As world leaders meet in London to confront the biggest humanitarian crisis since the end of the second world war, perhaps the answer we need – and the bold plan we want – can be found 70 years in the past. For only an initiative as ambitious as the postwar Marshall plan can address the chaos of 12 million Syrians displaced from their homes.
The need to think in large scale is undeniable. Yesterday, the King of Jordanmourned that his country was at a “boiling point” – unable to offer refugees jobs, or even schooling for their children. And Care International reported that, in desperation, up to half of the 1 million refugees who have already fled from Syria to Jordan were considering a second exodus – to Europe.
A tectonic shift in migration patterns is already under way. Until the summer of 2015, men accounted for three out of every four who risked the perilous sea crossing into Europe. But according to new figures from Unicef, women and children today account for the majority of all refugees arriving in Greece.
The exodus through the eastern Mediterranean and western Balkans into Europe now includes entire families who have lost hope that they can ever make their future in their home region. For them the risks of a dangerous voyage to Europe are preferable to their fate holed up in camps, hovels and shacks in Lebanon, Turkey or Jordan.
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