There's no glossing over Puerto Rico’s devastation. But a report from the capital – as our writer prepares to push into more-remote regions – finds a remarkable community spirit now stirring. 

As social media and tech giants confront the manipulation of their political content, they’re finding that their cold, algorithm-driven approach may need to be tempered by social responsibility. 

Turned back at Europe’s gates, some find themselves positioned to take frontline roles in helping to heal the root problems that led them to leave.

The pace of automotive technology is reshaping the marketplace at a rate that was not fully anticipated, and shifting thought – with some caveats – across the realm of personal transit. 

Futuristic fiction can reflect a society’s despair, which it can magnify even in times of human progress. But now there’s a growing argument for instead using it to urge optimism and vision.

The world has many “clubs” of nations, grouped by shared interests, but none like an unofficial one often cited by the United Nations for its generosity. It includes only a few countries, such as Uganda, Jordan, and Turkey. They have kept an open door for refugees in recent years, welcoming millions fleeing conflicts in neighboring states.

Now add Bangladesh to this “club.” In recent weeks, the South Asian country, where a third of people live on less than $2 a day, has allowed in more than half a million Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar (Burma). The refugees are fleeing a crackdown by the Burmese military and persecution by militant Buddhist nationalists. An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 are still crossing the border each day.

The sudden influx is now the world’s fastest developing refugee crisis. Bangladesh is also one more example of a country that finds its own good in helping strangers in desperate need.

Many richer countries, such as the United States, provide money for the world’s refugees. The UN, in fact, has appealed for $434 million in aid to assist the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, where conditions remain dire. One in 5 of the refugee households is headed by a woman, and about 5 percent are headed by children. The situation awaits a diplomatic resolution with Myanmar, which faces international pressure to end abuse of its Muslims, who are a minority.

With so many people displaced around the world – an estimated 65 million, of which 22 million are refugees – the UN says the response to this problem not only requires more generosity from national governments but also more from private groups and individuals.

“The international character of refugee protection has taken on new forms – through networks of cities, civil society, private sector associations, sport entities, and other forms of collaboration stretching across borders,” says Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Most of the world’s conflicts occur within poor countries – on the borders of other poor countries. South Sudan’s conflict, for example, has pushed a million of its people into Uganda. While Europe still sees thousands of migrants trying to reach its shores – down from the numbers two years ago – most displaced people still travel in less wealthy regions. When they are welcomed and well housed, it should be a moment of celebration.

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