David Miliband: The refugee crisis is a test of our character
David Miliband: Mgogoro wa wakimbizi ni kipimo cha utu wetu
As president of the International Rescue Committee, David Miliband enlists his expert statesmanship in the fight against the greatest global refugee crisis since World War II. Full bio
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about the global refugee crisis
as much about us and who we are
on the front line.
just a professional obligation,
and displaced people around the world.
the wheel has come full circle.
that 70 years ago said never again
for the victims of war.
from their homes
in northeast Nigeria by Boko Haram.
moving to another country
can't come to speak to you here today.
in the Mediterranean in 2015.
trying to get to Europe.
for millions of others.
for people like Frederick.
refugee camp in Tanzania.
where could he complete his studies.
He wanted a 12th year.
that my days do not end here
outside Damascus.
herself in Lebanon.
Rescue Committee to help other refugees,
and what our responsibilities are.
in the 21st century
than ever before,
by violence and persecution last year.
largest country in the world.
stay within their own home country,
into a neighboring state.
countries, like Lebanon,
in four people is a refugee,
largest refugee camp, in eastern Kenya.
for Somalis fleeing the civil war.
go home to Somalia?"
in that camp were born there,
support their own people,
engagement with the outside world
generational challenges.
is a trend and not a blip.
big, large, long-term, complex problems,
and the global population
"the globalization of indifference."
have turned to stone.
even at a TED conference?
to make a difference,
there are any solutions to this crisis.
the solutions are real, too.
in the countries where they're living,
need massive economic support.
in the capital city Kampala
because they were working.
is a lifeline, not a luxury,
the proper social, emotional support
of primary school age
get no education at all.
in cities, not in camps.
if we were a refugee in a city?
to pay rent or buy clothes.
of the humanitarian system,
you boost the power of refugees
but needs to be talked about.
need to be given a new start
hundreds of thousands, not millions,
to be banning refugees,
who are victims of terror.
"Are they properly vetted?"
and good question to ask.
arriving for resettlement
arriving in our countries.
to ask the question,
is another word for terrorist.
they can't get a legal route to hope?
Greek island, two years ago.
went across the island.
to the north of the island:
of those who had made it to shore.
life jackets for children,
but I want to read it for you.
protect against drowning."
will not save their lives
that is taking them there.
have faced down the ages.
not just our policies.
parts of the world.
we should be helping refugees,
because of what it says about us.
of the foundations of civilization.
we have no excuse.
what's happening in Juba, South Sudan,
we have no moral compass at all.
whether we know our own history.
have rights around the world
Western leadership
after the Second World War
and we trash our own history.
about the power of democracy
not the example of our power."
is more important than the bombs we drop.
of hope and a place of haven.
it reveals about us:
for our own mistakes.
in the world are caused by the West.
we should recognize it.
that the country which has taken
the United States,
than any other country.
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
for foreign policy errors
you have a duty to try to help repair it,
at the beginning of the talk,
that the refugee crisis
to think in a new way,
or workmates repeat them.
for refugees around the world.
the solutions that I've talked about.
were living in Brussels
to go to Brussels Railway Station.
something was amiss.
if we don't do what we're told,
to Brussels Railway Station.
in the decade before,
at the house of the local farmer,
were living in that village.
Monsieur Maurice?"
He's still alive. Let's go and see him."
natural and innate in us, too.
to help make it so.
of us and our values
of refugees and their lives.
David Miliband: Thank you.
responsibility is very strong as well,
by one thought, and it's this:
"extraordinary Western leadership"
about human rights,
happened after a big trauma
a consensual political space,
in a divisive political space.
one of the divisive issues.
and a different tempo
the leadership has got to come from below,
of the conference this week
the democratization of power.
our own democracies,
our own democracies.
are making more noise
is that we will sponsor and encourage
in a position of looking for leadership,
for a different kind of settlement.
Thanks for coming to TED.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Miliband - Refugee advocateAs president of the International Rescue Committee, David Miliband enlists his expert statesmanship in the fight against the greatest global refugee crisis since World War II.
Why you should listen
As the son of refugees, David Miliband has first-hand experience with those fleeing conflict and disaster. In 2013, he abandoned a long political career to take the helm of the International Rescue Committee, an NGO committed to emergency and long-term assistance to refugees (and founded at the call of Albert Einstein in 1933).
As a former UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Miliband is no stranger to cross-border politics. He is a leading voice against recent anti-refugee and immigration measures in the US, where the IRC currently runs resettlement programs in 29 cities.
David Miliband | Speaker | TED.com