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The Displaced

If you were asked which country has produced the most refugees (those forced to move from their own country to another), your first thought might be one in Africa. It's not a bad guess. Three of the top ten countries whose people have moved to another country are from Africa (Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan). Still, as of 2009 one country has overwhelmingly produced the most refugees, with over one million more refugees than the next highest: Afghanistan. Here is a list of the top ten countries of origin (the complete list can be found at http://www.unhcr.org/4c11f0be9.html).

1. Afghanistan: 2.887 million
2. Iraq: 1.785 million
3. Somalia: 678,400
4. Democratic Rep. of the Congo: 455,852
5. Myanmar: 406,669
6. Columbia: 389,752
7. Sudan: 368,195
8. Vietnam: 339,289
9. Serbia: 195,626
10. Turkey: 146,387

Afghanistan, unfortunately, is landlocked, war-torn, and dependent on foreign help. Its economy has improved recently due to the return of its agriculture and service sectors, but it is still dependent on other countries.* Sudan, on the other hand, has improved recently, with many citizens repatriated to the south. In fact, that country may finally see some good news: South Sudan will likely become the world's newest country on July 9th of this year.

All this is simply to highlight one of the great needs of our world. I'm going to use some of this information in my classroom this week. One of my hopes, as a teacher, is to "light a fire," as W.B. Yeats said; to ignite a passion in my students; to give them an opportunity to reach their potential by meeting the challenges of a broken world. I believe that one day this world will be changed; but until then, I want to be apart of God's work in making it whole.

*Source: CIA World Factbook, Afghanistan

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