Sending the migrants home is not the solution

by Mary-Sanyu Osire

The four South Sudanese were relaxing in their room, in anticipation of a long day at work. A few minutes later, they lay dead, their motionless bodies lying in swelling pools of blood on the carpet of their apartment in Northern Israel.

Four more senseless deaths. Four more reasons why hosting communities should be better sensitized about the benefits of migration.

Since 2006, approximately 4,600 refugees from Sudan have entered Israel from Egypt. Enraged by the influx of migrants, the hosting communities have gradually developed resistance to migration, primarily because they feel that their sources of livelihood are being threatened.

This situation is not native to Israel alone. Across the world, communities struggle to wholeheartedly embrace the migrants who live in their midst.

The banner reads: "We are not criminals, give us a chance for a better life!" This was at a public rally that was organized by immigrants residing in the United States of America. Photo credit/Google Images

A point of concern is what would happen if the apprehension at the grassroots eventually translates into hosting governments opting to put in place discriminatory policies that would border on xenophobia?

The easiest way out of this quagmire may seem to send the migrants home, but considering recent demographic and labor migrant trends, the fact of the matter is that the hosting governments need these migrants to advance their countries’ economies.

In a recent press statement by William Lacy Swing, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), he outlines the benefits of migration.

According to Swing, a study published earlier this year by University College London showed that newcomers from Eastern Europe paid 37 per cent more in taxes than they received in benefits and from public services in 2008-09. Many more migrants helped to provide critical public services as doctors, nurses or cleaners in the National Health Service. Another recent piece of research highlighted the positive entrepreneurial impact immigrant communities have on the British economies.

He goes on to note that according to the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, in the United States, native-born Americans gain an estimated $ 37 billion a year from immigrants’ participation in the US economy. More than one in 10 self-employed business people in the U.S. is an immigrant.

Says Swing: “Despite the evidence, few issues still elicit stronger reaction than that of migration. From the floors of parliaments to city streets to discussions around dinner tables, there are heated debates about migrants’ impact on national identity, security, employment, health and social welfare systems – all those things that make up the fabric of a society. Unfortunately, many of these discussions are based on emotions and myths and not on social and economic reality. Migration now and in the future will be driven by global economic, social and demographic trends that can no longer be ignored.”

I could not have summed it up any better.

The onus is on governments to embrace the benefits of migration, and to sensitize their citizenry about these benefits.

Sending the migrants home is not the solution.


The author is a humanitarian analyst and she writes on migration. Email her on: msanyu@yahoo.com