Perilous journeys

The global migration crisis is primarily fuelled by two reasons: the search for better economic opportunities, and escape from war or persecution. People — generally from the Global South — try to make the journey to economically more advanced states in order to find greener pastures, or simply to survive deadly conflict. However, these perilous journeys often end up in tragedy, as happened recently when a dinghy carrying asylum seekers from France drowned in the English Channel on its way to the UK. Between 20 and 30 people are believed to have perished in the tragedy. Amongst the first identified victims was Maryam Nuri, an Iraqi Kurdish woman in her 20s who was trying to reunite with her fiancé in the UK.

The death toll in the Channel drowning is said to be one of the largest in years. But it is not just the English Channel that sees desperate attempts by asylum seekers to get to the ‘promised land’. Of recent, there has been a wave of border crossings by refugees into the European Union’s eastern flank from Belarus, while the Mediterranean has also witnessed many tragedies over the years as asylum seekers try to flee North Africa for Europe’s seemingly gilded shores. With regard to the latest drowning in the Channel, there has been considerable sniping between the UK and France, as both states try to blame the other for the migrant fiasco.

Firstly, the root causes behind the migration crisis need to be discussed. These are — as mentioned above — the search for better economic opportunities and escape from persecution. Let us first look at the economic factor. Of course many migrants are drawn to the EU and UK because of the economic allure of these developed economies. They find few opportunities in their countries of origin, and the thought of earning euros or pounds is appealing for those barely able to make ends meet in the Global South. Also, ‘success stories’ shared by compatriots from the same village or town, who made it big in Europe, compel others to take the risk and take a dive into the deep end.

The second and perhaps more disturbing factor fuelling global illegal migration trends is war, persecution and general instability in the Global South. Migrants are often compelled to leave their countries of origin to save their own lives and those of their loved ones. Civil war, oppressive governments, persecution on religious and ethnic bases or the collapse of the state due to foreign intervention all contribute to adding to the global migrant crisis.

Of course, to stem the tide and prevent waves of people risking life and limb to cross continents and oceans in search of a better life, much work needs to be done. As far as improving the economic situation in the Global South, perhaps one way out can be the cancelling of foreign debt by rich nations. After all, the Global North — that has prospered thanks in many ways due to the toil and resources of the Global South — must take the lead perhaps for its own selfish interests, if it wants no more economic migrants washing up on its shores.

Moreover, governments within the Global South need to work harder to improve the quality of life of their own people. No one should be forced to flee their homes due to persecution on religious or ethnic grounds, while states in the developing world need to put the welfare of their people above all else. What is more, while the West seems quite concerned about the migrant crisis, it is also true that in many ways this crisis is the creation of the militaristic, expansionist West. Take a look at the UNHCR’s figures; out of the top five countries of origin for refugees, Syria and Afghanistan have both been victims of Western-backed regime change attempts.

Therefore, looking ahead, if the West is serious about solving the migration crisis, it needs to shed its interventionist policies that have turned functioning states into failed ones.