Migration free essay sample

Migration BY dennts2405 . Reasons of Migration It would never be an easy decision for a person to leave his country of birth and look for his fortune elsewhere. There are a number of reasons why migrants leave their countries. These so-called push factors exist in the poorer or conflict-weary regions of the world and some of them are defined as: dissolution and disintegration of multicultural states, accompanied by religious and ethnic conflicts; increase in natural disasters, the progressive destruction of major ecosystems and the associated global warming as a result of the industrial economic system environmental refugees); discrimination on various grounds; political instability and wars, continuing armed conflicts (including civil wars); economic situation; uncontrollable population growth; vast differences in population and economic growth; impoverishment, as a result of failing social welfare systems (EUROPOL, 2004). In turn, there are accompanying pull factors that make some countries target for migrants: shortage of manpower; comprehensive social security; positive economic situation; democratic systems of government, political and social stability; historical links; Ђ common languages; existing communities; expectations (EUROPOL, 2004). We will write a custom essay sample on Migration or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There are a number of reasons of migration. For instance Castles defines migration taking place due to environmental degradation and explores links between environment, conflict and displacement (Castles, 2002). However when the push factors are examined, it can be seen that they can be grouped crudely under two categories, that are, political and economic reasons of migration. Reasons of migration have come to. This distinction came to clarify various categories of migrants and responsibilities of the host states towards these migrants. When it comes to economic migrants, it can be argued that the individual host states have had a higher leverage in the face of international community in terms of deciding when and to what extend open their borders to economic migrants. The guest worker program that was adopted by some West European states in the 1960s and the 1970s are a good indication of this. When the guest worker program served its purposes, host states could terminate the program single handedly. On the other hand, in the case of migrants fleeing their countries for political reasons an international onsensus emerged that constrained state actions. Migration is a global phenomenon. It is seen in all geographies, among all societies and throughout all ages. Throughout history, people migrated from one place to another for various reasons: either for economical reasons (famine, floods, merchandising, etc. ), political reasons (wars, conquers, deportations, etc. ) and other reasons (diseases, ecological changes, earthquakes, etc. ) Thus, it can be argued that people have many motivations to migrate. However, when we talk about immigration it is much more of a complex issue. Immigration is related to borders, border ontrols, political sovereignty over peoples movements. Immigration occurs when people migrates from one country to another. This migration is not always voluntary. Sometimes, people feel the need to immigrate or cannot return to their homelands due to reasons imposed on them. Millions of people are forced to leave their home countries because of persecutions and fear of persecution which is caused by wars, armed conflicts, regime changes and etc. Those people seek asylum for a better life in other countries. The European Union, which sets a model and standards for many countries on their ay to democratic development, is also an important model for the development of asylum and immigration policies. The Union is trying to create a common asylum and immigration policy area for the whole member states to adopt and apply for the sake of security. However, the issue is related to border control and territorial sovereignty and therefore, member states are unwilling to share their area of sovereignty and powers with the other entities. Thus, it might be assumed that the Union is engaged in a difficult task. In this perspective, Turkey, being a candidate country for the EIJ membership, is seen as an important ally for the Union. Turkeys borders with the Middle Eastern countries and the Union constitute important problems for the Union. There are expectations from Turkey for cooperation in the field of asylum and immigration. It is really important for Turkey to adopt and apply the Acquis. Since Turkey does not have special regulations for the asylum seekers in its legal documents and laws, adopting and applying the Acquis is highly critical and necessary for Turkey. However, there are also certain risks Turkey faces while taking steps mentioned in the progress reports. For example, Turkeys geographical imitations for accepting refugees in accordance with the 1951 Convention is highly criticized by the Union but Turkeys concerns are also important stakes at that point. The aim of this study is to get a clear vision on the European Unions political agenda for a common asylum and immigration policy and the Europeanization of Turkey in that field. The issue of asylum and immigration is closely linked to territorial security and border controls and the neighboring countries or the member states whose borders coincide with the Unions external borders are in a position of deeper responsibility and higher risk of immigration flows. Since Turkey is a candidate country and is expected to have borders with the non-EU states of the Middle East, Turkey will also have higher responsibility and greater risk of dealing with the immigration flows, when she Joins the Union. The word immigration comes from the word migration. Migration means to move from one place to another. The term is mostly defined in terms of movement of animals, however since the thesis is dealing with human migration, the definition used here focuses on human migration. With a focus on humans, migration is defined as the movement of persons from one country or locality to another2. However, this definition does not conceptualize the term sufficiently. Migration is linked to movement and space. The change of localities the key factor. This locality change can be cross borders or within a country. Migration can be defined by the orientation of the movement; if one leaves his/her country, then it is called emigration from somewhere and if one moves to a country then it is called immigration to somewhere3 . People who immigrate are then called immigrants. Types and reasons for immigration are different from each other. People might have different reasons, different intentions to immigrate. Reasons of immigration might differ. Economic, ecological, political, social reasons can be listed as the important ones. In other words, people might immigrate for various reasons, but the important aspect is that people tend to migrate and migration is the point of human dynamism; without dynamism societies, social groups die. Thus, immigration provides a kind of dynamism that is necessary for the human societies to develop6 . Also this dynamism can be by force; deportations, relocations are also types of immigration. The necessity this time, is imposed on people through fear, difficulties, political reasons and/or violence . Reasons of immigration can be seen as push factors. If political, economic and social conditions of the country of origin lead persons to consider immigration then these conditions become the push factors. However, the political, economic and social conditions are the pull factors; these factors usually tend to differ from country to country and can be seen as reasons to choose a country over another. 1. 2. Trends in Migration to Europe and Basic Definitions Early twentieth century witnessed a number of large-scale conflicts such as the Balkan wars (1912-1913), world war I (1914-1918) and the Russian Revolution (1917), hich produced massive human movements. According to Lavenex, these movements signified that national borders could not be closed indefinitely and some sort of legal status had to be given to these persons in order to allow them to move, stay or return to their homes, legally (1999: 5). However, during the World War II borders of West European states were closed to a great numbers of Jews fleeing Nazi persecution (Gibney, 2005: 2). After the end of the War, the most formidable border of all times that is, the Iron Curtain was erected. The Iron Curtain represented two ifferent political systems that perceived each other in ethical terms as good or evil. With memories of Jewish extermination still alive, West European states felt obliged to accept people fleeing political persecution in the Soviet block. In the aftermath of World War II as the allied powers were putting in the foundations ot a new international world order wit e n te Nations ( N) at its core, differences between the two sides of the Curtain came to dominate discussions on virtually every topic. The UN recognized the international scope and nature of the refugee problem and led to the creation of an International Refugee Organization IRO) in 1946 (Lavenex, 1999: 7). During the drafting of IRO charter controversies were centered on definition of a refugee and repatriation. The Eastern block opposed the ideas that refusal of a refugee and fear of persecution at home country would be accepted as valid causes for prevention of repatriation (Lavenex, 1999: 7) . With termination of the IROs mandate, UN General Assembly decided to establish the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1949. Since its inception, the UNHCR has been the main venue for conducting international discussions and policy making on migration issue. Migration indroduction The increased movement of people all over the world and migration are inevitable results of globalization. Migration, as the human face of globalization, has immense impacts on the demography, culture, economy, and politics of the states. People are leaving their countries of origin and migrating to others for various reasons and no country can isolate itself from the challenges posed by the migration phenomenon. Today, 196 countries around the world have been affected either that way or another from migration issues, as immigration (destination), emigration or transit country.