East and the United Kingdom as a whole over two years.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
Graph comparing the total number of people receiving Section 95 Support in the United Kingdom and the North East. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
Though Vox pops conducted in Newcastle City Centre generally expressed support for refugees, there were concerns about the number arriving in the North East, but also about refugees being Muslim. Laughing Nelli Stavropoulou said; "The reason why I am laughing is because we have such a diverse and expansive Muslim society in Newcastle that I don’t understand why asylum seekers and refugees who are Muslim would necessarily cause a threat. Especially if we already have the infrastructure and community here." She continued to explain that the current world climate and apprehensions surrounding Brexit create divisions and othering processes where individuals that are different create a sense of fear.
Vox pops in Newcastle City Centre
*Police call logs only contain the first three lines of the incident description; the term refugee may have occurred in other call logs, but if it did not occur in the first three lines, then they were not picked up by this dataset.