Yesterday was International Migrants Day:

Migration - essential component of life

By Pramod DE SILVA

We are all migrants, in a sense. From ancient times, people have left their lands in search of other lands. This process of migration has led to the birth of entire nations. It is a process that continues to this day, enriching cultures and augmenting diversity. Go to any major city in the world today and you can hear dozens of languages being spoken. That is migration at work.

Migration is one of the defining issues of the 21st Century. It is now an essential, inevitable and potentially beneficial component of the economic and social life of every country and region.

There are around 214 million international migrants, including refugees, though not counting an estimated 27.1 million people displaced in their own countries. Migration has become an issue so significant that the UN has designated a special day for migrants - December 18.

On December 4, 2000, the UN General Assembly, taking into account the large and increasing number of migrants in the world, proclaimed December 18 as International Migrants Day. A decade earlier, in 1990, the Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

Migrants play a fundamental role in strengthening the global economy. Last year alone, they remitted an estimated US$ 414 billion back to their home countries. Migrants contribute to economic growth and human development; they enrich societies through cultural diversity, knowledge and technology exchange. They also improve demographic balance in ageing populations.

People migrate due to different reasons - for employment, for settling down legally through an immigration procedure or asylum or in some cases, illegally for economic reasons. Whatever the reasons, migration has become a complex social issue for both migrants’ home countries and host countries.

As the UN and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) note, illegal migration is a major problem. Migration is more likely to benefit all when it is safe and through regular channels. Yet the opportunities for regular migration have diminished. In such a scenario, there is room for human rights violations, xenophobia and exploitation. Much more needs to be done to safeguard the rights of migrants. The Global Migration Group - which consists of 14 United Nations agencies, the International Organization for Migration and the World Bank - adopted a joint statement in September that underscored the need to protect the human rights of all migrants.

Limited recourse

Many governments’ immigration policies and protection gaps expose migrants to abuse, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report in advance of International Migrants Day.

The abuses include labour exploitation, violence, trafficking, mistreatment in detention and killings, yet the nations involved offer limited recourse to seek justice, HRW said. “Many governments make things worse with policies that aggravate discrimination or make it hard for migrants to even approach authorities for help.”

In a message to mark this year’s Migrants Day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says that labour migrants are more likely to be denied basic labour protection, due process guarantees, personal security and health care. They are vulnerable to suffering prolonged detention or ill-treatment, and in some cases enslavement, rape or even murder. Here in Sri Lanka, which has nearly 1.5 million workers abroad, such stories are all too common. From the harrowing tale of Rizana to the horrendous physical abuse of Ariyawathie, the travails of migrant workers have been well documented.

The world can take a number of steps to end this situation - all States should ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families. Individual States should also have laws to deal with the abuse of migrant workers.

Despite the risks, both legal and illegal migration is increasing. If the number of international migrants continues to grow at the same pace as during the past 20 years, it could reach 405 million by 2050. One of the reasons for this steep rise is the significant growth in the labour force in developing countries from 2.4 billion in 2005 to 3.6 billion in 2040. However, most countries do not have a proper policy or framework for migration-related issues. “The risk of not putting in place policies and adequate resources to deal with migration is to lose a historic opportunity to take advantage of this global phenomenon,” says IOM Director General William Lacy Swing.

In fact, the IOM’s 2010 World Migration Report notes emerging patterns of irregular migration that involve growing numbers of unaccompanied minors, asylum-seekers, victims of trafficking, or those seeking to escape the effects of environmental or climate change but for whom there is currently little international protection. The latter is likely to become a very serious issue with some low lying islands facing the prospect of being submerged with a sea level rise. Estimates have suggested that between 25 million to one billion people could be displaced by climate change over the next 40 years.

The Migrants Day is relevant to Sri Lanka in the context of the country’s large migrant population. Most of them are in the Middle East, but more migrants are heading to ‘new’ countries such as Korea, Italy and Singapore. Women dominate the migrant population, but more jobs are being made available for males.

At least another million Sri Lankans have left our shores to reside permanently in other countries, including the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Italy and a number of other countries. This includes both economic and or political asylum seekers and professionals who had gone through the proper immigration procedures of the respective countries. Migration for employment is important to Third World countries because expatriates’ remittances sustain their economies. Migrants’ remittances are among the top three foreign exchange earners for Sri Lanka, with nearly US$ 3.3 billion remitted each year.

Illegal channels

Migration for employment has its fair share of problems. Those who go to various countries primarily through illegal channels have no recourse to help in case of trouble with their employers. Social problems have arisen in many households as mothers have left for employment abroad. There are many instances when fathers have squandered the monies sent to Sri Lanka, through alcohol or drug abuse and other nefarious activities.

Another major problem is illegal migration either for employment or for permanent residency. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka has gained notoriety as a source of illegal migrants, with ships illegally carrying its nationals being intercepted regularly in international waters. Nearly all of them are economic immigrants although they cite other reasons such as persecution.

There are traffickers who demand thousands of dollars per person for a risky ocean voyage to the West or Australia/New Zealand. Once on those shores, the illegal immigrants are left to their own devices - and fate. The traffickers who organise these trips make enormous profits and disappear with those funds to unknown destinations so that they cannot be tracked by law enforcement agencies.

A vessel carrying illegal migrants

There are several factors that propel individuals in developing countries to undertake these risky sea voyages where hundreds are crammed into a rickety vessel with little or no margin for safety and hygiene. One factor is a perceived, often not real, sense of insecurity in their native countries. Another reason could be the lack of employment opportunities. Some are just driven by a desire to ‘make it big’ in the West. It is a pity that the dangers of illegal immigration are not properly driven home among the youth.

Employment opportunities

One problem that causes legal and illegal migration seems to be the lack of employment opportunities for certain segments. Sri Lanka does have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the region, but it is important that more employment opportunities are created. It would be beneficial if more opportunities can be created for unskilled persons, to train them in various vocations for employment in Sri Lanka itself. It is also prudent to send more skilled workers abroad, instead of unskilled workers. More avenues must be opened for legal migration, be it for employment or permanent settlement. For example, the creation of more legal employment opportunities in countries such as Italy is a welcome move. The factor of brain drain has to be taken into account, but the country will still benefit through enhanced remittances.

There should be a dialogue between the developing and developed worlds over the issue of migration. Affluent countries must re-examine their border control and immigration policies in view of current developments. Australia, Canada and New Zealand already have legal immigration programs mainly targeted at skilled personnel in the developing world. European and other countries should closely look at these models and explore the possibility of formulating similar programs, which will help block or reduce attempts at illegal entry.

Migration is a complex, worldwide phenomenon. It is a never-ending process. Migrants have the potential to make their home countries prosper thanks to their remittances. They also make a valuable contribution to the economies of host nations. They also enhance the cultural and linguistic diversity of the host countries. But ways and means must be found to encourage legal migration because illegal migration results in a myriad of problems. That will take some time and effort but it is the correct approach to a complex issue.