Alicia Tamburelli and her generation would do something amazing, something that lesser leaders would deem impossible. From the anonymity of their kitchens, and for decades on end, they managed to protect their families from the perennial failure of their country's political class.

What was more terrible than the civil war of the 1980s and Hurricane Mitch, which ravaged the region in 1998? Tropical Depression 12-E, a storm that dropped more than five feet of water over ten days, forcing 60,000 people into shelters.

The reality now is that civil wars do not remain quarantined within national borders. And that forced migration is not an accidental byproduct of war. Many combatants use the forced movement of people as an intentional war strategy.

The unrest in Tunisia and Libya have turned Lampedusa into a makeshift Ellis Island. Several thousand have arrived from Tunisia, and there's a growing wave from Libya. No one knows when they'll be allowed to leave, or who will accept them.

This past Saturday, Premier Wen Jiabao delivered his 2011 "Report on the Work of the Government" to the 3,000 delegates gathered in Beijing for the Na...