A total of 50.8 million people around the world were recorded as internally displaced in 2019, forced from their homes by conflict and disaster. This is the highest number ever, and 10 million more than in 2018. The figures come from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) in Norway.

The most displacements were recorded in sub-Saharan Africa amid violence in the Sahel and conflict in Somalia and South Sudan. Natural disasters in south and east Asia and the Pacific also displaced millions. Alexandra Bilak, the IDMC director, said it was too early to assess the full impact of coronavirus on efforts to address displacement. “A recession, of course is going to have an impact on the generosity of donor governments,” she said. “It’s going to be a really bad situation for everybody”.   (reported 4 months ago in The Guardian 28 April 2020)

We cannot, in August,  get an adequate handle on the spreading virus in the US, or help those Americans losing their homes and their jobs (disproportionately in the Black community).  So  it is unlikely that the US is going to concerned about Africa.   And now the news is full of reports about the ennui and exasperation of those stuck at home, probably for months more.  When all this is over we will wake up to the even worse disaster in Africa and other developing areas.  We cannot be immune to the results, including the growing violence. Peace of mind becomes increasingly fragile.