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Friday, March 29, 2024

CAN THE SEA STOP US?

Ahead of International Migrants Day, celebrated on December 18, Adity Choudhury explores themes of migration and the importance of this day.

By Adity Choudhury

Underlying narratives of migration are ironies, which lie at the heart of conflict, a tragic fallout because politics demand a certain degree of Machiavellianism. Take Rishi Sunak for instance. The first Indian-origin Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, Great Britain, has announced measures to “control immigration” – one of the reasons his party came to power in 2019.

One wonders how his life and views on immigration would have turned out had his grandparents not migrated to England from East Africa.

As borders grow fluid and illegal migration is a rising concern across the world in an increasingly globalised world, how does one ensure a structured system to control the issue of illegality and immigration?

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in 1990, adopted a resolution – the international convention to protect the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families.

On December 4, 2000, the UNGA proclaimed December 18 as International Migrants Day to commemorate the adoption 10 years earlier.

In line with this year’s theme, “Together we heal, learn and shine.”, Slate desk explores the importance of this day, the kinds of migrants, including the ways in which immigration leads to a robust, thriving multicultural worlds.

The First Step

Human histories are stories of migration. That said, the decision to leave one place for another is easier said than done. It requires a leap of faith to look for better economic opportunities, political safety and to lead dignified lives. It often entails dangerous journeys across man-made, porous borders.

Needless to say, then that any migrant (including internally displaced people) is among the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in society, facing abuse, exploitation and little to zero access to basic services like education and healthcare, to name a few.

Worse, they become targets for xenophobia and stigma, fuelled further by existing stereotypes that are perpetuated over and over again.

Often, migrants work in temporary, informal job sectors that lack security and more often than not, are not conducive to health. While their specific skill sets are desired, many opt for low-paying jobs in order to survive.

Types of Migrants

People migrate for different reasons – economic, political and environmental. Another kind of migration comes under the category, “Family Reunion”.

While economic migrants move to achieve better economic opportunities, usually from developing nations, political migrants are those who seek asylum in another country because of war or discriminatory policies, leading to persecution.

India has stood out in this respect. TMC leader, Mahua Moitra has recently slammed the Centre on two fronts – economic growth and Indians renouncing their Indian citizenship, citing incompetence as a major factor for the slow economic growth and exodus of almost two lakh Indians, abroad.

Globally, the ongoing Syrian civil war and the Rohingya crisis show how state-sanctioned persecution has long-term effects on cultural diversity. People have migrated to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq from Syria, while Rohingyas have sought shelter in Bangladesh. The latter have migrated in waves following the denial of citizenship under the Myanmar nationality law (1982).

Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin’s repressive policies led to large-scale Asian immigration to Great Britain. In 1972, he initiated the expulsion of Indian-Ugandans, calling it an “economic war”. It led to Indians losing their properties – Indians migrated to Uganda when India was a British colony in search of a prosperous life – they owned businesses, making it the backbone of the economy of Uganda.

The resulting fallout was the severance of diplomatic ties between India and his regime. The UK followed suit in the late 1970s. Consequently, Indian-Ugandans immigrated to the UK, Kenya, US, Fiji and Canada, to name a few.

Closer to home, the Reang or Bru community migrated to Assam and Tripura, fleeing Mizoram, following the 1997 inter-community violence.

A tripartite agreement signed between the Centre, Tripura and Mizoram governments aims for the permanent repatriation of over 30,000 internally displaced people (IDP) in Tripura, as of January 2020. Earlier, in 2018, a similar agreement was signed to re-settle the Reang people in Mizoram.

Environmental migration happens as a result of long-term, irreversible changes in the local environment that affect their livelihood and survival adversely. Long-term drought, desertification, deforestation and floods, among others, have caused migration. This group of migrants is known as environmentally displaced people (EDP).

Migration and Culture

In what way does migration build secular democracies?

With people come knowledge systems and skills that shape stronger, resilient communities. Over time, cultural mixing and assimilation in the host nation allow space for cultural interaction.

The synthesis of cultures leads to vibrant cultural markers – cuisine, dance, music and language. The American Civil Rights Movement was as much artistic, as it was political.

Mass immigration, therefore, works on two fronts – ushering in new worldviews, along with skill sets and loss of the same when leaving the country of origin.

It, perhaps, makes us question: how do we ‘legally’ know who is a good or a bad migrant?

The other aspect that is often ignored is the immigrant experience… their loss of roots, culture, identity and traditions as they make their way to embrace new cultural values while adhering to their own culture.

The Anti-Immigration Stance!

Critical to right-wing nationalism is the argument that immigration is a threat to host nations, which hinges on the son-of-the-soil argument and that immigrant culture would replace ‘native’ cultures.

At the heart of such arguments is the idea, rather belief, that one culture is ‘pure’ and migration threatens cultural and racial purity.

Viktor Mihály Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister and leader of the right-wing party, Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance, famously said in his 2018 speech, “We must state that we do not want to be diverse and do not want to be mixed: we do not want our own colour, traditions and national culture to be mixed with those of others. We do not want this. We do not want that at all. We do not want to be a diverse country. We want to be how we became 1100 years ago here in the Carpathian Basin. This is the path that we want to continue along; and unfortunately, today this path and this opportunity is not automatically available to us. This is something that we must fight for, this is something we must defend.”

He further said, “…, but I believe that the true danger comes from the outside; and this danger is not child’s play, and will not disappear within a few weeks or months like a teenager’s spots – of that we can be sure. The world – and within it the Hungarian world – is currently experiencing the reappearance of new phenomena which have not been seen on the planet for hundreds of years. The very fact that even the UN is dealing with the issue of global migration is a clear indication that we are not just talking about a Hungarian issue – and in fact not even a European issue. The question is whether the people of this planet – soon numbering more than six and a half billion – will be capable of living and settling down in the countries in which they were born, or if they will migrate here and there across the globe.”

Former US president Donald Trump, too, focused on “building the wall” to curb immigration.

Considering values and traditions travel with people, dominant stereotypes always look out to ‘other’ those on the move… that certain cultures are bad social models. The present xenophobia against minority cultures in India, for instance, has led to numerous cases of lynchings. The constant mainstream media propaganda is no better and it seeks to show societies in constant war mode.

Historian Yuval Noah Harari, in his celebrated book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, wrote, “Evolution has made Homo sapiens, like other social mammals, a xenophobic creature. Sapiens instinctively divide humanity into two parts, ‘we’ and ‘they’.”

He perfectly summed up the contradiction within cultures – we seek that which we lack and immigration is often a solution, while living in constant fear of the ‘other’.

The Way Ahead!

Imagine societies without migrants!

In order to effectively deal with the issues of legality, one must then see how growth and innovation lie at the heart of immigration. In a globalised world, does isolationism make sense?

Civilisations have evolved because the human experience was and continues to be about migration. While illegal migration remains a thorn, it takes collective commitment to ensure healing, learning, and ensuring a comfortable transition from a life of uncertainty.

The question that remains…will migration ever stop?

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