In April this year, the world witnessed an appalling humanitarian disaster upon on the Mediterranean Sea, between Europe and Africa, as many migrants from Africa and the Middle East died trying to reach European soil.
However, it is not just in the Mediterranean Sea that these disasters occur, in South Asia and many other places, people drowned trying to reach other countries in small overcrowded boats.
The conflict in Syria, the rise of Islamic State militants in parts of North Africa and the Middle East, and the conflict in Ukraine, has put the International Organization for Migration and many other aid organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, in a difficult position, as people fleeing to seek refuge in other nations keep surging day by day.
To put this in perspective, we have brought together what experts have said are the reasons behind people leaving their home countries, taking dangerous risks to reach other nations. Experts say there are three main factors driving people out of their countries.
The first factor experts talk about is war. War is not a new word to us. We all know that if there is war, people will try every means possible to escape from being killed or injured. And experts say the ongoing presence of wars and persecutions in Somalia, Burundi, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and other places, are driving people to leave their respective places. Wars they say, have done more than physical damage. People have to leave everything and sometimes everyone they know, in the name of safety. Refugees are increasing day-in and day-out. The largest refugee communities are from Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia. In Lebanon for example, 1 in 5 persons is a Syrian refugee and that their “infrastructure and economy have been pushed to the breaking point“, according to independent observers.
From war, we move on to poverty. According to experts, wealthy nations have taken 14% of the world’s refugee’s total population, but these refugees do not have better-paying jobs, even in these developed nations. The only consolation they (refugees) take, is the fact that, although they are not living up to the standards of their new host countries, their standard of living is significantly better than it was in their country of origin. According to observers, lack of economic resources pushes people to leave their homelands legally or illegally. And the sad thing is, because these migrants are in desperate situations, when they arrived in the countries of their dreams, lots of them work long hours and survive on less than the minimum wage. For example, it is said that in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis make up 90% of the work force. These workers are faced with poor working conditions, unfair treatment and low wages. It is not only in the UAE that this is happening. It is happening in Europe, North America and other places.
The other significant factor, which is also equally forcing people out of their homelands but is largely ignored by many, is climate change. According to experts, environmental changes are forcing quite a number of people to seek protection in safer and securer countries. Just cast your mind back to the recent earthquakes that happened in Nepal. That is a natural disaster. It causes lots of problems and discomforts to the unfortunate people living in these areas. It is said that in Tuvalu, a tiny island nation in the South Pacific, rising sea levels are forcing people to move to nearby countries like New Zealand.
Therefore, from what we have put together, you can see that people leave their homelands not for leisure. They leave because it has become necessary. That is why they take all sorts of risks to reach safer and much more secure countries. It is time for a change of attitude towards migrants. Let’s treat them fairly and equally. Their situations are sad and terrible.
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