Archive for category: Migration

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Migration to Poland Amid the Conflict in Ukraine

Migration to PolandAs the Ukrainian-Russian war persists, Ukrainians seek refuge in the major cities of neighboring countries. With Poland bordering the west of Ukraine, several migrants have opted for migration to areas such as Gdańsk, Kraków and Warsaw.

The Big Picture

Ukraine has faced devastating losses within the past two years, including 23,606 civilian casualties and 8,791 civilian deaths, as revealed by U.N. statistics. Along with these impacts, medical services such as clinics and hospitals have been severely disturbed in southern and eastern Ukraine due to destruction and unpredictable attacks from the Russians and restrictions on civilian activity.

According to Intereconomics, approximately 3.5 million Ukrainians have opted for migration to Poland since the beginning of the war, increasing Poland’s population drastically. Poland’s capital, Warsaw, has increased in population by 17% since the beginning of the war.

The Perceptions of Locals

Some locals find this change difficult to deal with, seeing the constant flow of Ukrainians as a burden to the city’s regular day-to-day flow. However, many of those who welcome refugees with open arms see it as a chance for Ukrainians to show their hard work and entrepreneurship in the Polish workforce.

One of these individuals includes 33-year-old Monika Kryszcuk, a Polish citizen born and raised in Warsaw who has witnessed how immigration rates have progressed firsthand. During an interview with The Borgen Project, Kryszcuk explains the Ukrainian migration to Poland is prevalent but not bothersome to her. She says that part of the reason she feels sympathetic for the migrants is that Poland has been where Ukraine is in past years.

“Poland was one of the most damaged countries in the second world war. Therefore we know how it is to flee your home, leave everything behind and just try to survive,” states Kryszcuk.

Present vs. Past

According to BBC News, by July 4, 2022,  almost 1.2 million Ukrainians had applied for temporary residence in Poland. Kryszcuk says that the number of Ukrainians still migrating to Poland is now much lower than last year. She remembers several Ukrainian concerts, marches and protests in Warsaw’s streets, in the months of May and March 2022, calling for an end to the war. Now, she says that protests still happen but are less ostentatious.

In 2022, Kryszcuk and her mother would go to Warsaw’s train stations and pass out critical supplies such as clothes, water and canned food to Ukrainians migrating to other parts of Poland. Kryszcuk says people, including herself, now prefer to offer help by sending aid to organizations working inside Ukrainian borders, considering the escalating humanitarian situation there.

Efforts to Help

Kryszcuk says that she sees Ukrainian grandmothers every day on the streets of Warsaw who have most likely never before left the borders of Ukraine. Now, they are in a foreign country, scared and lost, not knowing what to do next.

The situation many Ukrainians have faced for the past year and a half is dire and there is no resolution in clear sight. However, Kryszcuk explains that people can help struggling Ukrainians through online donations. With Poland being one of the top countries for Ukrainian refugees to migrate to, Polish Humanitarian Action is a notable charitable organization to support to help the cause.

Janina Ochojska established PAH in 1992 and has helped more than 14.5 million people globally. The organization provides resources such as food and aid for those internally displaced or outside refugees fleeing their homes.

Additionally, anyone can support Ukrainian refugees through Poland’s government website under the title “Pomagam Ukraine” (Help Ukraine). Through the website, any individual is able to donate food, clothes and other essentials to refugees. The website includes updates on the refugee situation in Poland as well as a guide for donors who want to effectively support people in these types of difficult circumstances.

Looking Ahead

Overall, Warsaw, and Poland as a whole, have welcomed Ukrainian refugees with open arms. Organizations working on the ground in Poland provide assistance and crucial aid to these vulnerable Ukrainians, providing them with another chance at living normally as the war rages on back in their home country.

– Nina Donlin
Photo: Flickr

Venezuelan Refugees and the Risk of Organized Crime

Millions of Venezuelans have been flooding Colombia’s borders for years because of the political and economic instability of their home country. The refugees do not have many options when they first come to Colombia. Several of them resort to sleeping on the streets, in one of the few refugee camps or if they are lucky enough, with family members that migrated earlier.

Many Venezuelan refugees lack primary health care, job opportunities and safe shelter, and this leaves them in the violent areas near refugee camps. Organized crime groups target and exploit the insecurities of the refugees in order to recruit them and lead them into a dangerous lifestyle. They face dangerous and deadly situations and face the risk of persecution and even deportation in order to make ends meet and survive.

Migrant Crisis

The Venezuelan migrant crisis started in 2013 after President Hugo Chavez died from cancer and his Vice President Nicolas Maduro replaced him Protests started due to allegations of election fraud. Years of political instability, recession and hyperinflation and deadly protests have pushed millions of Venezuelans out of their homes in order to find some security and stability.

Colombian Organized Crime

Organized crime has been rampant in Central and South America for years. Also, crime in Colombia is much higher than anywhere else and has recently seen a resurgence. There are multiple dissenting political militias and insurgencies, with Banda Criminales (BACRIM) being one of the leading organized crime groups dealing in “drug trafficking, violence and illegal mining,” alongside sex trafficking.

Organized crime in Colombia is so systemic because the wealth disparity is quite significant, thereby affecting every part of society. The rural areas tend to be poorer and face a lack of education and political disenfranchisement. Gangs and organized crime can easily overrun state control in these areas due to being in control of massive amounts of wealth.

Organized Crime’s Impact on Refugees

BACRIM and other organized crime groups are so powerful. These groups often replace state security forces in rural and poorer areas, becoming the strongest force in many of the border camps where Venezuelan refugees seek asylum.

Many refugees are undocumented and do not know the ins and outs of Colombia’s legal system and organized crime ring, making them vulnerable to crime and recruitment by gangs.

The gangs lure the Venezuelan refugees with promises of food, shelter and work opportunities. The refugees view working for the gang as a lucrative deal, as many of them are undocumented. They end up doing much of the dirty work and often end up as “street fighters, drug dealers and hit men,” while the women end up in forced sex work and suffer abuse, according to the International Crisis Group.

The Venezuelan refugees end up doing the more visible crime which makes them much more susceptible to discrimination and criminal charges. They face extreme amounts of xenophobia among the general public and are often the scapegoat for other unrelated economic or social issues.

Venezuelan refugees also fear deportation. The xenophobia has led to many anti-immigrant political movements and the easiest government response is through deportation, the International Crisis Group reports.

Ongoing Efforts

The economic issues that Colombia faces contribute to the prevalence of organized crime. Many international organizations have offered money as a resource to help with the migrant crisis. For instance, the World Bank has offered $1.6 billion. The World Bank’s support focuses on addressing needs at all levels of government in addition to providing a short-term to medium/long-term humanitarian response.

Other international organizations and groups have focused on providing better resources and equipment to properly house the migrants. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) launched its emergency response team in 2018 in the border city of Cúcuta in an effort to provide support and resources. The IRC is mainly focusing on providing support to women and children refugees through healthcare and maternal care. By 2020, over 87,000 Venezuelans in both Venezuela and Colombia received help.

UNHCR opened a “reception center” in early 2019 along the border between Venezuela and Colombia to provide some safe, temporary housing and other critical resources. The UNHCR has worked on providing documentation to children in addition to other child care and legal services.

Looking Ahead

Efforts from international organizations and groups are providing support and resources to address the challenges faced by Venezuelan refugees in Colombia. The World Bank’s financial assistance and the International Rescue Committee’s emergency response team are helping to meet the immediate needs of migrants, while UNHCR’s reception center offers temporary housing and critical services. These initiatives are aiming to improve access to healthcare, legal support and documentation, particularly for women and children, providing a glimmer of hope and stability for Venezuelan refugees seeking security and a better future in Colombia.

– Kathryn Kendrick

Photo: Flickr

Why are Albanian Migrants Leaving Albania?

Albania, a developing Mediterranean nation with a population of 2.8 million, has experienced a significant surge in emigration. The U.K. and France are the two most preferred destinations for Albanian migrants, as these countries are home to many Albanian communities.

According to a 2022 report, approximately 70% of Albanian asylum seekers chose the U.K. or France as their destination. In just five months, from May to September, over 11,000 Albanians braved the perilous journey across the English Channel in small boats, with almost all hailing from Albania’s impoverished northern highland region.

Who Are the Albanians Leaving?

The exodus from Albania is diverse, comprising economic migrants seeking employment and asylum seekers fleeing from trafficking and modern slavery. Typically, men lead the way in this migration, with their partners and children joining them later. It is worth noting that most Albanian migrants who travel to the U.K. in small boats are young men, and while many apply for asylum, the U.K. Home Office has thus far rejected 86% of male asylum claims. Of note, there is a substantial backlog of asylum applications that remain unprocessed.

On the other hand, the U.K. approves approximately 90% of asylum claims made by women and children. Madeleine Sumption, Director of The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, notes that most of the Albanians who receive a positive decision are female, possibly due to their status as victims of trafficking. As such, these individuals are eligible for asylum in the U.K.

Why Have They Left?

A recent survey conducted by the Regional Cooperation Council called the Balkan Barometer revealed that approximately 83% of Albanians expressed their desire to leave the country, citing the high cost of living as the most common reason.

Dr. Andi Hoxha of University College London has said that in the last three years, a huge earthquake and COVID-19 have exacerbated poverty and unemployment in Albania. Dr. Hoxha also noted that the government had offered little help to the most affected people.

According to the World Bank, an estimated one-fifth of Albanians fell into poverty during the pandemic. The organization reports that the rising food costs and inflation in Albania are major issues in a country where citizens spend around 42% of their income on food.

In addition to poverty and lack of opportunities, many Albanian young men and boys are being groomed by criminal gangs. A study by the organization: Asylos, which studies asylum claims, suggests that threats of violence compel many young Albanian men into criminal activity, modern slavery and sexual exploitation.

Albania-originated crime networks aim to recruit such vulnerable young males to work illegally in the U.K., notably on cannabis farms. Some young men have also fled to escape violent fallouts from local blood feuds, which are still common in Albania.

Why Now?

Except for the earthquake in 2019, Albania has not been subject to any of the usual factors that precipitate a surge in emigration. Rather, the country’s problems, including poverty, unemployment, corruption and political instability, are chronic. Since 1991 and the fall of communism, more than 40% of Albanians have emigrated. In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in Albanian migrants. Dan O’Mahoney, the Clandestine Channel Threat Commander for the U.K. Home Office, attributes the increase to the activities of smugglers.

The two most significant factors behind the increase in Albanian migrants to the U.K. are the intensified activity of criminal gangs and the heightened ability of smugglers to lure people into coming to the U.K. Organized crime networks target young men in impoverished parts of Albania, while adverts on Tiktok are used by smugglers to attract potential migrants. It has lately become cheaper to be smuggled on a small boat across the English Channel. Fatjona Mejdini of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime told the BBC that whereas migrants would previously have to pay up to £25,000 to be smuggled in a truck, now they can pay only £3,000 to £4000 to be transported by boat or dinghy.

What Does the Future Hold for Albania?

Albania is emptying out, especially in its northern highlands, settlements are turning into “ghost towns” as their young people leave. In the town of Kukësiin in northern Albania, for instance, 53% of its inhabitants have emigrated. Fortunately, foreign investment, significant seasonal tourism and support from the World Bank aim to improve Albania’s economy. For example, the U.K. injected £6 million into Tirana, Albania’s capital city, while the World Bank has partnered with the Albanian government to support its agricultural industry, which employs 36% of the country’s population.

Looking Ahead

The number of Albanian migrants has declined in 2023. Last summer, they accounted for more than half of all arrivals to the U.K., but according to the most recent reports, the number is fewer than 10%. This may be because many of the Albanians who wanted to make the journey already have. Additional factors include worsening weather conditions and a pledge by the U.K. government to fast-track the deportation of illegal migrants. On the bright side, however, continued support from international organizations and countries like the U.K. could help Albania in its effort to address the root causes of emigration.

– Samuel Chambers
Photo: Pixabay

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Human Trafficking in the U.K.

Human Trafficking in the U.K.In March 2023, the U.K. government set out to implement its new solution to the challenge of small boat Channel crossings, a route that at least 45,755 migrants used to gain entry into the country in 2022 alone. The new Illegal Migration Bill could see asylum seekers who arrive in the U.K. through this route removed from the country, potentially impacting the legal and practical support available to victims of human trafficking in the country.

Human Trafficking and Migration in the U.K.

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that involves the exploitation of individuals through the use of force, fraud or coercion to entrap victims into manual labor or sex work. Traffickers use various forms of violence and manipulation to entrap victims. And often, victims from vulnerable backgrounds fall for enticing promises only to find themselves facing the threat of violence once the charade is over.
As things stand, accurately quantifying rates of human trafficking is a challenge, but police records, reports and legal evidence all point to a year-on-year increase in cases of human trafficking in the U.K. In fact, estimates suggest that human trafficking was responsible for the majority of the 130,000 victims of modern slavery identified in the U.K. in 2022. In 2018, 6,993 potential victims of human trafficking, originating from 130 different countries, were identified in the U.K.
Migration and human trafficking are closely linked. And sadly, migrants are especially vulnerable to human trafficking for reasons including poverty, marginalization, language barriers and conflict. Traffickers actively prey upon vulnerable individuals, seeking out signs of economic, political and psychological hardship, as well as a lack of social support.

The Importance of Legislation

The vulnerability of migrants to human trafficking can be entrenched or alleviated by legislation. For instance, restrictive immigration laws that limit the legal movement of people into a country can force migrants to seek entry routes with higher levels of risk, including relying on smugglers and traffickers. The U.K.’s new Illegal Migration bill is an example of such legislation.
The Illegal Migration Bill stipulates stopping any migrant entering the U.K. on small boats across the English Channel from having their claim considered, constituting an effective ban on migration. Practically, this would extend to all victims of human trafficking who entered through this route. Between 2018 and 2022, 7% of migrants entering the U.K. on small boats claimed to be victims of trafficking and modern slavery.
So far, leading human trafficking organizations in the U.K. have raised concerns that the government’s plan would “needlessly block victims of trafficking and slavery from accessing safety and recovery.” Under the new legislation, victims of human trafficking who enter the U.K. through this route would be disqualified from the National Referral Mechanism, which is the only national framework in place for identifying and supporting potential victims of human trafficking.
Alongside reducing protection and support for victims, stricter immigration laws may increase the profitability of human trafficking. A reduction in legal routes through which to enter the U.K. would likely drive people to rely on traffickers. Furthermore, the illegality of all small boat Channel crossings would tighten the hold that traffickers have over their victims as they can exploit migrants’ fear of criminalization and deportation. By denying any migrants who enter in small boats the right to identify as victims of crime, this bill could increase the hold that traffickers have over victims and trap countless victims in unsafe, exploitative situations.

The Pushback

Anti-Slavery International is an organization working to combat detrimental legislation in the U.K. In 2009, it established the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG), a coalition of organizations that exists to monitor the state of the U.K.’s implementation of European anti-trafficking legislation. Since its establishment, the ATMG has successfully influenced legislation such as the Modern Slavery Act, supported the introduction of an Anti-Slavery Commissioner, supported the reversal of a decision to cut down the financial support given to victims of trafficking and ensured that survivors have long-term support from the government. Even more, by amplifying the voices of victims and survivors, the ATMG has made a significant impact in the U.K. and has ensured that legislation such as the Illegal Migration Bill cannot leave all victims ignored and unrepresented.

Reducing Human Trafficking in the U.K.

Aside from a focus on the legislature, there is already a solid foundation of support for potential victims and survivors of human trafficking in the U.K. The Medaille Trust, a leading organization in the fight against human trafficking, takes a holistic approach that aims to reduce trafficking, encompassing prevention, protection and prosecution.

Prevention

The Medaille Trust emphasizes the importance of raising awareness about the risks and signs of human trafficking. Furthermore, one of its main goals is to support socioeconomic development among impoverished communities. By addressing the root causes of vulnerability to trafficking, such as poverty, the Medaille Trust empowers individuals to withstand and protect themselves against the efforts of human traffickers.

Protection

The Medaille Trust provides comprehensive support to victims and survivors of human trafficking through the provision of legal, therapeutic and financial support. Through collaboration with law enforcement agencies, the organization improves arrest rates and offers accommodation for those rescued. In the longer term, the Medaille Trust provides supported accommodation and a specialized ‘moving on’ program that focuses on the resilience and well-being of predominantly female survivors.

Prosecution

The Medaille Trust actively contributes to the prosecution of traffickers. The organization provides U.K. law enforcement agencies with monthly intelligence summaries about human trafficking, facilitates annual conferences for sharing best practices and works alongside survivors who are providing evidence to improve their chances of successful convictions. Through the work of advocacy organizations like the Medaille Trust, the U.K. has seen an increase in convictions for traffickers, a vital step toward combatting human trafficking in the U.K.

Looking Ahead

Overall, legislation plays a crucial role in determining the level of protection and support afforded to victims of human trafficking. And the proposed Illegal Migration bill presented by the British government creates risks for victims of human trafficking in the U.K. as it threatens to strip all migrants entering in small boats of their right to claim support as victims of crime and exploitation. Despite these challenges, a diverse range of international and domestic organizations advocate intently for this vulnerable group, offering support to both survivors and potential victims. Moreover, organizations such as the Medaille Trust actively foster collaboration within the U.K., creating a united front against human trafficking and mitigating the increased risks presented by legislation such as the Illegal Migration Bill.

– Polly Walton
Photo: Flickr

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Addressing the Mediterranean Migration Crisis

Mediterranean Migration CrisisThe migrant boat shipwreck occurring in Italy on February 26, 2023, serves as a reminder that stronger action is necessary to address the Mediterranean migration crisis. Thousands of migrants attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea by boat with the hope of a better future. However, the Mediterranean is a deadly route for migrants, with more than 26,000 people missing or dead since 2014.

The EU’s response to the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean has been criticized for falling short in addressing and collaborating on the issue. Numbers of experts posit that the prioritization of borders over human lives is an uncomfortable truth that must be confronted as the deadly waters continue to claim the lives of those seeking a future free from poverty, war and violence.

Migrant Boat Shipwreck in Italy

The migrant boat shipwreck in Italy led to at least 63 confirmed deaths, including women and children. The migrants had hoped to land near Crotone in search of a new life free from poverty. About 200 migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Iran boarded the boat, which had set out from Izmir, Turkey a few days before the shipwreck.

Due to high poverty rates and extreme living conditions in countries like Afghanistan, people are seeking better opportunities through migration. The economic collapse in Afghanistan, worsened by the Taliban’s seizure of power and international donors suspending non-humanitarian funding has created a humanitarian crisis. As of mid-2021, the U.N. Refugee Agency reported that 2.7 million Afghans were displaced across borders worldwide. 

The loss of lives in this incident serves as a reminder of the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to the ongoing migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.

Recent data shows a noteworthy surge in migrant arrivals in Italy compared to the same months in 2021-2022, with the figures tripling. While the peak of the migrant crisis in the EU was witnessed between 2014-2017, this year has seen a steep increase in arrivals, with Ivorians, Guineans, and Bangladeshis being the most represented nationalities.

Many migrants originate from countries with high poverty rates, including Cote d’Ivoire, which experienced a 6.7% rise in GDP in 2022, yet more than 11% of its population lived below the international poverty line. Similarly, extreme weather events and other factors have led to 35 million people continuing to live below the poverty line, as per recent reports.

Taking Action to Resolve the Mediterranean Migration Crisis

The Global Route-Based Migration Programme, initiated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in 2021, aims to improve the safety and dignity of people on the move, including migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced individuals, along land and sea-based migration routes in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and the Americas.

The program seeks to support 4.7 million people on the move and people in host communities annually by utilizing the expertise and reach of 57 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies worldwide. It is a tool that can be used to address the migration crisis and improve coordination and collaboration among organizations and governments, while also enhancing support and access to essential needs such as food, water, shelter, information and health care.

The Path Forward

Addressing the root causes of migration and providing support to those in need requires a collaborative effort. In a bilateral meeting on the aftermath of the migrant boat shipwreck in Italy, during a March 2023 EU summit in Brussels, French President Macron and Italian Prime Minister Meloni discussed the need for a common European solution to manage migration and aid those in need. While migration policy has been a point of tension between the two countries in the past, this meeting signifies a step toward finding common ground and working together to address the complex challenges of migration in Europe.

– Elena Maria Puri
Photo: Flickr

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Migration to Turkey

Migration to Turkey
Migration to Turkey has hit an all-time high as Turkey is home to “one of the largest migrant populations in the world,” hosting about 4 million refugees and asylum seekers as of 2022, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). According to the International Organization for Migration, historically, Turkey has stood as “a country of origin, transit and destination for migrants” due to its “geopolitical location on the route from the Middle East to Europe” and the conflicts occurring in neighboring countries. Turkey’s migration history dates back to the 1400s, under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Conflict and Violence as a Contributing Factor

Past historic conflicts such as World War II and the Kosovo War significantly contributed to the migration to Turkey while the Syrian civil war and the 2021 Taliban offensive remain the cause of more recent waves of migration.

One of the significant conflict-induced migrations to mention is the Bulgarian Turkish emigration that took place in 1989. Turks who ended up in Bulgarian territory while it was under Ottoman rule had to leave Bulgaria due to political pressure and violence in 1989. Nearly 400,000 ethnic Turks then emigrated back to Turkey. The Bulgarian emigration prompted further waves of migration from the Balkans.

In the 1990s, amid the Bosnian War, about 20,000 Bosnian refugees fled to Turkey in search of safety. In time to come, a similar number of refugees from Kosovo and Macedonia sought refuge within Turkish borders, also due to conflict and violence in their home countries.

The Syrian Refugee Crisis

The number of refugees coming from the Balkans remains relatively small compared to the scale of recent migration waves that hit Turkey. According to World Vision, as of 2021, data indicates that there are more than 6.8 million displaced Syrian refugees. Nearly 4 million of these Syrian refugees currently reside in Turkey.

The first wave of Syrian refugees came about in 2011 when the Syrian civil war just broke out. The world then had to accommodate a large number of war-fleeing refugees from Syria who are currently still unable to return to their country as the conflict rages on.

Turkey as a Country of Refuge

Hosting the largest population of Syrian refugees comes with great responsibility for the Turkish government in terms of meeting the economic and social needs of the migrants.

Turkey spent nearly $350 million of its budget on addressing the refugee crisis in 2022, according to the UNHCR. A large amount of that budget went to “realizing rights in safe environments” and “empowering communities and achieving gender equality.”

In 2021, the EU approved a budget of €149.6 million to fund the vulnerable Syrian refugees residing in Turkey. With the combined EU funding and the Turkish government’s budget for refugees, Syrian refugees are able to receive the support necessary to integrate into Turkish society and into the formal economy.

Alongside government support, there are many nonprofit organizations helping refugees. Established in 2015, Small Projects Istanbul (SPI) is an Istanbul-based nonprofit helping displaced families from the MENA region reestablish their lives through various programs. With a specific focus on youth and women, according to its website, SPI runs a number of initiatives to “promote access to education, protection, social services, psycho-social support and livelihoods.”

At present, Turkey is a major hub for war-fleeing migrants and a representative of exemplary migrant policies.

– Selin Oztuncman
Photo: Flickr

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Climate-Driven Poverty in Central America

Climate-Driven Poverty in Central America 
Hurricane Bonnie is the latest of many natural disasters to hit the coasts of Central America. Along with it came heavy rains and flooding that led to widespread damage and deaths in Nicaragua and El Salvador in July 2022. However, this is not an unfamiliar situation. In 2020, Hurricanes Eta and Iota led to $2 billion worth of damage in Honduras while leaving millions of people in Guatemala and Nicaragua facing food insecurity and internal displacement. In 2021, Hurricane Grace caused landslides and fatalities in Mexico alongside millions of dollars in damage. More concerning is the fact that this pattern has only become more frequent. In the past 20 years, climate-related disasters cost Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries a combined “equivalent of 1.7% of a year’s GDP.” By 2030, extreme weather patterns could thrust as many as 5.8 million people into conditions of extreme impoverishment in the LAC region. As such, climate-driven poverty in Central America is a significant concern.

Millions of people in Central America already live in what is known as the “Dry Corridor,” an area that faces alternating bouts of drought and extreme weather events such as hurricanes. These circumstances leave the largely rural population susceptible to climate-driven poverty, hunger and malnutrition.

Agricultural Impact and Food Security

According to the World Bank, in 2019, the agricultural sector accounted for 14% of total employment in the LAC region. However, around 70% of adults enduring extreme poverty in the LAC region work in the agricultural industry, a vulnerable population that faces disproportionate impacts from extreme weather events.

Job reliance on agriculture also varies by country. For instance, close to 40% of Honduras’ population engages in employment in agriculture, says the Global Agriculture & Food Security Program. Severe weather conditions have had a significant effect on agriculture in terms of employment and food output.

Hurricanes Iota and Eta ruined crops from Central America’s second growing season, affecting both small and large-scale farm operations. In the north of Honduras, the hurricanes caused a large spike in unemployment from the losses sustained in the area’s banana plantations. Coffee production, which makes up a large part of Central American exports and sustains low-income households, also saw damage to crops and irrigation systems from the heavy rains.

Beyond employment, agricultural impacts from these weather events also affect food production. The 2020 hurricanes caused an increase in food prices due to crop damage and raised costs of transportation.

The World Meteorological Organization estimates that as many as 7.7 million individuals in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua faced “high levels of food insecurity in 2021” because of the hurricanes and the exacerbating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well.

Infrastructural Damage

July 2022’s Hurricane Bonnie left thousands of people in Nicaragua without power and water while roads in El Salvador flooded or collapsed.

Two years ago, Hurricane Eta and Iota destroyed government buildings, hospitals and thousands of homes in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. In total, ReliefWeb reports that Eta and Iota caused damages equating to $1.86 billion in Honduras, $742 million in Nicaragua and $775 million in Guatemala. Rural areas faced the harshest impacts as floods, heavy rains and landslides hit homes, streets and community centers. The hurricanes also caused water contamination after damaging the sewage systems, threatening the clean water supply.

Migration and Displacement

Both in 2020 and 2022, many families suffered major losses after the destruction of their homes by the hurricanes,  pushing them into extreme poverty. Hurricanes Eta and Iota in 2020 displaced 1.5 million people in Central America, as the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center estimated.

Alongside food insecurity, poverty and violence, extreme weather events are a major factor in migration in Central America, driving thousands to the United States every year. According to the Brookings Institution, migration from countries like Guatemala to the United States connects to rural impoverishment and “agricultural stress linked to climate change.” Internally, migration from rural areas to urban centers across Central America is also becoming more common due to employment instability in agriculture.

Globally, the 2022 World Migration Report states that extreme weather events and disasters lead to the displacement of more individuals than conflict and violence, and the number will only grow without prompt intervention.

Policy Implications

The World Food Programme and U.N. Environment Programme-backed initiatives are encouraging climate resilience policies to eliminate climate-driven poverty in Central America. For example, the WFP introduced climate risk management practices, including insurance initiatives meant to protect people living in regions susceptible to extreme weather events. The WFP also introduced “forecast-based finance” techniques in countries such as the Dominican Republic, which will provide aid to 10,000 people in the event of the country anticipating a climate disaster such as floods. As of 2021, the WFP estimates that its “climate risk management solutions” assisted around 441,000 people in the LAC region.

CityAdapt, an organization working with the U.N. Environment Programme and funded by the Global Environment Facility, implements “nature-based solutions” in cities and peri-urban regions in Mexico and El Salvador. It uses natural ecosystems to fight the effects of extreme weather changes, promoting “green and blue infrastructure such as urban parks, green roofs and facades, tree planting, river conservation,” and more, according to its website. CityAdapt also launched an online course in 2020 for 40 cities within 14 Latin American countries to educate people on nature-based solutions to address extreme weather conditions.

While the end goal is to prevent the occurrence of extreme weather events, these innovative and resilient approaches have the power to reduce the impact of climate-driven poverty in Central America and other vulnerable regions.

– Ramona Mukherji
Photo: Flickr

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The Basics of Climate Migration

Climate Migration
As global temperatures continue to rise, those in the hottest regions of the world face an impossible choice. They can either endure malnutrition, economic malaise and political instability or run the gauntlet of relocating to greener pastures. Affecting more than 20 million people every year, climate migration poses a serious threat to countries in Central America, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. As people relocate domestically and internationally, they strain their new community’s and their own recourses, leaving both vulnerable.

Exacerbating Already Existing Issues

In Guatemala, climate migration exacerbates many of the issues it already faces. Rapid increases in temperature as well as prolonged droughts followed by violent flooding have destroyed agricultural harvests, forcing many into overcrowded urban centers or seeking refuge in the United States. Since much of the country’s economy is dependent on agriculture, this will increase malnutrition and poverty rates, damaging an already struggling nation.

These effects will only become worse as temperatures continue to rise, with 1.5 million people expected to flee Mexico and Guatemala every year by 2050, according to The New York Times.

Similarly, climate migration in other regions can cause dramatic economic and political harm. Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable to this, as increased temperatures quicken a process known as desertification, in which arid land becomes unusable while coastal regions succumb to rising sea levels and more frequent natural disasters.

For the Philippines and many island nations, marine life degradation and higher sea levels threaten the livelihoods of millions reliant on the sea, creating a host of political and economic issues, according to the OECD report. This will only lead to increased climate migration and further internal disruption.

Affecting the Progress

Looked at from a larger perspective, climate migration threatens to undo decades of progress in the fight against global poverty. Both the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have highlighted the current and potential threat that climate migration poses. In regions like the Sahel desert, water shortages have catalyzed armed violence, displacing more than 3 million people, according to UNHCR. Should the international community ignore this pressing issue, climate migration could become an even greater issue.

Solutions

However, it is not too late to curb the effects of climate migration. With the threat of mass environmental exodus, more organizations have spotlighted the issue, urging nations to protect climate refugees. The Biden Administration emphasized climate migration in a report before the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) released a report in 2021 on how countries like the United States could prevent climate migration from worsening. One proposed suggestion was that the U.S. should allow those fleeing climate-related disasters to seek refugee status.

As more focus is drawn to this alarming phenomenon, increased research is allowing scientists to make estimates as to where climate migration will be strongest and how to fix the issue in the long run, according to The New York Times. Environmental protection policies and aid toward refugees are solutions that tackle the problem from important angles and are becoming more prominent as migration due to weather becomes a larger part of the fight against poverty.

– Samuel Bowles
Photo: Pixabay

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Migration in Brazil

 Migration in Brazil
As one of the largest and most populous nations in the Americas, Brazil has long served as a safe haven for immigrants around the world. In fact, migration in Brazil includes people from Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. Immigrants in Brazil, in turn, have brought many economic and cultural benefits to the nation.

First Wave of Brazil Migration

Brazil’s first wave of non-colonial immigration began in the late 1800s; from 1870 to 1930, between 2 and 3  million migrants from Europe, Asia and the Middle East sailed to the nation in search of a new home. The abolition of slavery spurred the influx of foreigners. Landowners around the country believed that immigrant laborers would help Brazil form a wage-based economy similar to European countries. However, in 1891 Brazilian elites also sought to “whiten” their nation by enacting racist laws which welcomed European immigrants while banning those from African and Asian nations. Brazilians saw Japanese immigrants as an exception to this rule. They viewed Japanese immigrants as essentially European in their mannerisms and industrial habits. In 1935, a federal deputy commented, “The Japanese colonists are even whiter than the Portuguese.”

Continued Brazil Migration

Brazil has aggressively sought out foreign workers to grow its economy. After World War II, for example, the government encouraged workers from Spain, Syria and Lebanon to move to the country, correctly assuming that the laborers would aid Brazil’s industrial sectors. By 1970, 115,000 Spaniards and 22,000 Syrian-Lebanese called Brazil home.

In the following decades, the nation saw a wave of Korean immigration. These families, like those before them, saw Brazil as a land of social mobility. They purchased cheap visas into Bolivia or Paraguay and used the relaxed border laws to enter Brazil.

Informality Supports Undocumented Immigrants

Brazil’s attitude towards immigrants stands out in its informality. While undocumented immigrants do not always receive encouragement to enter Brazil, there remain no current policies that discourage them. In addition, Brazil’s government has frequently created legalization programs that help unregistered citizens gain documentation. The three most recent of these programs gave more than 100,000 foreigners the right to permanent residency in Brazil.

More than 40,000 of those 100,000 foreigners originated from Bolivia. The country of 11 million has struggled for years financially, and as a result, many have flocked to the surrounding nations of Chile, Peru and Brazil. Currently, more than 130,000 Bolivians officially reside in Brazil, although the Brazilian Embassy in the Bolivian La Paz estimates that in total, more than a million Bolivians live within Brazilian borders. This leaves a vast majority of these immigrants undocumented and subsequently subjected to long hours and low pay in the clothing factories and sewing shops where they typically work.

Venezuela: The Largest New Immigrant Population

The largest immigrant population currently residing in Brazil, however, is not Bolivian but Venezuelan. Venezuela is currently experiencing the largest recorded refugee crisis in the history of the Americas, due to political turmoil and widespread poverty. Brazil’s government has been generally supportive of these immigrants. In August 2018, for example, when the state of Roraima requested to close its border with Venezuela, the Brazilian Supreme Court denied the request on constitutional grounds.

Currently, Brazil houses more than 260,000 Venezuelan refugees. The government has granted asylum to more than 20,000, and a two-year residency permit was made available to purchase in 2017 if certain applicants do not qualify for asylum. A 2020 program titled Operação Acolhida (“Operation Welcome”)  funds more than 10,000 plane tickets to help Venezuelans travel to Brazil and is helping 50,000 to get to cities around Brazil. 

Mutually Beneficial into the Future

Brazil has gained many cultural benefits from the enormous amount of immigrants living within its borders. School children and adults alike enjoy Japanese manga and anime; similarly, Brazilian jiu-jitsu would not have been possible without the sumo wrestling the Japanese brought. Kibe, a simple croquette that bars and street carts around Brazil sell, comes from the Middle East via Lebanese immigrants. Stores owned by Korean families provide many items in a typical Brazilian’s wardrobe. 

Some organizations worry that as President Jair Bolsonairo continues to lead the country, Brazil will become less hospitable to migrants. One of the president’s first moves in office, after all, was to pull out of a United Nations migration accord that had been signed the previous month. “We will never withhold help to those in need, but immigration cannot be indiscriminate,” he wrote on Twitter. Still, it seems that the principles of migration in Brazil have generally stayed the same under Bolsonairo. The nation continues to house many from struggling Latin American countries; this February, it also became the first nation in the world to grant humanitarian visas to Ukrainians. 

Migration in Brazil has been a symbiotic process for many years. Brazil has been hospitable towards immigrants, more so than most large countries; and those immigrants have repaid the nation through their work and their culture. One hopes this relationship is able to remain mutually beneficial long into the future.

– Finn Harnett
Photo: Flickr

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An Overview of Migration to Italy from North Africa

Migration to Italy from North Africa
The migration scenario in Italy has evolved considerably in recent years. The request for residence permits for family reasons or protection has drastically increased and the geography of origin is changed. Sea landings from the North African coasts today constitute the main migratory mass toward Italy, a phenomenon that has reached critical proportions over time. Here is some information about the migration to Italy from North Africa.

A Snapshot of the Migratory Flows of the Last Decade

In the last decade, the flow of Italian coast landings from Africa has often reached critical thresholds. The beginning of the Arab Spring and the revolution in Tunisia brought approximately 60,000 people and immigrants to Italy in 2010.

The conclusion of the revolution in Tunisia in January 2011 ended with the interim election of President Mohamed Ghannouchi. This led to a brief period of stagnation in landings in Italy. A new conflict outbreak from Libya brought a new peak in migratory flows two years later.

Since 2014, these landings have reached dramatic thresholds. Between January 2015 and January 2018, the Italian Institute for International Political Studies estimates that the threshold of 180,000 landings per year was reached. These numbers were unmanageable for coast guard rescue teams in the event of shipwrecks and for the capacity of the Italian reception centers.

The February 2017 critical situation led the Italian foreign ministry to sign an agreement with the Libyan government. The three-year agreement required the Italian government to provide economic aid and technical support to the Libyan authorities and the Coast Guard to reduce the smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea while Libya improves the conditions of its migrant reception centers. After two years, the number of landings on the Italian coasts dropped from 200,000 in 2017 to 15,000 in 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to various consequences with heavy repercussions on international mobility. Contrary to tourism, the effects of the pandemic on landings in Italy and Spain, have been opposite. In 2021, there were 67,000 landings in Italy.

Political Response to the Crisis in Europe

Numerous key elements gravitate around the landing of migrants in Italy. Italy does not bear all of the migration crisis expenses ranging from the rescue missions to the logistics and reception of immigrants aimed at guaranteeing livelihood and health care.

The EU commission has allocated the “2014-2020 Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund” for the integrated management of the phenomenon of migratory flows in asylum, integration and repatriation.

The situation in the reception centers is stable as the number of landings today is not so critical. It is natural to consider whether Italy will be able to withstand the pressure in the future if the 2017 figures are reached as the number of migrants housed in official Libya detention centers grew in 2021.

Europe has not developed a concrete plan on the redistribution of immigrants on European soil that will integrate and extend the Malta agreements on the subject, stipulated between Italy, France and Germany. For this reason, only 2% of the 53,000 people who disembarked from 2019 to mid-2021 moved to other European countries.

The Response to the Political Crisis in Italy

On the Italian side, one of the reasons for the rate of irregular immigration from Africa is the fact that Italy’s regular entry channels for non-EU citizens in the last decade have progressively reduced. The reasoning comes from the effect of the 2008 crisis and a political measure dictated more by the nationalist aversion to the increase in landings in recent years than by the objectivity of the figures.

This general closure also underwent replication in the acceptance of international asylum applications by Italy. The change in Italian legislation has meant that the number of permits granted for humanitarian and special protection in 2017 went from 28% to 1% in 2021. The closing trends, which many other European Union countries have followed, are somewhat unjustified, especially since the numbers of landings in recent years are growing.

The third crucial element to consider in this matter is the integration of those who land on the Italian coasts and its close correlation with employment. It is the integration that allows populations who leave their countries driven by wars, violence and poverty to be able to work while rebuilding a life and contributing to the economies of the host countries.

The Italian Institute for International Political Studies states that the difficulty of integrating refugees into the labor market of the country of destination is considerable. According to estimates, after more than a decade from the first entry into the country, the employment rate remains only slightly higher than 50%. This is due to the high general unemployment rate that has plagued Italy since the last global economic crisis and COVID-19 aggravated this further.

Looking Ahead

Over the past year, the number of migrants and refugees who lost their lives trying to reach Europe by sea was 896, a figure more than double the numbers in 2020. Italy’s inadequacies on this matter are still many and cannot be justified by the lack of a lasting and coherent political governance caused by the numerous changes of government. By its divisive character, immigration is often at the center of the media and political debate, becoming a salient point of electoral programs.

The current and past efforts represent a good starting point for improving the national emergency reception and integration plans for migrants to prepare Italy to face the possible future aggravation of these migratory flows. The country will require assistance to face refugees’ continued migration to Italy as many deaths occur at sea.

– Francesco Gozzo
Photo: Flickr