The first panel of the second day of the 2017 Aurora Dialogues was invited to respond to the findings of the Aurora Humanitarian Index and examine the international public’s attitudes towards the refugee crisis, migration, humanitarian intervention, and the responsibility to intervene on behalf of others. The panel was moderated by Gareth Evans, President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group and Former Foreign Minister of Australia, and Aurora Prize Selection Committee Member. Panelists included Dr. Ibrahim Awad, Director for the Center of Refugee and Migration Studies at the American University of Cairo, Sasha Chanoff, Founder and Executive Director of RefugePoint, and Hina Jilani, Former UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders and Aurora Prize Selection Committee Member. 
 

The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative commissioned a global attitudes survey. It was designed and implemented by Kantar Public, of Brussels, Belgium. Dr. Hayk Gyuzalyan, Methods Director for Kantar Public presented the results of the Aurora Humanitarian Index.  He explained that the Index surveyed 6500 respondents in 12 countries: Britain, U.S., Germany, France, Lebanon and Iran, Argentina, Japan, Turkey, Kenya, Russia and Armenia. It focused on migration and the integration of migrants into new societies. 

Dr. Gyuzalyan summarized three main survey conclusions: First, support of humanitarian action is on the decline. “People are skeptical about the individual or collective ability to make a difference. They have low trust in the capacity of leaders or organizations to resolve the humanitarian crisis,” he explained. Second, populism and isolationism are on the rise. These trends are reflected in the results of their survey. Third, and possibly the most important, is that “young people are positive on almost every question. They are more optimistic toward the future and, importantly, they are ready to act,” he explained.   

Gareth Evans invited panelists to explain their reactions to the outcomes of the Index.  

Ibrahim Awad, one of the world’s great experts on migration issues, said “I think that there is nothing that is surprising in the data, but some aspects require some explanation. I think what struck my attention is Armenia, Argentina and Kenya, which come out as very receptive, as very open to refugees. “When it comes to Armenia, I would like to think that the historical experience of Armenia, with the Genocide, the Armenian refugees who went and sought refuge in many different lands, make Armenians more receptive to refugees.” 

Gareth Evans probed whether leaders have let us down when it comes to providing moral impetus. Professor Awad responded that while the media is faulted for a lot of things, the media reflects what politicians say.  Some politicians “nurture hostility and xenophobia.” 

Sasha Chanoff, who heads an organization that tries to find solutions for some of the world’s most at-risk refugees, said, “There are very specific, sharp misperceptions, as we’ve seen in this data. One is that refugees are dangerous and terrorists, when in fact, refugees are the first victims of terror. But you see in the political rhetoric of our time that refugees are maligned as being dangerous.” This isn’t unusual; during times of danger and crisis, refugees are maligned and scapegoated.  Another perception is that refugees take jobs. The reality is that, as seen in the U.S., and other places, refugees actually generate jobs because they are entrepreneurs.

Hina Jilani is from Pakistan. “I come from a country where we have hosted refugees—the largest number in the world and for the longest period. So, I’m not stranger to the problems we are trying to analyze and grapple with today.” She explained that there are two sides to this issue: “One is where the conflict drives people out. And the other is when people reach a certain destination, what are the obligations, and who is supposed to fulfill those obligations?”  

“Tragedies drive people out,” she concluded, “and at the heart of that tragedy, is the lack of recognition that human beings deserve the dignity of the human person.”

The findings of the 2017 Aurora Humanitarian Index are available here.