Christian Aid predicts that by 2050 there will be 1 billion people around the world displaced by global warming, dwarfing the number of those now fleeing conflicts and persecution.
Here are some notable quotes from those trying to deal with the problem and from refugees:
* "Refugees used to be welcomed as people fleeing persecution, but this has been changing, certainly since 9/11, but even before then," William Spindler, UNHCR spokesman in Geneva. "Growing xenophobia, intolerance, political manipulation by populist politicians who mix up the issues -- the whole debate on asylum and migration has been confused."
* "The reaction now is scepticism. It's: 'Who is this scam artist trying to get a job in our country?'" Joel Charny, vice-president of Washington-based Refugees International. "How will we approach displacement when, say, the Maldives go under? We have to plan for it, but in a way that doesn't lead us all to start jumping out of windows."
* "Since my 18th birthday I've been displaced about 14-16 times," Saundrarajan Kannakai at Manganthoduwa Nawatkuda, Sri Lanka. "After the tsunami we thought things would be stable, and then the war came again. Here we go again, back to square one."
* "I have all these memories that keep coming back," Marie-Jeanne Iyengue, 45, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. "You sleep and it's always the same film. My wish is to get away from here, to give an education to my daughter. Somewhere else would be better. Maybe somewhere else I could forget."
* "This is the first time I register as a refugee. I feel humiliated, it's like begging somehow," Iraqi Rafi al-Ani, 56, who has lived in Syria since 2001.
[Reuters]
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