International | Well-founded fears

At 70, the global convention on refugees is needed more than ever

But rich countries need to do more to make it work

Aug 5th 2021|ATHENS, AYVALIK AND TIJUANA

WHEN THE Turkish coastguard found them in the Aegean in the dead of night, they had been adrift for three hours. The air was hissing out of their rubber dinghy. The motor would not start. Anas and the eight other Somali men shielded their eyes from the glare of the searchlights. His wife, Faduma, the only woman, panted from stress and exhaustion. They had paid $2,000 apiece to a smuggler to reach Greece. Faduma, six months pregnant, was the first to climb onto the Turkish boat.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Well-founded fears”