Today’s Refugees Would Fill 1,166 LA Dodgers Stadiums
By Haley Agront
In 2015 65.3 million people were displaced in what United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called “the biggest refugee and displacement crisis of our time.”
Just how large of a population does that number represent? The LA Times shows us in this startling infographic. It would take 1,166 Dodger Stadiums, 435,334 Airbus A320 passenger jets, or 33,368 ships the size of the Queen Mary to hold that many people.
Developing nations took in 86 percent of these refugees, with Turkey in the lead, hosting 2.5 million refugees, mostly from Syria. In stark contrast, The United States has only admitted about 3,000 Syrians since the start of the conflict in 2011.
In solidarity with the world’s refugees, on June 20th—World Refugee Day—Human Rights First released an open statement of principles signed by prominent national security leaders, retired military leaders, and former government officials that called for the United States to uphold its founding ideals and reaffirm its commitment to refugee resettlement.
America has a long history in protecting the rights of refugees, and should not back down from its commitments in the ongoing displacement crisis. Welcoming more refugees into America strengthens our relationships with our allies who are hosting a majority of the world’s refugees and helps to protect our national security.
Learn more about how Refugees Renew America.
