June 20 was World Refugee Day. It is a day to remember children who were born in tent cities because their parents left home due to war or persecution. It is a day to remember those who have fled the Taliban or the drug cartels. Others run from the wars in Sudan and Syria and the Ukraine. It is a day to stand in memory of those who perished in tiny rafts against the Mediterranean Sea or whose bodies were left in the Darien Gap as they tried to get away from the troubles in South America.

But also think today of Albert Einstein, Sergy Brinn, and Freddy Mercury. Think of the Dalai Llama and Malala Yousefzai. These are just a few people who were refugees once and made powerful contributions to the countries that gave them safety.

We live in historic times. There are more refugees now than at any times since we’ve been counting them. The United Nations High Commission of Refugees said that in 2023 there were 117 million people who had been forced to leave their home, whether due to war, persecution such as rape and oppression, or due to natural disasters such as drought. Most of them wish they could go home. If they are outside their home country, they may be able to register as refugees. That number is 31.6 million, according to a report just released by UNHCR. If the fleeing people are still in their home countries, they are called “internally displaced persons”. There are 68 million in that category. Many of these people never find a “forever home”. Only 1.3% are resettled permanently. Some are lucky enough to live and work in the country that hosts them. Others are confined in tent camps where there are limited opportunities for education and work.

The refugee rules were designed after World War II to manage European refugees. Unfortunately, those rules have not done enough to help with the current world-wide crisis. We can learn from what is working and what is failing. Ukrainian refugees were largely allowed to find housing and jobs in other parts of Europe. They are managing and many will want to go home when the war ends. But large numbers of refugees are fleeing Afghanistan, Syria, and Venezuela. The Congo and Sudan have huge groups of people who cannot go home–many traumatized by the killing of their families by warring soldiers in civil wars. The largest numbers of refugees are in countries like Turkey and Pakistan that are not rich themselves. It is a strain to have people coming in with nothing but what they can carry.

It is crucial at this moment in history that we find a way to support people in rebuilding their lives, preferably in the countries near their own. They can’t all come to the US. Whether we take 10,000 or 10 million, we cannot meet the need. But rich countries can push for everyone to have rights to work and to be educated wherever they live. We can support programs that allow refugee communities to be vibrant and self-sustaining. We can ask people in crisis what they need from the United Nations, rather than sending them back to the violence they are fleeing.

Refugees are not lesser people. Many had good lives before war or disaster took away their prior home. Many have potential that is blocked with the current system. How many Einsteins and Malalas are waiting for a safe place to show their talents? Let’s celebrate the courage and the potential of these resilient people! And let’s support a better system worldwide for anyone who leaves their home behind to save their life.

Kelly Ann Burkhouse is a Bemus Point resident.