people worldwide exceeded 42 million, a result of persistent and new conflicts in different parts of the world. By the end of 2011, the figure stood at 42.5 million . Of these, 15.2 million were refugees: 10.4 million under UNHCR?s mandate, and 4.8 million Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA. The overall figure also included 895,000 asylum-seekers and 26.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) thats the problem we dont know... its all kept from us at great expense..I read somewhere where some had been here for 5 years and still hadnt worked..I am not sure the govt wants to keep figures on this. even if they did I doubt they would want it to be common knowledge. do we even know how the new govt initiative is going? where they pay people to take into their homes two asylum seekers for a goodly sum of money. as that been successful?...mind you I havent heard of them making that offer for our own home bred homeless. I don't have a number. Maths is not my primary concern when addressing humanitarian issues. Do you have a number? But it's not a humanitarian issue. It's economic. These people obviously have the financial means to live anywhere they wish. They pay tens of thousands of dollars to buy a seat on the boats. Why not just come by plane? Probably because they fear being kicked out more than they fear living in their home country. The Sri Lankan's are a prime example. Why are you