The challenge of refugees and economic migrants

The international community is fumbling its way toward a new policy on migration. A UN summit has produced a glimpse of the armature on which it is likely to be formed. It would seem to have two distinct arms. The first of these is to draw a clear distinction between refugees, those who are seeking shelter from conflict in their homeland, and economic migrants who are just after a better life for themselves and their families back home. The new British Prime Minister Theresa May was among political leaders who asserted this week in New York that economic migrants mingled in the tide of migration were actually diminishing the opportunities for genuine refugees. The argument is that the economic migrants did not have to be there, whereas those families fleeing from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan had little other option. What is not clear is what proportion of the tidal wave of migrants is purely seeking prosperity in wealthy Europe, rather than safety. However, regardless of the number, the presence of these extra, and it is being argued, unnecessary migrants, is muddying the waters for those who genuinely need help. Racist, Islamophobic political parties have used the volume of new arrivals to peddle their bigotry and hatred. In Germany the chief victim has been the enlightened chancellor Angel Merkel whose Christian Democrat Union took another drubbing on Sunday in local elections in Berlin. In France the standout casualties have been the Republic’s much-vaunted founding principles of Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood. It must be asked however if economic migrants are actually at the root of the problem. After all, as Merkel said when she originally announced her generous asylum policy, many of them have skills that the German economy needs. Moreover, these migrants typically come as individuals rather than with their families. The second arm of international policy that seems to be forming is the direct flows of aid toward the places from where both the migrants and refugees are coming. Thus there is for instance a plan to set up and fund a major industrial park in Ethiopia, where overseas investment will also seed new businesses. It is hoped that this initiative will create thousands of jobs and encourage Ethiopians to stay at home. For genuine refugees the aid is being directed to the camps, particularly around Syria’s borders, where millions of people are sheltering from the conflict that continues to tear their country apart. This aid does not simply cover the daily essentials of life but is also being used to set up enterprises within the camp. Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey restrict movements from their refugees camps for fear of a disruptive economic impact in the surrounding region. So the camps have created their own, often thriving local economies. Nevertheless, it is far from clear how successful a clampdown on economic migrants will be. It is surely not a crime meriting deportation, to try and improve one’s prosperity. The Europeans have clearly forgotten that they themselves were once economic migrants when they came uninvited to the shores of foreign countries and proceeded to colonize them and ruthlessly exploit their natural resources. And then of course there is the United States, the greatest and most remarkable example of economic migration the world has ever seen.