TED2016
Alexander Betts: Our refugee system is failing. Here's how we can fix it
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A million refugees arrived in Europe this year, says Alexander Betts, and "our response, frankly, has been pathetic." Betts studies forced migration, the impossible choice for families between the camps, urban poverty and dangerous illegal journeys to safety. In this insightful talk, he offers four ways to change the way we treat refugees, so they can make an immediate contribution to their new homes. "There's nothing inevitable about refugees being a cost," Betts says. "They're human beings with skills, talents, aspirations, with the ability to make contributions -- if we let them."
Alexander Betts - Social scientist
Alexander Betts explores ways societies might empower refugees rather than pushing them to the margins. Full bio
Alexander Betts explores ways societies might empower refugees rather than pushing them to the margins. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
There are times when I feel
really quite ashamed
really quite ashamed
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to be a European.
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In the last year,
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more than a million people
arrived in Europe in need of our help,
arrived in Europe in need of our help,
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and our response,
frankly, has been pathetic.
frankly, has been pathetic.
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There are just so many contradictions.
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We mourn the tragic death
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of two-year-old Alan Kurdi,
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and yet, since then,
more than 200 children
more than 200 children
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have subsequently drowned
in the Mediterranean.
in the Mediterranean.
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We have international treaties
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that recognize that refugees
are a shared responsibility,
are a shared responsibility,
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and yet we accept that tiny Lebanon
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hosts more Syrians
than the whole of Europe combined.
than the whole of Europe combined.
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We lament the existence
of human smugglers,
of human smugglers,
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and yet we make that the only viable route
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to seek asylum in Europe.
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We have labor shortages,
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and yet we exclude people who fit
our economic and demographic needs
our economic and demographic needs
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from coming to Europe.
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We proclaim our liberal values
in opposition to fundamentalist Islam,
in opposition to fundamentalist Islam,
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and yet --
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we have repressive policies
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that detain child asylum seekers,
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that separate children
from their families,
from their families,
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and that seize property from refugees.
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What are we doing?
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How has the situation come to this,
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that we've adopted such an inhumane
response to a humanitarian crisis?
response to a humanitarian crisis?
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I don't believe
it's because people don't care,
it's because people don't care,
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or at least I don't want to believe
it's because people don't care.
it's because people don't care.
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I believe it's because
our politicians lack a vision,
our politicians lack a vision,
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a vision for how to adapt
an international refugee system
an international refugee system
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created over 50 years ago
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for a changing and globalized world.
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And so what I want to do
is take a step back
is take a step back
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and ask two really fundamental questions,
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the two questions we all need to ask.
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First, why is the current
system not working?
system not working?
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And second, what can we do to fix it?
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So the modern refugee regime
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was created in the aftermath
of the Second World War by these guys.
of the Second World War by these guys.
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Its basic aim is to ensure
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that when a state fails,
or worse, turns against its own people,
or worse, turns against its own people,
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people have somewhere to go,
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to live in safety and dignity
until they can go home.
until they can go home.
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It was created precisely for situations
like the situation we see in Syria today.
like the situation we see in Syria today.
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Through an international convention
signed by 147 governments,
signed by 147 governments,
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the 1951 Convention
on the Status of Refugees,
on the Status of Refugees,
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and an international organization, UNHCR,
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states committed to reciprocally
admit people onto their territory
admit people onto their territory
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who flee conflict and persecution.
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But today, that system is failing.
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In theory, refugees
have a right to seek asylum.
have a right to seek asylum.
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In practice, our immigration policies
block the path to safety.
block the path to safety.
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In theory, refugees have a right
to a pathway to integration,
to a pathway to integration,
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or return to the country
they've come from.
they've come from.
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But in practice, they get stuck
in almost indefinite limbo.
in almost indefinite limbo.
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In theory, refugees
are a shared global responsibility.
are a shared global responsibility.
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In practice, geography means
that countries proximate the conflict
that countries proximate the conflict
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take the overwhelming majority
of the world's refugees.
of the world's refugees.
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The system isn't broken
because the rules are wrong.
because the rules are wrong.
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It's that we're not applying them
adequately to a changing world,
adequately to a changing world,
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and that's what we need to reconsider.
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So I want to explain to you a little bit
about how the current system works.
about how the current system works.
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How does the refugee regime actually work?
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But not from a top-down
institutional perspective,
institutional perspective,
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rather from the perspective of a refugee.
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So imagine a Syrian woman.
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Let's call her Amira.
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And Amira to me represents
many of the people I've met in the region.
many of the people I've met in the region.
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Amira, like around 25 percent
of the world's refugees,
of the world's refugees,
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is a woman with children,
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and she can't go home
because she comes from this city
because she comes from this city
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that you see before you, Homs,
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a once beautiful and historic city
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now under rubble.
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And so Amira can't go back there.
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But Amira also has no hope
of resettlement to a third country,
of resettlement to a third country,
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because that's a lottery ticket
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only available to less than one percent
of the world's refugees.
of the world's refugees.
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So Amira and her family
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face an almost impossible choice.
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They have three basic options.
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The first option is that Amira
can take her family to a camp.
can take her family to a camp.
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In the camp, she might get assistance,
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but there are very few prospects
for Amira and her family.
for Amira and her family.
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Camps are in bleak, arid locations,
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often in the desert.
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In the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan,
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you can hear the shells
across the border in Syria at nighttime.
across the border in Syria at nighttime.
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There's restricted economic activity.
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Education is often of poor quality.
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And around the world,
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some 80 percent of refugees
who are in camps
who are in camps
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have to stay for at least five years.
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It's a miserable existence,
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and that's probably why, in reality,
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only nine percent of Syrians
choose that option.
choose that option.
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Alternatively, Amira can head
to an urban area
to an urban area
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in a neighboring country,
like Amman or Beirut.
like Amman or Beirut.
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That's an option that about 75 percent
of Syrian refugees have taken.
of Syrian refugees have taken.
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But there, there's
great difficulty as well.
great difficulty as well.
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Refugees in such urban areas
don't usually have the right to work.
don't usually have the right to work.
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They don't usually get
significant access to assistance.
significant access to assistance.
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And so when Amira and her family
have used up their basic savings,
have used up their basic savings,
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they're left with very little
and likely to face urban destitution.
and likely to face urban destitution.
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So there's a third alternative,
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and it's one that increasing
numbers of Syrians are taking.
numbers of Syrians are taking.
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Amira can seek some hope for her family
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by risking their lives
on a dangerous and perilous journey
on a dangerous and perilous journey
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to another country,
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and it's that which we're seeing
in Europe today.
in Europe today.
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Around the world, we present refugees
with an almost impossible choice
with an almost impossible choice
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between three options:
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encampment, urban destitution
and dangerous journeys.
and dangerous journeys.
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For refugees, that choice is
the global refugee regime today.
the global refugee regime today.
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But I think it's a false choice.
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I think we can reconsider that choice.
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The reason why we limit those options
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is because we think
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that those are the only options
that are available to refugees,
that are available to refugees,
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and they're not.
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Politicians frame the issue
as a zero-sum issue,
as a zero-sum issue,
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that if we benefit refugees,
we're imposing costs on citizens.
we're imposing costs on citizens.
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We tend to have a collective assumption
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that refugees are an inevitable cost
or burden to society.
or burden to society.
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But they don't have to.
They can contribute.
They can contribute.
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So what I want to argue
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is there are ways in which we can
expand that choice set
expand that choice set
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and still benefit everyone else:
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the host states and communities,
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our societies and refugees themselves.
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And I want to suggest four ways
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we can transform the paradigm
of how we think about refugees.
of how we think about refugees.
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All four ways have one thing in common:
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they're all ways in which we take
the opportunities of globalization,
the opportunities of globalization,
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mobility and markets,
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and update the way we think
about the refugee issue.
about the refugee issue.
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The first one I want to think about
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is the idea of enabling environments,
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and it starts from
a very basic recognition
a very basic recognition
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that refugees are human beings
like everyone else,
like everyone else,
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but they're just
in extraordinary circumstances.
in extraordinary circumstances.
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Together with my colleagues in Oxford,
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we've embarked on
a research project in Uganda
a research project in Uganda
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looking at the economic lives of refugees.
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We chose Uganda not because
it's representative of all host countries.
it's representative of all host countries.
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It's not. It's exceptional.
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Unlike most host countries
around the world,
around the world,
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what Uganda has done
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is give refugees economic opportunity.
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It gives them the right to work.
It gives them freedom of movement.
It gives them freedom of movement.
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And the results of that are extraordinary
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both for refugees and the host community.
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In the capital city, Kampala,
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we found that 21 percent of refugees
own a business that employs other people,
own a business that employs other people,
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and 40 percent of those employees
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are nationals of the host country.
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In other words, refugees are making jobs
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for citizens of the host country.
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Even in the camps,
we found extraordinary examples
we found extraordinary examples
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of vibrant, flourishing
and entrepreneurial businesses.
and entrepreneurial businesses.
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For example, in a settlement
called Nakivale,
called Nakivale,
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we found examples of Congolese refugees
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running digital music exchange businesses.
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We found a Rwandan
who runs a business that's available
who runs a business that's available
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to allow the youth to play computer games
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on recycled games consoles
and recycled televisions.
and recycled televisions.
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Against the odds of extreme constraint,
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refugees are innovating,
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and the gentleman you see before you
is a Congolese guy called Demou-Kay.
is a Congolese guy called Demou-Kay.
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Demou-Kay arrived
in the settlement with very little,
in the settlement with very little,
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but he wanted to be a filmmaker.
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So with friends and colleagues,
he started a community radio station,
he started a community radio station,
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he rented a video camera,
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and he's now making films.
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He made two documentary films
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with and for our team,
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and he's making a successful business
out of very little.
out of very little.
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It's those kinds of examples
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that should guide
our response to refugees.
our response to refugees.
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Rather than seeing refugees
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as inevitably dependent
upon humanitarian assistance,
upon humanitarian assistance,
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we need to provide them
with opportunities for human flourishing.
with opportunities for human flourishing.
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Yes, clothes, blankets, shelter, food
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are all important in the emergency phase,
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but we need to also look beyond that.
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We need to provide opportunities
to connectivity, electricity,
to connectivity, electricity,
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education, the right to work,
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access to capital and banking.
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All the ways in which we take for granted
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that we are plugged in
to the global economy
to the global economy
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can and should apply to refugees.
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The second idea I want to discuss
is economic zones.
is economic zones.
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Unfortunately, not every
host country in the world
host country in the world
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takes the approach Uganda has taken.
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Most host countries don't open up
their economies to refugees
their economies to refugees
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in the same way.
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But there are still pragmatic
alternative options that we can use.
alternative options that we can use.
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Last April, I traveled to Jordan
with my colleague,
with my colleague,
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the development economist Paul Collier,
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and we brainstormed an idea
while we were there
while we were there
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with the international community
and the government,
and the government,
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an idea to bring jobs to Syrians
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while supporting Jordan's
national development strategy.
national development strategy.
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The idea is for an economic zone,
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one in which we could potentially
integrate the employment of refugees
integrate the employment of refugees
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alongside the employment
of Jordanian host nationals.
of Jordanian host nationals.
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And just 15 minutes away
from the Zaatari refugee camp,
from the Zaatari refugee camp,
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home to 83,000 refugees,
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is an existing economic zone
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called the King Hussein
Bin Talal Development Area.
Bin Talal Development Area.
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The government has spent
over a hundred million dollars
over a hundred million dollars
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connecting it to the electricity grid,
connecting it to the road network,
connecting it to the road network,
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but it lacked two things:
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access to labor and inward investment.
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So what if refugees
were able to work there
were able to work there
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rather than being stuck in camps,
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able to support their families and develop
skills through vocational training
skills through vocational training
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before they go back to Syria?
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We recognized that
that could benefit Jordan,
that could benefit Jordan,
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whose development strategy
requires it to make the leap
requires it to make the leap
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as a middle income country
to manufacturing.
to manufacturing.
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It could benefit refugees,
but it could also contribute
but it could also contribute
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to the postconflict
reconstruction of Syria
reconstruction of Syria
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by recognizing that we need
to incubate refugees
to incubate refugees
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as the best source
of eventually rebuilding Syria.
of eventually rebuilding Syria.
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We published the idea
in the journal Foreign Affairs.
in the journal Foreign Affairs.
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King Abdullah has picked up on the idea.
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It was announced at the London
Syria Conference two weeks ago,
Syria Conference two weeks ago,
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and a pilot will begin in the summer.
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(Applause)
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The third idea that I want to put to you
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is preference matching
between states and refugees
between states and refugees
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to lead to the kinds of happy outcomes
you see here in the selfie
you see here in the selfie
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featuring Angela Merkel
and a Syrian refugee.
and a Syrian refugee.
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What we rarely do is ask refugees
what they want, where they want to go,
what they want, where they want to go,
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but I'd argue we can do that
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and still make everyone better off.
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The economist Alvin Roth has developed
the idea of matching markets,
the idea of matching markets,
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ways in which the preference ranking
of the parties shapes an eventual match.
of the parties shapes an eventual match.
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My colleagues Will Jones
and Alex Teytelboym
and Alex Teytelboym
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have explored ways in which that idea
could be applied to refugees,
could be applied to refugees,
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to ask refugees to rank
their preferred destinations,
their preferred destinations,
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but also allow states to rank
the types of refugees they want
the types of refugees they want
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on skills criteria or language criteria
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and allow those to match.
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Now, of course
you'd need to build in quotas
you'd need to build in quotas
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on things like diversity
and vulnerability,
and vulnerability,
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but it's a way of increasing
the possibilities of matching.
the possibilities of matching.
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The matching idea
has been successfully used
has been successfully used
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to match, for instance,
students with university places,
students with university places,
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to match kidney donors with patients,
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and it underlies the kind of algorithms
that exist on dating websites.
that exist on dating websites.
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So why not apply that
to give refugees greater choice?
to give refugees greater choice?
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It could also be used
at the national level,
at the national level,
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where one of the great challenges we face
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is to persuade local communities
to accept refugees.
to accept refugees.
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And at the moment,
in my country, for instance,
in my country, for instance,
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we often send engineers to rural areas
and farmers to the cities,
and farmers to the cities,
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which makes no sense at all.
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So matching markets offer a potential way
to bring those preferences together
to bring those preferences together
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and listen to the needs and demands
of the populations that host
of the populations that host
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and the refugees themselves.
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The fourth idea I want to put to you
is of humanitarian visas.
is of humanitarian visas.
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Much of the tragedy and chaos
we've seen in Europe
we've seen in Europe
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was entirely avoidable.
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It stems from a fundamental contradiction
in Europe's asylum policy,
in Europe's asylum policy,
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which is the following:
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that in order to seek asylum in Europe,
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you have to arrive spontaneously
by embarking on those dangerous journeys
by embarking on those dangerous journeys
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that I described.
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But why should those journeys be necessary
in an era of the budget airline
in an era of the budget airline
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and modern consular capabilities?
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They're completely unnecessary journeys,
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and last year, they led to the deaths
of over 3,000 people
of over 3,000 people
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on Europe's borders
and within European territory.
and within European territory.
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If refugees were simply allowed
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to travel directly
and seek asylum in Europe,
and seek asylum in Europe,
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we would avoid that,
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and there's a way of doing that
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through something
called a humanitarian visa,
called a humanitarian visa,
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that allows people
to collect a visa at an embassy
to collect a visa at an embassy
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or a consulate in a neighboring country
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and then simply pay their own way
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through a ferry or a flight to Europe.
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It costs around a thousand euros
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to take a smuggler
from Turkey to the Greek islands.
from Turkey to the Greek islands.
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It costs 200 euros to take a budget
airline from Bodrum to Frankfurt.
airline from Bodrum to Frankfurt.
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If we allowed refugees to do that,
it would have major advantages.
it would have major advantages.
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It would save lives,
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it would undercut
the entire market for smugglers,
the entire market for smugglers,
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and it would remove the chaos
we see from Europe's front line
we see from Europe's front line
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in areas like the Greek islands.
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It's politics that prevents us doing that
rather than a rational solution.
rather than a rational solution.
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And this is an idea that has been applied.
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Brazil has adopted a pioneering approach
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where over 2,000 Syrians
have been able to get humanitarian visas,
have been able to get humanitarian visas,
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enter Brazil, and claim refugee status
on arrival in Brazil.
on arrival in Brazil.
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And in that scheme,
every Syrian who has gone through it
every Syrian who has gone through it
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has received refugee status
and been recognized as a genuine refugee.
and been recognized as a genuine refugee.
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There is a historical precedent
for it as well.
for it as well.
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Between 1922 and 1942,
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these Nansen passports
were used as travel documents
were used as travel documents
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to allow 450,000 Assyrians,
Turks and Chechens
Turks and Chechens
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to travel across Europe
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and claim refugee status
elsewhere in Europe.
elsewhere in Europe.
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And the Nansen
International Refugee Office
International Refugee Office
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received the Nobel Peace Prize
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in recognition of this
being a viable strategy.
being a viable strategy.
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So all four of these ideas
that I've presented you
that I've presented you
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are ways in which we can expand
Amira's choice set.
Amira's choice set.
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They're ways in which we can have
greater choice for refugees
greater choice for refugees
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beyond those basic,
impossible three options
impossible three options
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I explained to you
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and still leave others better off.
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In conclusion,
we really need a new vision,
we really need a new vision,
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a vision that enlarges
the choices of refugees
the choices of refugees
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but recognizes that they
don't have to be a burden.
don't have to be a burden.
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There's nothing inevitable
about refugees being a cost.
about refugees being a cost.
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Yes, they are a humanitarian
responsibility,
responsibility,
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but they're human beings
with skills, talents, aspirations,
with skills, talents, aspirations,
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with the ability to make
contributions -- if we let them.
contributions -- if we let them.
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In the new world,
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migration is not going to go away.
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What we've seen in Europe
will be with us for many years.
will be with us for many years.
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People will continue to travel,
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they'll continue to be displaced,
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17:39
and we need to find rational,
realistic ways of managing this --
realistic ways of managing this --
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not based on the old logics
of humanitarian assistance,
of humanitarian assistance,
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not based on logics of charity,
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but building on the opportunities
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offered by globalization,
markets and mobility.
markets and mobility.
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I'd urge you all to wake up
and urge our politicians
and urge our politicians
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to wake up to this challenge.
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Thank you very much.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alexander Betts - Social scientistAlexander Betts explores ways societies might empower refugees rather than pushing them to the margins.
Why you should listen
In media and in public debate, refugees are routinely portrayed as a burden. Professor Alexander Betts argues that refugees, who represent a wide spectrum of professional backgrounds, are in fact an untapped resource that could benefit nations willing to welcome them into their economies.
Betts is the director of the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford, where he spearheads research on refugee and other forced migrant populations. His book, Survival Migration, explores the predicaments of people who are fleeing disaster yet fall outside legal definitions of refugee status.
Alexander Betts | Speaker | TED.com