Rethink

As a solution to the current Refugee Crisis many have suggested that we provide the victims with their own country; this idea has been disapproved as critics say that it’s based on exclusivity. I would like to revisit this idea, as personally, I feel that exclusivity is less of an issue than discrimination that they face in other countries, and murder and suffering that they face in their own. 

My creative response, inspired by Jenny Holzer

I started by researching the least populated locations. Of course this predominantly included deserts; thus my first question was “how could we make the climate and drought in the Australian Outback and/or Namibia habitable for humans?”. 

Another possibility is Pitcairn Island, owned by the British, but in close proximity to New Zealand. Currently, to live on Pitcairn Island it’s calculated to cost and average of $9,464 annually, with an income of $6,000 a year, vs. the current costs now which is $12,874 a year per refugee. We can also improve homelessness by giving homeless people and unemployed people the opportunity to move here. They can build the environment to accommodate more stores, schools, homes etc.

New York is one of the most densely populated (if not the most) location with 8,550,405 (8.5million) people in 789 km². In order to calculate how people people live in 1km² of NYC (the population density) I divided the population by the size of the area, thus, there are 10,837 people per km² in NYC. If we were to house the refugees on Pitcairn Island and allow it to be as densely populated as NYC (knowing that this is possible) I calculated the possible population density of the Island. As there are there are 10,837 people per km² in NYC, we can times 10,837 people per km² for the Pitcairn island which equals 509339 (5 hundred and 9 thousand 3 hundred and 39) people; thus 509339 (5 hundred and 9 thousand 3 hundred and 39) people can inhabit the Pitcairn Island if populated like NYC. “Record 65 million people forced to flee homes, UN says” That leaves us with an outstanding four million four hundred ninety thousand six hundred sixty-one refugees to house, so this Island doesn’t completely solve the issue. 

The least densely populated location in the world is Greenland; thus if we apply to above calculations we come to the conclusion that Greenland can house: 21674000000 refugees. Thus 21 billion 6hundred and 74million people can inhabit Greenland alone if populated like NYC. Greenland can accommodate the 65million refugees easily. They can set up their own community there and people who are unemployed/homeless can also go to Greenland and help build the community: housing, schools etc. Young people can volunteer to help, which builds their CV, and employability, including cheap housing. 

Greenland is the worlds largest non-continental Island but 3/4 is covered by permanent ice sheet. So if we calculate the 1/4 that isn’t covered with ice (500000 x 10,837 = 5418500000) 5 billion 4hundred and 18million 5 hundred-thousand can inhabit Greenland (avoiding the ice) if populated like NYC.

There is no issue in Greenland for agriculture, as Southern Greenland thrives with farms and luxuriant vegetables. “The sea is rich in fish and invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current” as “Approximately 225 species of fish are known from the waters surrounding Greenland, and the fishing industry is a major part of Greenland's economy, accounting for approximately the majority of the country's total exports.” Greenland also provides more jobs as the Island is abundant in minerals and ruby deposits began in 2007. Other minerals that can be extracted from Greenland include iron, uranium, aluminium, nickel, platinum, tungsten, titanium, and copper.”

On average, each Middle Eastern refugee resettled in the United States costs an estimated $12,874 per year per refugee, therefore It currently costs $836810000,000 (8hundred 36billion 8hundred and 10 million) a year on all the refugees. Thus, that money can be put into Greenland to cover the costs of building, wages etc. Every country can chip in to this fee, so that it’s a worldly effort in order to assist those in need. It will encourage the refugees to work and will also give them a safe place to inhabit. By giving the refugees a choice we are not subjecting them to exclusivity, and by Greenland being able to actually house more than the whole population of humans on Earth, anyone could be welcome to live there; so exclusivity is a minimal issue. 

Update:

Inspired by Richard Mosse's Exhibition at Barbican