Bushra
If migration refers to the relocation of the human beings, then the current global discourse is undergoing a global sea change. Already, it was a big challenge for the human beings in the normal situations. Nonetheless, in the post-Covid 19, pandemic the world is writing an untold story to unfold with the passing of every day across the world in the changing matrix. However, if a family, community or group of people move to a new place to avoid or escape existing personal, familial or socio-economic issues without the sole aim of becoming a tourist but more likely to be a resident of that place, this procedure is termed as Immigration. On the other hand if a person moves to a new place to avoid any sort of persecution that is referred as asylum. It is not surprising that people often are confused between the two. Background Going by the history, immigration started out when the people from the British empire immigrated to other parts of the world, they inevitably remained loyal for their empire and their ‘Britishness’ paved way for their heavy participation adding up to a huge support and defense for the empire in Second World War.When in 1958 the Jamaican empire windrush allowed immigrants who were mainly from UK, brought by the British colonial power. Immigrants came from India Pakistan grief stricken countries, hired at a relatively low cost.It was nothing but the vulnerabilities of the immigrants that led them compromised on so many levels, their economic demands were less, they agreed for a low paying job, and a low skill work, because they were not readily accepted among the people of the new place that led even educated ,qualified and skilled people accept jobs that only provided with bare minimum of survival like low quality housing, treatment in the workplace and society was unconducive, they were just never accepted among the company of the whites. When Soviet Union introduced the policy of ‘Iron curtain,’ it led to a rise in the number of immigrant from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union for the people who were earlier treated as brutes started to demand basic rights, with the fall of dictatorship citizens enjoyed their new found voices post dissolution of the soviet empire. This overall led to an increased migration for the prices of transportation were low and hassle free international infiltration.It has never been a new concept, of ‘asylum seekers’ or refugees for they have always been provided by the nation they’re seeking shelter in from including Emperor Haille the Selassie (Ethiopia), Sigmund Freud (Austria), Karl Marx (Germany) and Wole Soyinka (Nigeria) with the emergence of societal concepts of communism and collapse of the global order of 1990s has asylum become predominantly a subject of consideration.Besides places like the Balkans, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries have sought asylum in the UK, for they had undergone the atrocities of war and were in dire need of a stable life. Migration is more of necessity than desire, the absolute necessity to get away with existing socio economic conditions or perils and aftermath of a calamity leads one to pack up their bag and baggage, however media lay its eyes only on the migrants that break out from conflicting situations only to counter and suffer a migration system that is everything but considerate to them. Well only 10% of the international migrants are refugees or asylum seekers, and the rest are irregular migrants.Reports stemming from The World Migration Report and the Migration Data Portal state those migrations are not only consequential but also because they ‘can’ be carried out. Communication, information are better means of transport have only made the idea and practice of migration more conceivable. Better salaries in the origin country made migration a choice based option. There are various reasons for people to migrate and more or less the reasons correlate to each other. They are: 1. Escaping existing perils People migrate to avoid the lingering aftermath of war and its instability. This aspect has been most covered by the media. There were 22.5 million refugees worldwide, this was the peak record in the year 2016. But there has been a gradual decline since 2012. Germany and the USA were home to 2.8mn asylum seekers. To escape endemic violence refugees and asylum seekers ran for their lives almost 79% are mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Myanmar, Eritrea and Burundi. It has been stated by the international law to accept people as asylum seekers and refugees who migrated to avoid societal disparities based on race, religion, and forced membership to a group. It should also be kept in mind that the countries are under no obligation to provide for the migrants or accept them in the first place; the law cannot force them to do so, under that circumstance migrants are supposed to go back to origin country in whatever situation it may be in. 2. Better future A lot of people migrate to in order to provide a better life standard and even better opportunities for them and their families. · A ‘better life’ is analyzed in terms of the happiness. The World Happiness Reports measures percentage changes in happiness of migrants when they move to a new country. Under these headings comes the study of following points that give a clearer picture (a) assumption are made that migrants’ happiness is usually the same or similar to locals’ happiness, (b) that overall migrant happiness depends equally on both their destinations’ level of happiness and the level of happiness in the origin country, and (c) that one of the main factors influencing migrant happiness is the host country’s attitude towards immigrants. · For migrants United States is the largest destination country ranking at number 18th in the WHR Ranking of Happiness, whereas India, the largest origin country, ranks 133rd. · Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, and Burundiare the few countries that produce the highest number of refugees and asylum seeker, even the largest of the countries score more than 130th rank. 3. Environmental factors affecting migration More than 25 million people have been displaced since the year 2008 reasons being natural disasters or calamities like earthquakes, tsunami etc. the number of displacement caused by calamities are five times more than that caused by violence. Similarly the number of host countries that provide shelter for migrants are more in number (118) than the ones that provide for migrants displaced by violence (37). The 1992 UN Convention on Climate Change set up a meeting for countries to understand how the migration differs in its nature when its is caused by environmental and natural factors. 4. Family Interpretations Family has no certain definition but according to the UNHRC it is ‘all interpersonal relations that are held to constitute a family in the society concerned’. There are no particular treaties and laws that safeguard the unity of family but it is mainly the protection of to the rights that ‘respect, protect and support the family, including its ability to be together’. · When the migration of a family member takes place it is assumed that they would send remittances back home, also when the first person finds him financially stable and the rest of the situations conducive it is then he starts to invite the other members of the family. 5. Entertaining Employment · In the year 2013 there were around 150 million migrant workers globally which produced almost 2/3rds of the global migrant stock of that year. · Migrants are usually in the services sector, and the rest of them are usually in construction, manufacturing, and agriculture. 6. To Study or not to study · There were 4.8 million internationally mobile students in the year 2016, one million more than there were in 2011. Within 5 years there was a rapid hike in the numbers migrating for study purposes. · There is a difference between internationally mobile student, foreign student and credit mobile student. Internationally mobile students migrate with the only aim to study somewhere else than their origin country. Foreign student are first migrants then students because they or their families migrated for other reasons as work or asylum but now they study in another country. Credit mobile students study elsewhere than their origin country but not as long as the completion of a degree qualification. · The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany and the Russian Federation. (UNESCO) are largest home to internationally mobile students. · On the other hand China, India, Germany, South Korea, Nigeria, France, Saudi Arabia and several Central Asian countries. (UNESCO) are biggest sender countries that obviously send students from their nation for higher qualifications to other countries. 7. Migration runs in blood There are conditions prevailing where children have either been brought up around migrating people or received their remittances so much so that migration becomes a part of lifestyle than a necessity. This atmosphere only makes migration accessible and hence children take forward this trend. Countries like Eritrea and Ethiopia consider staying back more of a taboo. 8. Economic reasons: remittances In countries like Kyrgyzstan and Haiti, remittances add on to 24-34% of their GDP, making remittances an economic reason to migrate for the families and country. It is very common practice of sending the male member of the around the age of (15-60) family abroad with the intention of him sending some amount of money back to the family. Controversies Immigration is a vast subject it involves not only controversies but also greater interpretations. Since Common wealth immigration has come into picture where people are demanding rights to settle in UK as citizens. From Caribbean black and Asians to asylum seekers the issue has been burning in UK and other places as well. It is a sensitive issue and demands more of the attention.Economic migrant and benefit tourist are looked down upon for it is deemed as they are there to benefit unduly from UK’s treasure trove and not to escape hostility of their origin country. Every now and then British media quotes immigrants.Illegal immigration has led to ‘people trafficking’ for the country shares a long border with poorer countries by immigrants themselves. It has been a bone of contention for UK Media also plays in sabotaging the image of immigrants for they’re already indigent and often needy making them a easy target to exploit and carry out criminal activities. They’re more maligned than helped through media Government has imposed strict laws on immigration and asylum. Illegal migrants if enter the premises are alarmed and similar cleansing of asylum is on track which is of course a major issue. Conclusion Migration was and will remain a thoughtful subject. It will never be easy for people to leave everything, forget people, their hometown and settle as a clean slate in the destination country. It will always carry nostalgia of the past a hope for a better future and most of all the pain of being an outsider will never leave. Procedures, process, affordability could have been easier today but for me this process is nothing less than uprooting a blooming or even a dried tree. The roots never forget. It is poetically hurtful when a migrant, his family is mistreated by the hostile environment of a new place. Some sort of education must be meted out to locals on their treatment. No place should be hostile to survive if it is the least that could be done is to make destination place a loving one. |
Bushra
