MANILA, Philippines – Millennials are more emphatic of refugees’ situation and would want their governments to welcome them in their countries, an international survey said. 

Data from the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Shapers Annual Survey released on Monday, August 28, showed that 68% of millennials are found to empathize with refugees and are “most likely very disappointed with the world’s response” to this crisis.

“An overwhelming majority of young people would welcome refugees to their own country, and a large proportion would also welcome refugees into their homes,” said the report while noting that this sentiment increases with age. 

Over 31,000 millennials over 180 countries participated in the survey for 2017.

A large portion of the youth at 74% also said that they would welcome refugees to their country while 46% would accept them in their city. Some 42% also responded that they are willing to receive them in their neighborhoods and 23% in their own homes. 

Millennials also want their governments to provide jobs to those seeking exile.  

More than half (54%) believe that the state should integrate the refugees into the workforce. However, 4% said that they should be deported, an opinion that has the largest proportion in Europe. 

The region has been a migration hotspot since 2015 as residents flee from Syria due to the war led by the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group. In 2016 alone, the European Union has recorded 1.2 million people seeking asylum.

“Europe had the largest proportion of respondents (8%) who wanted to ‘expel/deport’ refugees. It is worth noting that North America had the highest proportion of youth who expect government to integrate refugees in the workforce (64%), a sentiment that is the most popular response in every region,” the report said. 

United Nations data put the number of refugees from Syria at 5 million. The United Nations High Commissioner for the Refugees said in July that 440,000 displaced people have already returned to their homes. 

The WEF report said that its results showed that there is a sense of optimism, unity and shared destiny among the young people, especially when it comes to the refugee crisis. 

These are among the key recurring messages that the survey found in 2017, along with the youth’s desire for government transparency and using technology with caution. 

“In returning to the global picture, the recommendation to integrate refugees into the workforce clearly reinforces the second key message of unity and shared destiny. And, at a time of record levels of youth unemployment around the world, it can be argued that this recommendation is yet another manifestation of the first key message’s optimism,” the report noted. – Rappler.com