Pope John Paul II went so far as to use this phrase to describe the problem of refugees in the letter he addressed to the High Commissioner of the United Nations for Refugees (25 June 982). After ten years, despite the untiring activity of the international community and charitable organizations, this wound in the side of humanity has continued to grow, infecting the poorest countries: about ninety percent of refugees are fund in third-world countries. Today the already high number of refugees-about seventeen million-who fall under the strict definition given by international law is doubled by the number of "displaced persons" who do not leave their own countries and are thus not legally protected. There is also a constant rise in the number of those leaving their countries in order to flee from extreme and almost crushing poverty. Although we must always distinguish between refugees and migrants, the dividing line is sometimes difficult to draw, certain arbitrary interpretations support restrictive policies that are hardly in keeping with respect for the human person.