Untold Suffering: Hundreds of Thousands of People Have Fled South Sudan for Uganda

In the beginning of the month, refugees from South Sudan flooded into the borders of Uganda as a civil war broke out between the president's, Salva Kiir, forces and the vice president's, Riek Machar, forces broke out. Of course, South Sudan has had issues since its independence in 2013, and peace agreements have been temporary bandages to deeper rooted conflict. The conflicts have driven toward ethnic cleansing; the government has been accused of "population engineering to redraw the country's ethnic map."

With war comes economic troubles. Famine was declared in February, inflation topped 50% each month (though it has lowered), and the currency collapsed. Refugee camps can no longer accommodate the huge influx of migrants, and the ability to continue the system teeters on failure. Uganda has been a unique exception and example for accepting refugees. Their success is attributed to their leaders' good attitude toward refugees. Families who arrive in refugee camps are given plots of land to farm, and services such as schooling, clinics, and markets.

For such a large acceptance rate of refugees, and not known for its wealth, Uganda sheds an interesting light on the "refugee crisis crisis" that has been affecting the world. Are European countries economically unable or unwilling to accept refugees? Has the mentality of inclusiveness and accommodation that Europe seemed to fight for really exist?

"Untold Suffering: Hundreds of Thousands of People Have Fled South Sudan for Uganda." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 17 March 2017.