jomc222assignment-blog - Tumblr blog

[jomc222assignment-blog]

The immigration crisis in Germany has caused a political changed. Germany is known to be one of the most welcoming countries. Germany is one of the top countries to accept immigrants. One million refugees came into the country four years ago to seek safety. There is no longer an immigration crisis but rather political issues that have developed. The overpopulation is leading to the deportation of these immigrants and those who are employed are the most impacted. 

Germany might be imposing border control as a result of this crisis which means racial profiling at European borders. This would be very bad. 

Border-free travel within the union could become the exception. Unless German leaders set up mandatory border checkpoints at every rail and road crossing with Austria. There they will do a selective screening. There will most likely be racial profiling, in which white people get to freely cross borders but people of color will most likely be stopped. 

https://youtu.be/E5AGNBEGQqE

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/10/26/u-s-should-learn-from-germanys-immigration-failings/

[jomc222assignment-blog]

From 2010 to 2017, There were approximately 400,000 sub-Saharan migrants that moved to the states.

Europe has had more immigrants from diverse African countries than the US with 54 percent of the population coming from Nigeria, South Africa, Somalia, Senegal, Ghana, Angola, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Cote D’Ivoire.

 Migration from African countries to other regions across the globe has increased dramatically over the past decade with “African nations accounting for eight out of 10 fastest growing immigration populations since 2010

[jomc222assignment-blog]

Since the start of the civil war in Syria on March 15, 2011, many families have suffered brutal conflicts that have killed thousands of people, dismantled the entire country, and reduced the standard of living for decades. Nearly 12 million people need HIV assistance.

Health care centers and hospitals, schools, utilities, and water and sanitation systems have been damaged or disrupted. Historic landmarks and once-shifted markets have been destroyed.

The fragmentation of millions of people has caused the largest refugee and displacement crisis of this era. Today, about 6.7 million Syrians are refugees and another 6.2 million people are displaced in Syrian territory. Half of the victims were children.

The civil war has become a sectarian conflict, with religious groups opposing each other, which has affected the entire region and has been severely affected by international intervention. Syrian forces and various militant groups are fighting to control the territory of the country’s northeast and northwest.

Updated on October 17, 2019: According to UN refugee agency data, since the increase in military operations in northeastern Syria in early October, more than 130 civilians have been killed and more than 16 have fled, including at least 70,000 children.

Most of Syria’s 6.7 million refugees have fled the border by land and sea to neighboring countries, but remain in the Middle East.

Turkey-Turkey has 3.6 million Syrian refugees. Ninety percent of Syrian refugees in Turkey live outside refugee camps and have limited access to basic services.

Lebanese-950,000 Syrian refugees make up about one-sixth of Lebanon’s population. , Rent, utilities, and food.

About 120,000 people live in refugee camps such as Za'atari and Azraq, where aid communities have turned desert waste into cities.

Iraq-250,000 Syrian refugees are in Iraq. They are concentrated in the Kurdistan Region in the north, where more than one million Iraqis have fled ISIS. Most refugees have been included in the community, but large numbers of new immigrants are putting pressure on services.

Egypt-Egypt has 130,000 Syrian refugees.

At the height of the European immigration crisis in 2015, 1.3 million Syrians sought refuge in Europe. But since then, the number of new asylum seekers has decreased significantly.

[jomc222assignment-blog]

It is very important to clarify Somalia’s essence as a country because immigration in Africa is often viewed in a derogatory connotation. Somalia gained independence from the United Nations(Italy) on July 4th of 196. Once nicknamed the “Switzerland of Africa”, Somalia enjoyed close to a decade of democracy. The turmoil began at the assassination of the nation’s second elected president, Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke,  

Somalia’s narrative with immigration has been one of many decades. Following the country’s civil war-- which spanned from 1991 to the current tribal conflicts still occurring-- the people of Somalia have been scattered in their millions to refugee camps and neighboring countries - and in their hundreds of thousands to the UK, Canada, and the United States. But the other long-lasting outcome was a civil war, with myriad competing factions and frequent intervention by foreign powers and neighboring countries. In 2006, the Islamic Courts Union split into several factions, one of which was Al Shabab. The radical group still controls large parts of the south of the country today.  

The ongoing civil war has caused serious damage to Somalia's infrastructure and economy. Thousands of Somalis have either left as economic migrants or fled as refugees. Most spent months, if not years, in refugee camps. Around 200,000 Somalis refugees have fled to Yemen and roughly 50,000 to the UAE. There are around 150,000 Somalis living in Canada, 100,000 in the UK and 85,000 in the US. 

The most recent factor pushing Somalians out of their home has been the flooding due to its location at the “Horn of Africa”. Moderate to heavy rains continued in many parts of Somalia and within the Ethiopian highlands over the last week. River levels at Belet Weyne (Shabelle) are currently very high and the trend is expected to continue reaching over a bank in the coming few days. An estimated 182,000 people have been displaced thus far due to flooding, according to UNHCR-Protection Return Monitoring Network (PRMN). Farmland, infrastructure, and roads have been destroyed, and livelihoods disrupted in some of the worst-hit areas.

To better prepare for “major climate-induced shocks” such as flooding and drought that Somalia already faces every two to five years, the country and the U.N. Development Program this week launched a $10 million project to expand weather monitoring resources and train a largely rural population in water conservation and flood management.

[jomc222assignment-blog]

Currently Italy is hosting over 170,000 refugees. Around 240,00 made the journey across the Mediterranean, though only 40% of asylum requests were granted in 2017 and this number has only gotten lower throughout the years. Thousands are denied access to the Italian system, which leads to many people setting up makeshift accommodations in abandoned buildings to survive. These people have to work in horrible conditions, men usually pick fruit in Sicily in extreme heat for minimal pay and women are often trafficked into prostitution. 

As the number of people immigrating to Europe has dropped 80%, the anti-immigration stance has remained the same. In October of this year Italy created a scheme to get immigrants out of the country faster, cutting the decision time shorter on deciding if an asylum should stay in the country. Matteo Salvini, the leader of The League Party, closed Italy’s ports that migrant rescue ships sue and threatened people who tried to use the docks with a fine of up to one million Euros. Thought the 5-Star Movement started working with the Democratic Party and are trying to introduce less aggressive solutions to immigration. Since then four EU states have agreed to distribute people saved from the Mediterranean. Thought they do not believe this to be the final solution, they do believe it is a good place to start. 

The reason that Italy has become stricter with their immigration laws is because many of the immigrants come form safe European or African countries. Over one third of the immigrants from 2019 came to Italy from safe countries. Salvini stated that in his first year as the leader of The League 100,000 immigrants would be repatriated and that throughout his five- year term 400,000 immigrants would follow. Though as of September of this year only 5,244 immigrants have been repatriated. 

[jomc222assignment-blog]

The topic of immigration has been going on for a while in Turkey but due to a civil war in Syria starting in 2015, the population of immigrants has risen dramatically in Turkey.  Turkey has been a host to 3.66 million registered Syrian refugees and aided millions of dollars to the crisis. And since they have been in Turkey about 500,000 refugee babies have been born. According to a survey taken by the WFP, 84% of refugee households have at least one working person, but the issue is not all of them are working legally.  3% of the people working have permits, which allow them to work but they are then required to pay taxes and social security.

The refugees also have access to free health care and education.  But with the language barrier, families needing their kids to work for money and poverty many refugees do not attend school or see doctors.  

A poll taken in 2016 showed Turkish citizens had no issue with the Syrians migrating to Turkey, but recently, especially after an economic downturn in 2018, many Turksh citizens wish for the refugees to go back to their country.  In 2019, after the Municipal elections, many unregistered refugees were pushed out of Istanbul and deported to places in northern Syria.

Turkey is doing all they can to help the Syrians but they also are trying to make sure their own citizens are safe and thriving, Turkey has used their military to help create safe zones for the Syrian refugees to return home.  The UN also plans on helping to make better communities for people to want to return to Syria and have a better life.

[jomc222assignment-blog]

Venezuela is currently going through one of the most horrific power struggles recorded in recent history, leading to an extreme lack of resources, and pushing millions of Venezuelans out of the country.

In March of 2013, Venezuela’s socialist leader, Hugo Chavez passed away. In April of that year, Chavez’s mentee, Nicolas Maduro, was elected as his predecessor. During President Maduro’s time in office, the economy tanked, and hyperinflation took over the country. Many citizens blamed his socialist motives and values for the downfall of the country. This led to increasing numbers within opposition parties to fight back against Maduro’s administration. To their dismay, Nicolas Maduro was re-elected in 2018, but not without controversy. Many candidates were not allowed to run, got sent to prison, or had to leave the country to avoid being sent to prison. This fraudulent election furthered hatred toward Maduro and fueled opposition parties even more. The Venezuelan Constitution actually says under certain circumstances (including fraudulent elections) the president of the National Assembly is who takes over the office of the presidency. Guaido has now declared himself acting president of Venezuela, and is taking to social media to talk citizens and the military into switching to his side. While the United States and 50 other countries recognize Guaido has the legitimate president, countries like Russia and China are standing by Maduro.

With all of this corruption in politics consuming the nation, millions of Venezuelans have suffered the consequences. In the first seven months of 2016, roughly 1,000,000 Venezuelans fled the country. Altogether, more than 4,000,000 have been forced to leave. By November 2018, hyperinflation had risen to a staggering 1,300,000%, and prices were doubling every 19 days. Citizens have quickly no longer been able to afford basic human necessities.

The refugee crisis in Venezuela is now the second largest internationally, behind Syria. The UN says that the number of people to flea the country could surpass 5,500,000 by the end of 2019. Countries like Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and more have accepted large amounts of refugees, with Colombia taking in over 1,300,000. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees requested about $738,000,000 from international donors to aide these countries who are taking in refugees and don’t have the resources, jobs, shelter, and etc. to house so many people. They only received about 27% of the funds requested, a shortage that is extremely disheartening in the process of coming to any sort of conclusion. Countries like Colombia and Peru are doing everything they can, but soon they won’t be able to do much more without international help. 

Although Guaido is largely recognized by over 50 other nations as the acting president of Venezuela, Maduro still holds the loyalty of most of the military and vital allies like China and Russia. Guaido attempted a rebellion in April and it failed, making him lose parliamentary immunity. Meanwhile, Venezuelan refugees are being targeted, malnourished, and forced into brutal trips out of their homeland. Unfortunately, the political climate is still too hostile, and serious action has to somehow be taken soon. Otherwise millions of people will continue to suffer.

[jomc222assignment-blog]

As Americans, we see the US-Mexican border as a hotspot for immigration. Though it is, there is another place in the world that is having a lot of troubles with immigration. Moria, Greece is “the eye of the needle through which migrants must pass as they travel from east to west, a pressure point between Istanbul and Brussels.” (The Atlantic)

Moria was built for 3,000 people, it is now home to more than 13,000 (including an estimated 1,000 unaccompanied minors). With extreme overpopulation comes filth, and poor living situations. The trip that these people are making is dangerous and those who do survive are greeted with horrible conditions and then are required to wait months, if not years in some cases, for Greek bureaucracy to review their asylum applications. “According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Lesbos receives 40 percent of all the arrivals by sea to Greece, and Moria is operating at seven times its capacity. Almost every day, boats arrive on Lesbos from Turkey, carrying migrants. In September alone, 12,500 people arrived in Greece, mostly from Afghanistan and some from Syria. The number of people who have come to Greece since July is the highest since March 2016, when the EU signed a deal with Turkey pledging 6 billion euros to Ankara so that it would keep Syrian refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war inside Turkey, where they receive assistance from the Turkish state.” (The Atlantic)

This is a crisis that we may not be super knowledgeable about but is something that definitely deserves attention. There are people who are fleeing their countries in search of something better but are greeted with overpopulation filth, and crime. Imagine if you left your home country and had to wait for a government to decide your fate. I am not sure what the solution is but I think there has to be a better way to go about this situation specifically and with situations like it all over the world because people deserve better treatment than what they are receiving.

[jomc222assignment-blog]

A recent immigration agreement between Honduras and the United States, signed in September, could force migrants seeking asylum in the United States to be rerouted to Honduras. The agreement is similar to others that have been reached with Guatemala and El Salvador, to name a couple. This is despite the fact that the U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory to its own citizens encouraging them to avoid Honduras due to “violent crimes, such as homicide and armed robbery, being common.” Currently, 60% of the country lives in extreme poverty and the existing infrastructure cannot realistically handle an influx of migrants.

This is happening parallel to widespread revolts in Honduras against the U.S. supported authoritarian government in which protestors have been beaten and killed. This is the same government that is led by a president who was recently accused by U.S. prosecutors of accepting cartel money in the form of campaign donations and letting the country function as a narco-state. Government persecution aside, Honduras also has one of the highest murder rates in the world, next to El Salvador and Jamaica.

On top of all that, the current U.S. presidential administration has also repeatedly threatened to cut off financial aid to Central American countries, including Honduras, if they do not curb immigration to the U.S. This would threaten social programs in these countries, and likely have the opposite effect: it would drive more to leave the country in search of a better, safer life.

[jomc222assignment-blog]

“Immigration in Guatemala”

Immigration has become a topic of concern for many prior to the 2016 election, however, since then, it seems as though there is a magnifying glass placed on the situation. Political rhetoric has exacerbated concerns and aided in the cultivation of negative stereotypes. “Build the wall” has manifested itself into more than a catchy political slogan, it has become the pillar for foreign policy. The highly xenophobic language that has dominated official policy is centered around misperceptions and blanket statements about immigrants and refugees. Majority of Americans believe that all the Latin/Central American immigrants are coming from Mexico, and that the Mexican government is working with the U.S. in order to alleviate the strain of immigration. 

In reality, many of the immigrants are coming to the U.S. from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela to seek asylum in the U.S. The need for asylum is a result of ongoing civil wars, or in order to escape cyclical violence that persists after the end of a civil war. It is important to understand that the United States has ongoing immigration policy that granted these states a “protection status”, which signified that citizens of the specified states had a legitimate reason to flee their country. However, under the Trump administration this status has been revoked and citizens of these nations are being publicly vilified for seeking protection. 

Another misconception is that the Mexican government is allied with the U.S. and that there is an active transnational cooperation occuring. When in reality, the U.S. government has made an agreement with the Guatemalan government, which would ensure that Guatemala would develop an asylum program. The goal is to reroute immigrants and refugees from the Southern border to Guatemala. The “administration is prepared to spend $40 million to build up Guatemala’s ability to create an asylum system — case workers, shelters and so forth — for those who truly need protection, U.S. officials said this week. It was the first time they have placed a dollar amount on the financial component of the deal”. The nation itself does not have the adequate infrastructure to support the demand and volume of immigrants, and the prevailing conditions also jeopardize the safety of those who are fleeing violence.

This multimillion dollar deal would result in al asylum cases to be processed in Guatemala, and if it is approved by the U.S. government then the refugees would be permitted into the U.S. The underlying issue with this is not only the fact that the Guatemalan government is not adequately equipped to handle the situation, but citizens are fleeing from the Guatemalan government. The thirty year civil still has long lasting effects on citizens, especially those that are of Indigenous descent. There is high levels of poverty, sexual violence, and occasions of state sanctioned violence. Forcing those fleeing human rights violations into a state that is culpable for committing similar actions is irresponsible and dangerous. The U.S. government is being complicit in their attempt to turn those in need away. Seeking asylum is not a crime, and a majority of those at the Southern border are following laws set in place by the U.S. government, and in return they are being punished and forced into the same situations again, but in a different nation.