Introduction to Forced Migration - Essay Example

Introduction to Forced Migration Forced migration is a global phenomenon which has been intensified in the past few years. African countries hold the highest rank among the immigrant sources of the entire globe. The great collection of immigrants include refugees, people came for higher education, those in diplomatic services, skilled labors, athletes, efficient scientists and physicians. The United States of America and many Western and Middle East countries are the major destinations of both voluntary and forced immigrants. The ‘factors’ that compel people to join the deluge of migration is still a vast subjects for research. Some are of the opinion that forced migration is intimately associated with the process of global change. In my opinion, this is a debatable statement because many of the socio-economic and political reasons are the consequences of human activities which do not bring forth any significant global change. Although there are certain exceptions, generally, global changes do not necessarily demand any form of forced migration. Most of the multicultural nations today include people from all parts of the world, with a variety of race, complexion, beliefs and ethnicity. The remarkable reason behind this diversity is migration. Although international migration is legally encouraged in many of the countries for various welfare objectives, forced migration is a different occurrence in its causes, nature, and effects. The various reasons include historic factors, globalization, civil wars and human rights violations, labor shortage, immigration policies, economic instability, natural calamities etc. Historic Elements African nations are the best example to study about both forced and voluntary migration. Even today great number of people from African countries are migrating to United States and other industrialized nations. The history of African migration begins with slavery and colonialism. The first Africans were not voluntary migrants but they were only the victims of slavery. The arrival of African slaves greatly impacted the socio, economic culture of United States and European nations. Since the captivity the African- migrant ethnic groups have played significant role in building up those nations into leading world economic powers. The post-war political economy also considerably encouraged African immigrants to choose United States as their major destination. Similar is the case with all other ethnic groups who have been taken to the different parts of the world under captivity. Overcoming the tribulations of centuries they have gained their privileges. The ancestral background still influences people to choose the same destinations when they confront with the issue of migration. Hence, the historic influence is an undeniable factor that determines the range of both voluntary and forced migration. Globalization One of the most recent factors attributed to migration is globalization and the subsequent economic developments and downfalls. Obviously Globalization exposed a new world of opportunities to the people of African Continent and other poor regions who have been badly in need of employment, freedom, peace and social stability. According to Okome (2005), the advancements in international communication increased the awareness of national and international differences and opportunities and provided vital immigrants information. Through the electronic and print media the potential migrants gathered knowledge about the existing opportunities. The author defines it as a ‘pulling factor’ that accelerated the migration to the developed countries. The pushing factors which cause forced migrations are the negative impacts of globalization such as unemployment, recession, and economic instability. Civil wars, Human Rights Violations The ceaseless civil wars, communal riots, famine and military sabotage in African countries including Ethiopia, Nigeria, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra have been providing the world with thousands of refugees every year. Among these, a major portion is accommodated by the US. Nigerian civil war, Somalia conflict, Liberian civil war and the Eritrean-Ethiopian war also caused intense immigration to western countries and to the US (Okome). Since religious and ethnic conflicts have increased more than ever before, people in many parts of the world are under the threat of forced migration. Many families fail to spot their children, parents and siblings. Thousands of women and children are compelled to flee from their homeland every year. Sometimes children are scattered and never meet their family again. As mentioned earlier, these factors are not associated with any kind of global change; instead, they are only the result of incessant warfare and political chaos. The African migrants were highly accepted in the US and other European nations for their potentiality. However, as Bird (1993 p.57) purports, if forced migration is one side of the coin of the politics of movement, the use of differences to exclude certain groups from immigration is its other side. Exclusion of Chinese from entry in to the United States in 1882 followed by similar measures in Canada in 1885 and in Australia in 1905 is one of the good examples for this. Economic instability Political anarchy and subsequent economic instability have been perturbing many of the African, Asian, and Middle East countries for decades. The inevitable consequences like poverty, paucity of education, unemployment, and lack of basic facilities force civilians to seek better sanctuary. Their ancestral linkage with the other nations makes migration relatively easy. Even scholars and educated candidates offer themselves for lower rank jobs considering the payment better than what they could gain from a high rank job in their home land. For every segment of voluntary migrants whether skilled or unskilled, the primary motive behind migration is to pursue education or to find employment where wages are higher than that of their mother land. In addition to the volatile economy of the homelands, fiscal policies of international business corporations and governmental policies of developed nations also sometimes cause forced migration. The recent global recession was such a situation which resulted in great job uncertainty, financial crisis and forced migration. “International financial institutions have been influential in bringing about dramatic economic, administrative, social and political changes within developing societies, both positive and negative. These have often resulted in an acceleration of the movement of persons, both internally (often toward cities) and internationally (generally towards more prosperous regions)” (Crepeau F, 2006). Terrorism Another major reason that has intensified forced migration is the international terrorism which is being driven by certain religious ideologies. For instance, the notorious organizations like the Al- Qaeda and Taliban which have targeted the conversion of entire world in to Islam, consider all other religious groups as their foes. This Spiritual Terrorism addresses itself as Jihad. Although they are against all governments, their major concern seems to be the United States of America and some other European nations that have a colonial or imperial history. The global terrorism has left far reaching consequences on the social, moral and economic areas of the present world. People suspect the members of other ethnic groups and that leads to communal riots and violence in many parts of the world. The recent terror attacks and current warfare in the countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Palestine etc. have produced thousands of refugees. The moral concept of the world is highly affected by terrorist distractions. Children and women are being exploited and victimized more than ever before. Crimes such as smuggling, looting and sex racketing flourish along with every terror attempt. Terrorists invest huge amounts in their operations to attract youngsters of poor financial and educational backgrounds. The number of death and migration occurred during the terror attacks, and further due to the war against terror are beyond any statistics. Thousands of children every year become homeless and women miss their husbands and fathers for the sake of terrorism. Horrible uncertainty is prevailing in many of the countries which are having terrorist influence. Climate change and migration Unexpected climate changes and natural calamities also often compel people to move from one place to another. Irrespective of geographical differences every population is under the threat of forced migration which can be caused by climate change or other ecological catastrophe. Natural phenomena such as sea level rise, hurricanes and typhoons, drought, wildfire, heat waves, volcanoes, and earthquakes result in massive migration every year in many parts of the world. Millions of people become homeless who are often called ecological refugees. These causes are absolutely natural and there is no significant connection with any sort of global change. In addition to these environmental reasons, sometimes governments’ infrastructure projects also cause forced migration which can be attributed to global change. For instance, building of dams, roads or tourist resorts often demand people to leave their place. World Bank estimates that 90 million people were displaced in the 1990s as a result of infrastructure projects (Digby B, 2001). In fact there are only a few causes like globalization, financial policies, and infrastructure modification that are closely associated with global change. Forced migration is the result of both human actions and natural causes. Although ecological causes are beyond the human control, collective efforts of governments and other organizations can prevent forced migration to a great extent. As it is stated by Cox & Pawar (2005 p.277), ethnically and politically divided states, unstable and corrupt governments and political systems, and dictatorships, lack of civility, increased lawlessness, interethnic conflict, and low levels of economic investment and consequent poverty are the major causes of forced migration. Conclusion Factors like incessant ethnic conflicts, wars, socio-economic instability, terror attacks, climatic change, globalization, and global economic recession etc. are the major causes of forced migration. Among them, many are the inevitable effects of unnecessary human involvements. Forced migration, both internal and international levels would continue to the future presumably at an increased rate due to the growing international tension. However, forced migration can not be considered as the indication of a global change; instead it is the mere repetition of human history. In short, Forced migration is a multifaceted issue which can not be addressed easily with a single interpretation. References Bird J., 1993, Mapping the Futures: Local Cultures, Global Change, illustrated, Routledge. Cox D., Pawar, 2005, International Social Work: Issues, Strategies and Programs. SAGE. Crepeau F., 2006, Forced Migration and Global Process: A View from Forced Migration Studies. Lexington Books, p.3. Digby B., 2001, Global Challenges, Edn.2, illustrated, Heinemann, p.167. Okome, 2005, The Antinomies of Globalization: Causes of Contemporary African Immigration to the United States of America, viewed 17 August 2009 Read More