Using blockchain to solve the European refugee crisis: creating legal identities and improving rescue efficiency

Refugees from war zones are devastated, so they are always willing to give up everything in their homeland and start over in a new country to create a better future for their families. However, giving up work and property is a small matter, but giving up one's legal identity is a very troublesome matter.

As soon as refugees leave their country, their legal identity and bank account information will be invalid. Without proof of nationality, they do not exist legally. At the same time, without legal identity, they lose the right to enjoy important social and economic services (banking system).

Lack of legal status also creates problems for neighboring countries and relief organizations to help refugees. The Syrian crisis has intensified the world's determination to fight terrorism. So how do we identify refugees? Where do they come from? Are they dangerous?

Blockchain technology can solve most of the above problems. Blockchain is a public ledger whose contents can be viewed by every participant. With a distributed blockchain database, when Syrian refugees arrive at a country's border, the police can view their identity information and even their biometric data (fingerprints, etc.). Since this ledger cannot be changed, the police can also verify their identities by asking about their background, whereabouts, and acquaintances. In addition, since blockchain technology has a certain degree of anonymity and transparency, refugees have the right to disclose only part of their data when conducting transactions.

This will allow refugees to use the banking system, which will also become less important. Because blockchain itself can handle digital asset transactions, relief organizations can transfer money directly on it. Without the middleman (banking fees are higher), people in need will also have the opportunity to receive more funds.

Several startups have begun to apply blockchain technology to the Syrian crisis. Bitnation creates temporary identities for refugees based on the Bitcoin blockchain, which can verify family relationships and comes with a Bitcoin Visa card, but this card is not very popular at present because it is difficult to find stores or Bitcoin exchanges near refugee camps that accept Bitcoin. Recently, blockchain startup NevTrace won the Spanish HackforGood (a platform that provides technical support for social issues) competition. The blockchain it designed can capture the migration patterns of refugees, thereby improving the efficiency of relief.

Blockchain technology may not be a panacea for anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing. But because blockchain is a distributed, tamper-proof system, it can verify individual actions and transactions. Blockchain can also avoid the various losses caused by political unrest, so that refugees can live with rights and dignity regardless of whether their countries are unstable or not.