Simply speaking, a migrant is someone who chooses to move, and a refugee is someone who has been forced from their home. UNHCR. We hope that others will give thought to doing the same. Since the 1990s, as borders have come down within Europe, giving most EU citizens free movement and passport-free travel, its external frontier has become increasingly militarised. Daniel Trilling deconstructs the beliefs that still shape policy and public opinion, From the archive: Five myths about the refugee crisis podcast, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Migrants cross into Slovenia, 2015 Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images. Climate change has the potential to create far greater displacement than we have seen in recent years; as with refugees from war, it is likely to be poorer countries who feel the greatest impact. So, at UNHCR we say 'refugees and migrants' when referring to movements of people by sea or in other circumstances where we think both groups may be present boat movements in Southeast Asia are another example.
It is no small irony, either, that many of the refugees who arrive on European shores today have been engaged in similar struggles for rights and equality in their home countries.
Turning refugees away could mean sentencing them to death. But it implies a certain naivety on the part of the beholder, that someone is being pulled by an illusion that the rest of us do not share. Even now, a hierarchy of suffering pervades much of the debate, in which peoples struggles are ignored or dismissed depending on their background, with little discussion of how Europe might have contributed to the situation of the countries the migrants leave behind either historically, or through the military and economic policies of current governments.
And we say 'migrants' when we mean people moving for reasons not included in the legal definition of a refugee. Countries have specific responsibilities towards anyone seeking asylum on their territories or at their borders. Thai These include safety from being returned to the dangers they have fled; access to asylum procedures that are fair and efficient; and measures to ensure that their basic human rights are respected to allow them to live in dignity and safety while helping them to find a longer-term solution. The legal principles they enshrine have permeated into countless other international, regional, and national laws and practices. [5], With economic migration on a large scale, the majority of migrants are often of working age, defined by the OECD as 15-64 years of age. Estonian It is important to understand that, just because migrants do not flee persecution, they are still entitled to have all their human rights protected and respected, regardless of the status they have in the country they moved to. States bear the primary responsibility for this protection. No one can be known solely through their legal status. These, I think, are the sorts of questions we should be asking. Amnesty International estimates that, between 2007-2013, before the crisis, the EU spent almost 2bn on fences, surveillance systems and patrols on land or at sea. And how likely is it that states which treat migrants with such callousness will behave similarly towards their own citizens? Italian And to stem unwanted migration from sub-Saharan Africa, Europe has tried to strike deals to stop the people-trafficking routes that run across the desert and through north Africa. Caesar told me he just wants to find a dull job and forget about the past. Hebrew But although Europes crisis of displacement had a beginning and an end, for much of the world, displacement is persistent, its causes apparently more complicated, the people at the centre of it afforded less significance. There are lots of different reasons for people to start a journey to build a life in a new country.
One of the most fundamental principles laid down in international law is that refugees should not be expelled or returned to situations where their life and freedom would be under threat. Portuguese Unlike refugees who cannot safely return home, migrants face no such impediment to return. Welcoming people from other countries strengthens host communities by making them more diverse and flexible in our fast-changing world. Albanian We condemn any policies and practices that undermine the rights of people on the move. Tharu of refugees are hosted by developing countries. Some are detained by the authorities as soon as they arrive in a new country.
What is more, media coverage that jumps from one flashpoint of a crisis to another can neglect to examine underlying causes Europes complex border system, for instance. Somali Greek Some no longer feel safe and might have been targeted just because of who they are or what they do or believe for example, for their ethnicity, religion, sexuality or political opinions. However, a smaller proportion is from elsewhere, and for many of these individuals, the term 'migrant' would be correct. Migrants fill important niches in the labor market, and contribute significantly to labor market flexibility, especially in Europe[citation needed]. Many people migrate because their homes have become dangerous or difficult to live in. You do not have to let your thinking be limited by the categories that currently exist. Refugee law provides an essential protection for some kinds of displaced people, but not all of them. Throughout 2015, I kept hearing and reading about refugees having a dream of Europe. Most of the migrants who arrived tried to continue their journeys to north-west Europe, and enforcement of the Dublin regulation temporarily collapsed. When he arrived, Sicily had the attention of the worlds media: journalists wanted to know the stories of people like Caesar: where they had come from, what kind of journeys they had taken, what the worst things they had experienced were. Many of them return to their home countries after a few years. The cameras dont come here any more because its only blacks arriving in Sicily now. He felt very strongly that people like him had been abandoned by the media, and by a system that was taking years to process his asylum claim.
Read our more detailed analysis on Refugees in Numbers. As Caesar, a young man from Mali who I met while reporting in Sicily, put it to me: Its not as if one person has refugee printed on his forehead and another has economic migrant.. Why should anyone have to put up with these conditions? Rather, the causes that drive families and individuals to cross borders and the short-sighted and unrealistic ways that politicians respond to them are the problem. It has been updated to reflect more current figures. Governments should never force anyone to go back to a country where they are at risk of human rights violations. [9], Many developing economies largely depend on remittances sent from abroad. A deal with Turkey, launched in March 2016, has reduced the movement of Syrians towards Europe, even though over 12 million Syrians remain displaced by the war 5 million of these outside their country and many are still in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Far from being the barbarians they are often portrayed as a mass of illegals threatening European security and identity rightless people appear as the first signs of a possible regression from civilisation, Arendt warned. Blurring the two terms takes attention away from the specific legal protections refugees require. But for some people, they will need to leave their country entirely sometimes for a short time, but sometimes forever. There are many reasons why it might be too difficult or dangerous for people to stay in their own countries. Does this mean that all migrants are moving from good situations to better ones? The terms migrant and refugee are often used interchangeably but it is important to distinguish between them as there is a legal difference. Xhosa There are about 26 million refugees globally. An emigrant seeking access into a wealthier state. Hindi Amnesty has championed the human rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants for decades. In late August 2015, as unprecedented numbers of refugees from Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East made their long walk through the Balkans, I was visiting Caesar at his home in Sicily. People will continue to move to improve their quality of life not only because of extreme poverty, but because they are connected to global culture and global networks of communication. The rights of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers are protected by international law, regardless of how and why they arrive in a country. The main difference is choice. Look, they could say, theres no such thing; you only get rights by being part of the nation. The people are not the problem. As a community of nations that has overcome war and fought totalitarianism, Barroso said in his acceptance speech, we will always stand by those who are in pursuit of peace and human dignity.. Migrants choose to move not because of a direct threat of persecution or death, but mainly to improve their lives by finding work, or in some cases for education, family reunion, or other reasons. For example, the total remittance to GDP ratio has been estimated to be 12% in Armenia. Yes, there is a difference, and it does matter. And others will continue to try to migrate even when states dont want them to. Wouldnt you? Once theyre settling in and start building a new life, many face daily racism, xenophobia and discrimination. It belittles them, while at the same time aggrandising us. Amharic Slovenian The two terms have distinct and different meanings, and confusing them leads to problems for both populations. The protection of refugees has many aspects. We at Amnesty International disagree that it is a crisis of numbers. German Oriya Some of them move to be with family or for economic reasons. Hausa Wars produce refugees. Successful energy transitions should also reduce the severity and number of failed states, which usually cause several types of refugee crises. It is by no means the only destination most African migration, for instance, occurs within Africa. They are so recognized precisely because it is too dangerous for them to return home, and they need sanctuary elsewhere.
It is no small irony, either, that many of the refugees who arrive on European shores today have been engaged in similar struggles for rights and equality in their home countries.
Turning refugees away could mean sentencing them to death. But it implies a certain naivety on the part of the beholder, that someone is being pulled by an illusion that the rest of us do not share. Even now, a hierarchy of suffering pervades much of the debate, in which peoples struggles are ignored or dismissed depending on their background, with little discussion of how Europe might have contributed to the situation of the countries the migrants leave behind either historically, or through the military and economic policies of current governments.
And we say 'migrants' when we mean people moving for reasons not included in the legal definition of a refugee. Countries have specific responsibilities towards anyone seeking asylum on their territories or at their borders. Thai These include safety from being returned to the dangers they have fled; access to asylum procedures that are fair and efficient; and measures to ensure that their basic human rights are respected to allow them to live in dignity and safety while helping them to find a longer-term solution. The legal principles they enshrine have permeated into countless other international, regional, and national laws and practices. [5], With economic migration on a large scale, the majority of migrants are often of working age, defined by the OECD as 15-64 years of age. Estonian It is important to understand that, just because migrants do not flee persecution, they are still entitled to have all their human rights protected and respected, regardless of the status they have in the country they moved to. States bear the primary responsibility for this protection. No one can be known solely through their legal status. These, I think, are the sorts of questions we should be asking. Amnesty International estimates that, between 2007-2013, before the crisis, the EU spent almost 2bn on fences, surveillance systems and patrols on land or at sea. And how likely is it that states which treat migrants with such callousness will behave similarly towards their own citizens? Italian And to stem unwanted migration from sub-Saharan Africa, Europe has tried to strike deals to stop the people-trafficking routes that run across the desert and through north Africa. Caesar told me he just wants to find a dull job and forget about the past. Hebrew But although Europes crisis of displacement had a beginning and an end, for much of the world, displacement is persistent, its causes apparently more complicated, the people at the centre of it afforded less significance. There are lots of different reasons for people to start a journey to build a life in a new country.
One of the most fundamental principles laid down in international law is that refugees should not be expelled or returned to situations where their life and freedom would be under threat. Portuguese Unlike refugees who cannot safely return home, migrants face no such impediment to return. Welcoming people from other countries strengthens host communities by making them more diverse and flexible in our fast-changing world. Albanian We condemn any policies and practices that undermine the rights of people on the move. Tharu of refugees are hosted by developing countries. Some are detained by the authorities as soon as they arrive in a new country.
What is more, media coverage that jumps from one flashpoint of a crisis to another can neglect to examine underlying causes Europes complex border system, for instance. Somali Greek Some no longer feel safe and might have been targeted just because of who they are or what they do or believe for example, for their ethnicity, religion, sexuality or political opinions. However, a smaller proportion is from elsewhere, and for many of these individuals, the term 'migrant' would be correct. Migrants fill important niches in the labor market, and contribute significantly to labor market flexibility, especially in Europe[citation needed]. Many people migrate because their homes have become dangerous or difficult to live in. You do not have to let your thinking be limited by the categories that currently exist. Refugee law provides an essential protection for some kinds of displaced people, but not all of them. Throughout 2015, I kept hearing and reading about refugees having a dream of Europe. Most of the migrants who arrived tried to continue their journeys to north-west Europe, and enforcement of the Dublin regulation temporarily collapsed. When he arrived, Sicily had the attention of the worlds media: journalists wanted to know the stories of people like Caesar: where they had come from, what kind of journeys they had taken, what the worst things they had experienced were. Many of them return to their home countries after a few years. The cameras dont come here any more because its only blacks arriving in Sicily now. He felt very strongly that people like him had been abandoned by the media, and by a system that was taking years to process his asylum claim. Read our more detailed analysis on Refugees in Numbers. As Caesar, a young man from Mali who I met while reporting in Sicily, put it to me: Its not as if one person has refugee printed on his forehead and another has economic migrant.. Why should anyone have to put up with these conditions? Rather, the causes that drive families and individuals to cross borders and the short-sighted and unrealistic ways that politicians respond to them are the problem. It has been updated to reflect more current figures. Governments should never force anyone to go back to a country where they are at risk of human rights violations. [9], Many developing economies largely depend on remittances sent from abroad. A deal with Turkey, launched in March 2016, has reduced the movement of Syrians towards Europe, even though over 12 million Syrians remain displaced by the war 5 million of these outside their country and many are still in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Far from being the barbarians they are often portrayed as a mass of illegals threatening European security and identity rightless people appear as the first signs of a possible regression from civilisation, Arendt warned. Blurring the two terms takes attention away from the specific legal protections refugees require. But for some people, they will need to leave their country entirely sometimes for a short time, but sometimes forever. There are many reasons why it might be too difficult or dangerous for people to stay in their own countries. Does this mean that all migrants are moving from good situations to better ones? The terms migrant and refugee are often used interchangeably but it is important to distinguish between them as there is a legal difference. Xhosa There are about 26 million refugees globally. An emigrant seeking access into a wealthier state. Hindi Amnesty has championed the human rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants for decades. In late August 2015, as unprecedented numbers of refugees from Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East made their long walk through the Balkans, I was visiting Caesar at his home in Sicily. People will continue to move to improve their quality of life not only because of extreme poverty, but because they are connected to global culture and global networks of communication. The rights of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers are protected by international law, regardless of how and why they arrive in a country. The main difference is choice. Look, they could say, theres no such thing; you only get rights by being part of the nation. The people are not the problem. As a community of nations that has overcome war and fought totalitarianism, Barroso said in his acceptance speech, we will always stand by those who are in pursuit of peace and human dignity.. Migrants choose to move not because of a direct threat of persecution or death, but mainly to improve their lives by finding work, or in some cases for education, family reunion, or other reasons. For example, the total remittance to GDP ratio has been estimated to be 12% in Armenia. Yes, there is a difference, and it does matter. And others will continue to try to migrate even when states dont want them to. Wouldnt you? Once theyre settling in and start building a new life, many face daily racism, xenophobia and discrimination. It belittles them, while at the same time aggrandising us. Amharic Slovenian The two terms have distinct and different meanings, and confusing them leads to problems for both populations. The protection of refugees has many aspects. We at Amnesty International disagree that it is a crisis of numbers. German Oriya Some of them move to be with family or for economic reasons. Hausa Wars produce refugees. Successful energy transitions should also reduce the severity and number of failed states, which usually cause several types of refugee crises. It is by no means the only destination most African migration, for instance, occurs within Africa. They are so recognized precisely because it is too dangerous for them to return home, and they need sanctuary elsewhere.