48 million human beings made into refugees and displaced people

Now, try to imagine bombs falling all over and near your lovely little houses in the West and you and your family becoming either refugees or displaced people.  And, if you can tear yourself away for a minute or two, from the Hollywood mags and stories of the rich and famous, try to educate yourself as to why these people have become so.  If you have not lost all your analytical abilities with the constant brainwashing you get from whatever mindless things you read or watch, you will quickly come to the conclusion that the West, primarily the USA is responsible for at least 80% of the misery inflicted on those who have now become stateless. If you are a citizen of the USA or a citizen of the West, that's something to be proud of, right?

Brian Stewart writing at CBC:
.....One of the more comforting claims in recent years is that the world is a less violent place than the blood-soaked centuries gone by.

But try telling that to the current wave of some 48 million refugees and displaced people from today's wars and conflict zones. Most are now crammed into often squalid and unsafe camps as they wait in increasing desperation for a home, somewhere.

The numbers are so breathtaking that they take a while to settle into the mind. We're talking about 13 million more people than live in all of Canada.  

To break it down: 15 million are "external refugees" who have fled their borders, while another 33.5 million are "internally displaced," and live in camps within their own countries, which are often wracked by violence.

International organizations give every indication of being overwhelmed, and no wonder.

Just compare this 48 million with one of the greatest humanitarian crises in history — when a shattered Europe at the end of the Second World War had to resettle a staggering 16 million displaced persons.

A horrifying number certainly, but only a third as many as we have now.

To make matters worse, the crisis is happening at a time when ever more countries are putting up new barriers and taking in fewer refugees. 

The result is that while over eight million newly displaced refugees are being added annually (equivalent to the population of Quebec), barely one per cent of those seeking asylum are resettled in any given year.........