Center for American Progress

Business Is Key to Long-Term Solutions to Middle East Refugee Crisis
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Business Is Key to Long-Term Solutions to Middle East Refugee Crisis

Author Hardin Lang urges ramping up the role of businesses in international relief efforts to settle refugees.

The specter of the humanitarian tsunami flooding the Middle East hangs over the U.N. General Assembly meetings. European leaders are grappling with the magnitude of the outflow from Syria and elsewhere in the region. The Obama administration is sparring with Russian President Vladimir Putin while weighing its share of the task. But a key piece of the puzzle is missing: the private sector.

Governments and relief organizations are understandably focused on food, water, and shelter. The next phase will require sustainable solutions. That means jobs will be key if migrants and refugees are to become more than objects of charity in the countries and communities grudgingly taking them in. Governments can help migrants prepare for economic opportunity. But companies will create that opportunity.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Wall Street Journal. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Hardin Lang

Senior Fellow