Public Policy And Its Impact On Global Crisis And Refugee Migration

The Present State of the World

Discuss about the Public Policy and its Impact.

“Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity”[1]

The above quoted lines from the poem “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) clearly indicate the present state of the world. In the words of the poem the world is literally falling apart and the various international organizations as well as the first world nations which have so long held the world together are falling to keep it as a single entity in the present times. Thus, authors like Du Bois have commented I their books like “The Wisdom of W.E.B. Du Bois” about the danger which the world is facing at the moment in words like “Eastward and westward storms are breaking,--great, ugly whirlwinds of hatred and blood and cruelty. I will not believe them inevitable”. In light of these comments and statements the present scenarios of Syria, Greece, Europe, Rohingya and others become very significant. The ongoing crisis in the nation of Botswana is another case in instance. Therefore, the majority of the people of these crisis hit areas tend to seek political asylums in other developed nations of the world and thus become refugees[2]. However, it is often seen that the international migration are pitted against the poor and the suffering people of the countries where the crisis is taking place. Therefore, the people had to resort to unfair as well as illegal in order to safeguard their as well as their family member’s lives.

Commenting on the grim nature of crisis which his nation is facing at the moment, Aberjhani says in his famous book “Illuminated Corners: Collected Essays and Articles Volume I”, “Freedom rings bells to wake us from the comfort of beautiful dreams and empower the efforts that turn them into reality”. It is to be noted that these lines have been written by Aberjhani in the particular context of the Syrian crisis but these lines can be extended to the other nations of the world as well which are facing crisis like Botswana, Europe, Rohingaya and others. However, it is significant to note that one common point among all these crises is the conflict between the common people and the national government. A typical example of this is the Syrian War crisis, where a crisis has been going on since the year 2011 between the national government of Syria, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, Bashar al-Assad and the citizens of the nations who are in opposition to the dictatorial rule of the Prime Minister[3]. Another example of this is the economic crisis which the nation Botswana is facing at the moment. According to the Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe of the nation Botswana, “Botswana should brace themselves for another economic crisis during which the economy is likely to take a knock”[4]. He goes on to give the reason for the economic crisis which the nation is facing at the moment in the words “The world economic recession has hit hard on Botswana’s economy, and we have been relying on loans for economic development since 2008/2009, resulting on a budget deficit”[5]. Therefore, in order to counteract the effects of the economic crisis which the nation is facing at the moment the various citizens of the nation are trying to flee the nation to other safer places. However, it is to be noted that the various international immigration laws are often pitted against the poor refugees when they try to leave their nation hit by the crisis and try to take refuge elsewhere.

Common Point Among Crisis-Hit Countries

As per the guidelines of the UNHCR (2018), “The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol as well as other legal texts, such as the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention, remain the cornerstone of modern refugee protection”[6]. If the incident of the Syrian war crisis is taken into consideration then it will be seen that the United States of America’s aid to the Syrian Crisis since the year 2012 to till now is taken into consideration then it will go beyond $7 billion[7]. In addition to this, the government of Canada has contributed more than $1 billion towards the war crisis which the nation is facing at the moment[8]. In addition to this, both of these nations are providing political asylums to the refugees from these nations in a bid to ease out the crisis faced by the citizens of Syria. However, according to a statistics, there are more than a million refugees belonging to the nation of Syria alone and of this only 25,000 have been rehabilitated by the nation of Canada and around 40,000 by the United States of America[9]. However, according to a report, the neighbouring nations of Syria are not providing adequate support to these refugees, whether be it in terms of financial or asylum support. These nations are of the view that the refugees of other nations will destabilize the status quo of their nation. In the opinion of Samantha Power, “Half of Syria's refugees are children, and we know what can happen to children who grow to adulthood without hope or opportunity in refugee camps. The camps become fertile recruiting grounds for violent extremists”. Therefore, there is an urgent need to help the refugees belonging to the various diverse nations of the world.

The present crisis in Botswana if taken into consideration would also reveal the same facts. Just the war crisis in the nation of Syria, the people in the nation of Botswana are` also rising against the rule of the President, Joseph Kabila[10]. It is to be noted that the people of Botswana blame him in his inefficiency to control the economics of the nation because of which the nation is facing economic crisis at the moment. The situation reached such a grim level that the government had to put on hold several of its developmental plans which it started for the benefit of its citizens. According to an article in the newspaper Dailynews (2018), “projects such as the Sefhope/Selebi Phikwe Road as well as Tshokwe/Tobane Road construction project were still on hold due to financial constraints. In addition, construction of an administration block at Mogapi Primary School as per the Village Development Committee request would also be on hold until funds were available”[11]. The anger and the vandalism of the people at this reached such a level that they started destroying the various governmental properties. According to the same article, “people broke the water pipeline linking Mogapi to Mogapinyana to water their livestock…..such vandalism would delay government’s efforts to provide residents with portable water”[12]. Therefore, many people just like the citizens of the nation of Syria are trying to migrate from the nation of Botswana to escape from the economic strains which the nation is facing at the moment. It is to be noted that Botswana is an African third world country with very few opportunities for economic growth as well as development. Therefore, the primary concern of the people of Botswana at the moment is that the economic crisis with which their nation has been hit with is likely to last for a few years at the least on account of the poor economic condition of the nation.

Legal Texts for Refugee Protection

According to a statistics released by the United Nations (2018), there are around 238 million migrants in the world at present which comprises of more than 3.4% of the entire world population[13]. Another statistics provided by the UNHCR (2018) states that “An unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18”[14]. Therefore, it would not be too far-fetched to say that migration and refugee crises are one of the major issues which the world is facing at the present moment. The “International Migration Law” is the legislative body which provides the precepts that guides the process of international migration from various third world countries of the countries of the world[15]. According to the “International Organization for Migration” (IOM), “The International Migration Law Unit was established within IOM to strengthen and promote the Organization’s involvement in International Migration Law (IML)”[16]. The “International Organisation for Migration” also states that the primary objective of the “International Migration Law” is “to encourage dissemination and understanding both within IOM and amongst IOM counterparts of the international legal standards that govern migration and provide protection of the rights of individuals involved in migration. The Unit thereby promotes migration governance within the rule of law”[17]. However, in practice it is seen that the conventions of the “International Migration Law” are seldom followed by the migrants or the countries to which they are migrating. According to the opinion of George Orwell articulated in the novel “Animal Farm”, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”. This particular line of George Orwell speaks volume about the nature of power distribution in the world at present. Therefore, it is most commonly seen that the people from the first world countries get easy access to almost all the countries of the world however the people are the third world countries seldom get access to the first world countries even in times of crisis[18]. Thus, the people of the third world countries are often left at the mercy of fate during the times of crisis.

It is often seen that “International migration is governed by rules that are also stacked against the developing countries and in particular against the poor and unskilled in those countries”[19]. It is often seen that the various nations of the world insist on the process of formal documentation which the poorer sections of the society seldom have at their disposal. It is often seen that the major impact of any crisis is taken by the people are living below the line of poverty and most of the time it is seen that these people are not even recorded in the official data of the nation[20]. Therefore, in times of crisis, these people do not get adequate support from the other countries of the world and even from their own country because of the absence of any record of their existence. Another major thing which is seen that it is true that the various first world countries of the world like the United States of America, Canada and others  even international organizations like the United Nations have made significant contributions towards the cause of the crisis with which the various third world countries have been inflicted in the recent times. However, it is also seen that the majority of this particular humanitarian aid does not get allocated to the poorer section of those countries. On the contrary, they are spent for the purpose of buying the weapons which are necessary to continue the war. This accounts for the rise of the various military industrial complexes. Another important thing to consider is that in the year 2017 there were more than a million refugees from the nation of Syria[21]. Of these only 23,000 were provided asylum by the nation of Canada and around 40,000 were provided asylum by the nation of the United States of America[22]. However, it is to be noted that the majority of the poorer section of the society of Syria do not boast of the economic means to travel to Canada or the United States of America in order to get safe political asylum. As a matter of fact, the poorer section of the society of Syria does not even have the adequate means to travel to the adjoining nations in search of safer environment. Therefore, just providing political asylum to the refugees is not enough. The various  first world nations of the world should also devise means by means of which the various refugees of the crisis hit third world nations of the world can travel to the safer first world countries and find a congenial atmosphere there[23]. In addition to these, the various first world countries of the world have made the visa norms much more stringent. Therefore the majority of the poorer sections of the society find it very difficult to take the help of the services and humanitarian aids provided by the various first world countries of the world.

Migration and Refugee Crises: Major Issues Faced by the World

Therefore, from the above discussion it becomes clear that the world is facing several crises at the moment which are a result of the unequal division of power among the various entities of the world. Therefore, the world is at present facing various issues, the chief among them being the refugee crisis. It is true that the various first world countries of the world like the United States of America, Canada, and others and even the international organizations like the United Nations have taken several initiatives to solve the problems faced by them, including monetary as well as asylum aids. However, it is to be noted that these aids as well as assistances are directed at the upper sections of the society and the poorer sections of the society rarely get the help of these aids and assistances. In addition to these, the various precepts of the “International migration is governed by rules that are also stacked against the developing countries and in particular against the poor and unskilled in those countries”.

References

ABC News. 2018. 'I don't want to be in Europe anymore': Hopes of a better life fade for refugees. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-03/what-if-migrating-to-europe-didnt-work-out-how-you-planned/9066482 [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

BBC News. 2018. Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum?. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24583286 [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

Boehler, P. and Peçanha, S. 2018. The Global Refugee Crisis, Region by Region. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/09/world/migrants-global-refugee-crisis-mediterranean-ukraine-syria-rohingya-malaysia-iraq.html [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

Botswana faces another economic crisis.2018 [online] Available at: https://www.dailynews.gov.bw/news-details.php?nid=449 [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

Federal government announces more humanitarian aid for Syria refugees. 2018. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 March 2018, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canada-promises-more-humanitarian-aid-for-syria-refugees/article26346443/

International Migration Law.2018 [online] Available at: https://www.iom.int/international-migration-law [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

Key facts on the conflict in Syria and Iraq - Refugee Council of Australia. 2018. Refugee Council of Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2018, from https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/getfacts/international/causes/syrian-iraqi-conflict/?gclid=CjwKCAiAz-7UBRBAEiwAVrz-9dr6NkQ3Kp-bLuRhGDZT5pHoTU-LB3qrQFR5AcZqhr9baenMLCy7hhoCNcQQAvD_BwE

Morello, C., & Morello, C. 2018. U.S. gives $419 million more to aid Syrian refugees. Washington Post. Retrieved 4 March 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-gives-419-million-more-to-aid-syrian-refugees/2015/09/21/7f0157c6-607e-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html?utm_term=.dbfe0759740c

 Publications.europa.eu. 2018. The EU and the migration crisis. [online] Available at: https://publications.europa.eu/webpub/com/factsheets/migration-crisis/en/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

Refugees, U. 2018. Figures at a Glance. UNHCR. Retrieved 14 March 2018, from https://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html

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The number of displaced people in the world just hit a record high. 2018. World Economic Forum. Retrieved 14 March 2018, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/there-are-now-more-refugees-than-the-entire-population-of-the-uk/

Time. 2018. The 5 Big Questions About Europe's Migrant Crisis. [online] Available at: https://time.com/4026380/europe-migrant-crisis-questions-refugees/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

U.S. Humanitarian Assistance in Response to the Syrian Crisis. 2018. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 4 March 2018, from https://www.state.gov/j/prm/releases/factsheets/2017/269469.htm

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