Effects of Asylum Seeking in Europe - Essay Example

TOPIC: Economic Migration and the effects of asylum seeking in Europe INTRODUCTION The United Kingdom, being a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention, is allowed to offer asylum to people fleeing from persecution(Burnett, 2001). Definitely, most asylum seekers in Britain are from countries that are at war both internally and externally. Also, asylum seekers(Drozdek, 2004) have described personal experiences of violence which includes as well as assaults on their economic, social, and cultural institutions. Additionally, most of the asylum seekers are highly skilled and previously some came from high standards of living. Most of the asylum seekers are scattered throughout Britain to areas that have had little experience of working with refugees. And, Lucas has researched on the two-way interplay between international migration and economic development in lower income countries(Lucas, 2005). Furthermore, The four major migration segments are a) migration to Western Europe from the Eastern European transition economies and from the African territories, b) contract workers in the Persian Gulf from South and Southeast Asia, c) the "brain drain" to North America, and d) migration within East and Southeast Asia. Research Question: The research question is what is the Economic Migration and the effects of asylum seeking in Europe. The research will use the books and journals as research tools. 2- THEORETICAL CONTEXT A recent analysis published(No author, 2006) by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (the so-called Dublin Foundation) disagreeably states that generally the level of mobility in the European Union is not that low as compared with trends in the United States. The real danger for the European Union lies in the huge disparities between the member states. Evidently, more than thirty percent of US citizens do not live in the state in which they were born, whereas twenty one percent have already lived in a region or country other than their own in the European Union 3 LITERATURE REVIEW Asylum seekers and refugees have been the subject of much media and political attention over recent months, but they are often misrepresented. In the first paper in this series we discuss the reasons that cause people to go into exile and the situation in which they find themselves as refugees in the United Kingdom. In subsequent papers we will examine the health needs of refugees, appropriate care and responses, the specific health effects of torture and organised violence, the needs of health workers, and the structural organisation of health services. Under the terms of the 1951 Geneva Convention, a refugee(Schuster,2003) is defined as any human being who, "owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return it." The United Kingdom, as a member of the European Convention on Human Rights, prohibits the use of torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This clause forms part of the new Human Rights Act. Human rights is an absolute right that cannot be restricted in any circumstances. The United Kingdom has signed the United Nations Convention against Torture. This prohibits expulsion to a territory where people may be tortured. The group Amnesty estimates that torture is occurring in 132 countries, approximately or sixty six percent of all countries. As the European Union, according to the Economist journal, expanded in May 2004, only three of its existing 15 members welcomed migrant workers from Eastern Europe(No author, 2006). Further, only Britain was the large country that opened its labour market to foreigners together with Ireland and Sweden. The United Kingdom did not impose restrictions lasting up to seven years. This unselfish decision allowed eager citizens from Poland, to spread out to vegetable fields, building sites, factories and restaurants across Britain. Furthermore, the war on Islamic terrorists, due to the September 11 suicide airplane attacks in the United States, is creating a crisis for North Africans(Borowiec, 2002) trying to migrate to affluent Europe. The European governments are refusing or seeting a limit to the number of visas for Arabs. And, speakers assembled for the 13th International Symposium at Tunis, Tunisia announced that immigrants already in Western Europe are currently experiencing social ostracism and increased discrimination in the workplace. Clearly, the migration travel route appears to be threatened, thereby harming immigrants seeking work and freedom, as well as the economies of the countries that receive them. The trend is for the migrants from the South wanting to work in the rich economy of the northern part of Europe(Cox, 2006). 4- DESCRIPTIVE DATA In reality, the rich nations rely heavily on migrant workers. These alien labourers help prevent the collapse of the agriculture sector. Traditionally, each year, approximately 18,000 migrant farm workers from Mexico and the Caribbean arrive in Canada to work in the agricultural industry. The United States depends heavily on legal and around 44,000 illegal seasonal farm workers to harvest fruit and vegetables. Actually, as a whole, the European Union needs 500,000 non-European Union migrants for seasonal farm work that locals don't want to do. And In Britain, the National Farmers Union warns parts of the agriculture and horticulture industries--with annual sales of more than $5 billion--could be forced to close if freedom to employ migrants were restricted. Evidently, construction, tourism, cleaning transport, education, and healthcare in rich countries are dependent on migrant labour. Some 70 per cent of people working in catering in London are migrants. Many cafes, bars hotels, restaurants, in major centres like New York, Dublin, Melbourne and Toronto depend on migrants for their survival. 5- ANALYSIS Definitely, women and girls from around the world are employed to be domestic workers(Cole, 1999). Many leave children and families behind, choosing to care for others' children in order to feed their own. In fact, Filipina women form the majority of domestic workers in Canada and around the world. Many immigrants have set up and have taken charge of their own businesses, creating employment and fuelling economic growth. nd, transport jobs which include taxi-driving are often accomplished by immigrants. The immigrants make the companies able to cope up with enormous economies of bustling, dynamic cities would soon run into trouble. The British Hospitality Association has warned that it will have serious problems if it is unable to employ workers from abroad to do cleaning and catering jobs. 6- Conclusion Definitely, most asylum seekers in Britain are from countries that are at war both internally and externally. Also, asylum seekers have described personal experiences of violence which includes as well as assaults on their economic, social, and cultural institutions. Additionally, most of the asylum seekers are highly skilled and previously some came from high standards of living. And, Lucas' research shows that the four major migration segments are a) migration to Western Europe from the Eastern European transition economies and from the African territories, b) contract workers in the Persian Gulf from South and Southeast Asia, c) the "brain drain" to North America, and d) migration within East and Southeast Asia. In conclusion, Both the rich countries and the migrant workers need each other to survive and that countries have accept refugees from war torn nations. REFERENCE No author,(2006), migration : vast disparities in long-distance mobility within the EU, Europe Information, June, 2006 Burnett, A., Peel, M., what brings asylum seekers to the United Kingdom - Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Britain, part 1, British Medical Journal, Feb 24, 2001 Lucas, R., International migration and economic development; lessons from low-income countries, Reference & Research Book News, Elgar Publishing, Feb, 2005 No author, Second thoughts; Migration from eastern Europe.(Why the door will not open for workers from Romania and Bulgaria), The Economist, (US), August, 2006 Borowiec, A., Europe tightens migration: critics say Europe's treatment of immigrants is damaging the relationship between the Mediterranean's north' and south.' Arabs are calling for observers to monitor abuses - Trends , Insight on the News, Jan 7, 2002 Cox, R., Hard Labour: The Forgotten Voices of Latvian Migrant Volunteer Workers., The Geographical Journal, 172, 4. Publication Year: 2006 Cole, M., The European Union and Migrant Labour, Berg, New York, 1999 Schuster, L., Wilson, J., The Use and Abuse of Political Asylum in Britain and Germany, Frank Cass, London, 2003 Drozdek, B., The Treatment of Traumatized Asylum Seekers, Refugees, War and Torture Victims, zdek - editor, John P. Wilson Ph. D. - editor. Publisher: Routledge. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 2004 Read More