Since the campaign of wars on terror was launched, the US forces have been involved in wars and other combatant operations in at least 24 countries
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – The wars on terror launched by United States (US) President George W Bush after Al Qaeda’s attack on America has displaced at least 37 million people from eight countries in the last two decades, according to a report of US University’s Cost of War projects released on Tuesday.
“This exceeds those displaced by every war since 1900, except World War II. 37 million is a very conservative estimate. The total displaced by the U.S. post-9/11 wars could be closer to 48–59 million,” noted the Brown University’s report titled “Creating Refugees: Displacement Caused by the United States’ Post 9\11 Wars”.
The eight countries which have faced the brunt of the US wars are Afghanistan (2001), Pakistan (2001), Iraq (2003), Libya (2011), Syria (2014), Yemen (2002), Somalia (2002), Philippines (2002).
Somalia’s 46% (4,196, 825) of the pre-war population, Iraq’s 37% (9,212,175), Syria’s 37% (7,147,292), Afghanistan’s 26% (5,301,953), Yemen’s 24 % (4,354,768), Libya’s 19% (1,206,760), Pakistan’s 3% (3,724,396), and Philippines’ 2% (1,724,857) people were displaced.
“Any number is limited in what it can convey about displacement’s damage. The people behind the numbers can be difficult to see, and numbers cannot communicate how it might feel to lose one’s home, belongings, community, and much more. Displacement has caused incalculable harm to individuals, families, towns, cities, regions, and entire countries physically, socially, emotionally, and economically,” observed the report.
Since the campaign of wars on terror launched, the US forces have been involved in wars and other combatant operations in at least 24 countries.
“Like other wars throughout history, the U.S. post-9/11 wars have caused millions of people—the vast majority, civilians—to fear for their lives and flee in search of safety. Millions have fled air strikes, bombings, artillery fire, drone attacks, gun battles, and rape. People have fled the destruction of their homes, neighbourhoods, hospitals, schools, jobs,” said the report.
The report put the displaced people in different categories– refugees, asylum Seekers, internally displaced persons. Out of 37 million, 8 million people were displaced across international borders as refugees and asylum seekers, and 29 million people were displaced internally to other parts of their countries. The population of the displaced is almost equivalent to that of Canada or three US cities–California, Texas and Virginia.
Due to US wars, between 2010 and 2019, the total number of the refugees and internally displaced persons has been doubled from 41 million to around 80 million in the world.
In the 37 million displaced due to US wars, only 25.3 million people have been able to return to their homes, the origin countries or the area they fled. “Even in the best circumstances of return, going home does not erase the experience of fleeing for one’s life or the struggle to survive after being displaced. The experiences of wartime displacement are profound, traumatic, and long-lasting. Returning home should not be equated with a return to normal or to a prior state of being”.
Underlining the profound impacts of US wars in the targeted countries, the report said that the wars caused irreparable damages to the societies of those countries and threw them in unending problems. “The displacement caused by the U.S. post-9/11 wars has torn apart neighbourhoods, communities, and entire societies alongside other forms of wartime violence”.
