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At least half of those surveyed regard refugees as ‘innocent victims’
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Yet only 19% in the US, 14% in the UK and 4% in Germany believe more should be admitted
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Up to 41% associate refugees with terrorism
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Young people are much more likely to be more welcoming of additional refugees
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Islamic Relief is providing £40m of annual assistance to 6m refugees/displaced in 26 countries
A new international YouGov poll commissioned for World Refugee Day by Islamic Relief has found that refugees are seen as vulnerable, innocent and deserving of help by a significant proportion of people – and yet most do not want their own countries to play a bigger role in hosting them.
The poll, conducted by YouGov in June 2017 ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20, interviewed a representative sample of the population in the UK, the United States, Germany and Lebanon. Respondents were asked about their attitudes to refugees in general, and also how they felt about refugees from Syria and other countries in the Middle East in particular. The results showed a worrying pattern of somewhat less welcoming attitudes to Syrian and other Middle Eastern refugees in the three western countries polled. Only in Lebanon did attitudes not discriminate between Middle Eastern refugees and others.
Islamic Relief is an international aid agency in the forefront of assisting refugees, displaced people and returnees. In 2015 it assisted 6 million in 26 countries, delivering £40 million worth of aid. The four countries featured in the poll were chosen to gauge attitudes in the three western countries where Islamic Relief has the most significant presence, and to compare findings with those from Lebanon – a country that has accepted more Syrian refugees per head of its own population than any other.
Around half of those surveyed in the US (50%), UK (52%) and Germany (51%) identified refugees with being ‘innocent victims’ – a figure that rose to a striking 78% in Lebanon where respondents had had most experience of and contact with refugees. But despite this level of empathy, a significant majority of people across all four countries felt that fewer refugees should be allowed into their respective countries. In the UK 54% of those surveyed felt that fewer refugees should be allowed in, while 14% felt that more should be admitted. The US had a 43%/19% split, and Lebanon 56%/17%.
Attitudes appeared most antagonistic in Germany, with a 69%/4% split – even though 62% of respondents were either refugees or had come into direct contact with refugees. In both the UK and US a majority of those surveyed – 51% and 41% respectively – had not had any interaction with refugees.
Lebanon has taken in over two million refugees from the Syrian conflict. The country has no formal refugee camps, so many of the refugees live closely alongside Lebanese nationals within host communities. Fifty-six per cent of those surveyed felt that fewer refugees should be allowed into the country – despite 60% of poll respondents either being refugees or having come into direct contact with refugees. The country is struggling to handle the influx of refugees from Syria and Palestinian territories, which together make up around a quarter of the country’s population.
In the UK, 38% felt that the number of refugees in the country should increase or stay the same, whilst 54% felt that fewer should be allowed in. Among those who voted ‘Remain’ in last year’s EU referendum, the percentages in support of more or fewer refugees were equal at 26%. Among ‘Leave’ voters there was only 4% support for accepting more refugees, compared to 80% calling for fewer.
Across all four countries the youngest age group sampled were those most likely to want their country to admit more refugees – peaking at twice as likely as the average respondent in the UK and Germany.
In Lebanon a high proportion of those surveyed associated words and phrases such as “innocent victims”, “deserving of our help” and “vulnerable” with refugees. Similarly in the UK and US, those three choices were the top ones chosen from a list of ten. Germany went against this trend with 41% of people surveyed associating terrorism with refugees – one of the top three answers from German respondents. Associations of terrorism were high in all four countries – 17% in Lebanon, 28% in the UK and 25% in the US.
The CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide, Naser Haghamed, says:
“The global refugee crisis has considerably worsened since I left Eritrea as a refugee 40 years ago, and we can’t afford to be a world indifferent to refugees. Millions have been forced to flee unimaginable suffering, and they deserve our support and compassion. The findings of this poll suggest there are high levels of empathy with the plight of refugees as vulnerable people and innocent victims, yet few of those surveyed seem willing for their own countries to play a fuller part in accommodating them.
“There are signs of hope in the more welcoming attitude of younger people and the way in which attitudes can soften when people have more direct experience of refugees. The international community needs to redouble its efforts to support refugees, most of all by finding the political solutions that will be needed to prevent the displacement of another generation of Syrians, Iraqis, Somalis and Afghanis.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors
The fieldwork for this poll took place between 8th-15th June 2017 in the USA, UK Germany and Lebanon. The surveys were carried out online. Full survey results are available on request.
The samples were of the adult population and sizes were as follows: UK – 1729; USA – 1127; Germany – 1458; Lebanon – 252.The word and phrase association question comprised of 10 choice words and phrases, an option to add your own and an option to select none listed.
Islamic Relief Worldwide was founded in 1984 and works with refugees in 26 countries around the world. Our work includes the widescale distribution of essential items such as blankets, mattresses and boots in the winter months, supplying hospitals and health centres with medicine and equipment, and offering psychological counselling for children and adults recovering from trauma.
For more information please contact Mohammad Shakir on [email protected] or +44 7747 022 590
