Jun 23,2018 – JORDAN TIMES –
The migrant narrative in Europe and the US is not over blown for no reason, as it is taking a heavy toll on the domestic politics of most European nations and causing the realignment of political parties in support to the government and the election of right wing parties across the European political landscape.
This challenge has already changed the political order in Austria, Hungary and Italy, and is on the verge of doing the same in Sweden, Spain and France.
In the US, it is even a broader political issue. The most recent manifestation of which was the issue of separating children from their migrant parents under existing immigration policy in the country. US President Donald Trump has gone to the extreme by contemplating the construction of a wall separating his country from Mexico, which has become the gateway for much of the new waves of migrants from different countries.
The West is torn between its loyalty to liberal policies on migrants and asylum seekers under international norms and the harsh realities that come with it. The international regime on receiving migrants and asylum seekers is founded in conventions that date back to the early fifties. The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which remains the backbone of the Western polices on migrants, was actually adopted in 1951, when the problem was nowhere near its recent magnitude and when would-be migrants had no real physical access to Europe and Canada.
Given the widespread poverty, deprivation and oppression in many parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, under the existing international norms, which Europe and Canada jealously adhere to, no less than 150 million people from these three continents would qualify to enter Europe, Canada and the US if only they have physical access to do so.
Access to Europe has become possible by sea from Libya after the country went through a change of regime and thousands of people thirsty for freedom, human rights protection, an end to persecution and an adequate standard of living, would board boats of whatever size and head for the shores of Europe. Others from the Middle East cross into Turkey and from there to Greece and then westward to neighbouring European countries. Germany, Italy and Spain have become the final destination of migrants.
The UK’s Brexit decision was literally triggered by the British rebellion against the lax border controls in Europe and motivated by the determination of London to have more secure borders from migrants.
Germany’s domestic policy scene has been subjected to the strain of some 1.5 million migrants who have “recently” entered the country under the existing liberal policy. The same is happening in other parts of Europe.
This leads to only one solution. The existing legal norms on migrants are overdue for review. As is, there is no equitable balance in the current legal order that is governing migrants, on the top of which is, of course, the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. But this is not enough by any stretch of imagination. The West, being the prime destination of migrants, must invest more in the economies of developing countries, which are the main source of the migrant flows and act more effectively to combat oppression and tyranny in them.
Migrants chose to leave their homeland not for simple reasons. They run away from their homeland and love ones because of lack of basic democracy, dire economic conditions, famine and lack of adequate standard of living, including access to adequate housing, food, water and education.
The West would be paying less for the migrant narrative have they invested more funds into countries that are the origin of the crisis in the first place. This would be infinitely more cost effective
SOURCE:
http://jordantimes.com/opinion/walid-m-sadi/legal-norms-migrants-overdue
Categories: Africa, Americas, Arab World, Asia, Europe, North Africa
DR SAMUEL IHEMDI (not verified)
Sun, 06/24/2018 – 03:55
YES, I AGREE WITH MR SADI THAT THE WIDESPREAD OF POVERTY, DEPRIVATION AND OPPRESSION CAUSED BY ABUSES, GUN BOAT DIPLOMACY, POWER AND LACK OF HUMANITY ARE SOME BUT NOT ALL THE CAUSES MIGRATION. MR SADI HAS MENTIONED AFRICA, ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA BUT OMITTED MIDDLE EAST WHERE IT ALL BEGAN AND EXPLODED. LIBYA WENT OUT OF BUSINESS AFTER THE DEPAPITATION OF ITS LEADER WHICH WAS WAY AFTER THE ANARCHY SECONDARY TO THE ARAB SPRING UNLEASHED THE FIRST AND UNCONTROLABLE MIGRATION INTO EUROPE. REMEMBER THE CLIPS AND SATELITE IMAGINGS SHOWING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN ON THE MOVE TO EUROPE. IRONICALLY, THE SO-CALLED ARAB SPRING WAS CAUSED BY EXPLOITATION BY THE LEADERS OF THE ARAB WORLD THAT LED TO THE REBELION OF THE PEOPLE AND WHEN YOU CROSS IT WITH VOLUNTRY AND INVOLUNTRY CAUSES OF WARS LEFT AND RIGHT IN THE ARAB WORLD WE GOT THE LAST STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMMELS BACK. IN FACT, IT WAS THE MASS MIGRATION FROM THE ARAB WORLD THAT EXPOSED THE VOLUNERABILIY OF EUROPE AND QUICKLY WAS COPIED BY AFRICAN AS LIBYA BECAME A FAILED STATE CAUSED BY THE WEST. HOW ABOUT INSIDE THE COUNTRIES OF THE ARAB WORLD, LEBANON, JORDAN AND THE REST BECAME AN OPEN PRISON OF DIPLACED MIGRANTS. THE CAUSES OF THESE MIGRATIONS ARE RATHER MULTIFACTORIAL AND MR SADI NEVER MENTIONED THE COMMON DENOMINATOR OF THESE CHAOS WHICH IS THE WAR MAKING COUNTRIES THAT USES AND POLUTES THE ARAB WORLD FOR PROXY WARS. HE IS RATHER TALKING ABOUT HOW TO UPDATE REFUGEE AND MIGRATION TREATIES OF THE 1950’S. HE FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE PALESTINIANS ARE STILL REFUGEES IN THEIR OWN LAND AND THAT UN HAS PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMPS ALL OVER THE ENTIRE REGION AND I WISHED HE HAD STRESSED THAT THESE PRIMARY CAUSES BE CONTROLLED FIRST. DOES HE WANT THESE HOMELESS AND POOR HUMAN BEINGS TO BE OUT-LAWED BY THE SAID UPDATING MIGRATION RULES. WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY ARE BEING SQUZED, STARVED AND SLAUGHTERED. HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED IN IRAQ WAR, SYRIAN WAR, YAMEN WAR AND THE LIST GOES ON. I HAVE NOT SEE ANY EDITORIAL OR OPINIONS THAT SQUARELY POINTS FINGERS DIRECTLY AT THOSE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE MESS RATHER THAN BLAMING THE VICTIMS AND LINKING THEIR MOVEMENTS TO POVERTY WHILE OMITTING THE MAIN CAUSES OF THIS UNFORTUNATE AFFAIRS.
THE ONLY SOLUTION TO THESE UNFORTUNATE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IS GOOD GOVERNANCE, THE ELIMINATION OF ALL KINDS OF SITUATIONS WHERE ONE PERSON OWNS EACH COUNTRY WHILE COLLECTIVELY THESE COUNTRIES ARE OWENED BY THEIR MASTERS. IN A NUT SHELL, I MEAN PURE AND ABSOLUTE INDEPENDENCE PLUS DEMOCRACY. IN THE CASE OF WHAT IS HAPPENENING ON OUR BOARDERS IN US, I CAN NOT EXPLAIN WHY ALL BUT CANADA IS THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT BOARDERS US THAT IS NOT POOR. MORALLY OR OTHERWISE, CAN ANY ONE EXPLAIN IT?. PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK FOR PROTECTION ANY WHERE THEY CAN FIND IT UNTIL THE WORLD CAN PRACTICE WHAT THEY PREACH. WE THE PEOPLE IN USA HAS DISOWNED WHAT OUR GOVERNMENT IS DOING ABOUT WALLS AND CAGES AND IT HAS STOPPED. BREXIT PROCESS THAT ON IS A POLICY BORN OUT OF THE NIMBY WAGOON AND NOW IT IS GAINING MOMENTUM IN EUROPE. CAN SLAVERY EVER END IN THIS WORLD?. THOSE US THAT HAS SOME UNDERSTANDINGS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT IN PUBLIC POLICY SHOULD STAND UP RIGHT FOR THE OPPRESSED, DISPLACED AND THE MODERN DAY SLAVES OF THE SOCIETY RATHER THAT OPEN IMPRISONMENT CAMPS.
FINALY, I SHOULD ALSO REMIND MR SAID THAT SUCH TREAMENTS AS THE LAWS AND TRADITIONS IN JORDAN THAT DOES NOT WELCOME THEIR DAUGHTERS BACK WHEN THEY MARRY A NON JORDANIAN MAN IS NOT ONLY HARAM BUT ALSO A PEPECTUAL CAUSE OF THE SO-CALLED MIGRATION. WHEN YOU EXPELL YOUR OWN WOMEN BECAUSE THEY MARRIED FROM BRITAIN, USA, ITALY AND SO ON, THEY ARE IN FACT MIGRATING ELSE WHERE. WHY DONT YOU USE YOUR GOOD POSITION TO TELL YOUR OWN GOVERNMENT IN AMMAN TO STOP THIS PRACTICEBECAUSE IT IS THE SAME THING AS NIMBY MENTALITY ON STEROID.