Globalization is constantly developing a wide spanning network, integrating economies, societies and culture through communication, foreign direct investment, trade, capital flows and migration. Transportation links have substantially minimized the perceived distance between countries, fuelling the movement of people. Consequently, this has heightened concerns for the national security of citizens. Effective border controls to combat terrorist insertion, ensuring a robust asylum system is in place and dealing with unemployment among native workers due to an influx of foreign labour has become a salient issue. Also, there exist concerns for maintaining national values to strengthen ties and common identities.
Labour migration heads the policy agenda of many countries. Cheap labour prevents investment in training and technology, which can be unattractive for native workers and could potentially force them to migrate to countries providing better resources and quality of life. Secondly, there’s concern that migration leads to increased job competition for native workers. Gulf countries, for instance, are extremely dependent on foreign labour. However, in an experiment to tackle this situation, the Bahraini government charges firms for obtaining work visas as well as forcing them to incur a monthly fee for every foreign employee on their payroll. Bahrain has also given foreign workers the right to remain on the island for up to a month should they wish to change jobs and search for another employer.
This wasn’t always the case in the Gulf. Take for example Dubai, a city that refuses to stop growing; 80 per cent of their population consists of migrants, 90 per cent of whom make up their workforce. In the economic downturn, United Arab Emirates authorities instructed firms to dismiss foreigners first, which left many Indian and Bangladeshi migrants jobless and in precarious circumstances. It has been suggested that migration is very receptive to economic busts as well as booms. Hence, in difficult times, migrants return to their home countries rather than attempt to compete with native workers. But this isn’t always necessary. In Dubai, though many migrants lost their work visas many remained within the country despite the constant threat of being deported due to their new illegal status.
From the moment an individual contacts a coyote (migrant smuggler) migrants enter into a liminal state of transit immersed in risk, even if they are still in their home country. Unauthorized migrants disappear on their home soil and can be subjected to many kinds of abuses; being forced into carrying illicit goods, rape, or at worst, murder. Travelling on top of trains, in cargo departments and sewer pipes are simply a few examples of the difficulties which must be faced in order to permeate into a different region. A recent case of two Afghan teenage boys shows the extent of these hardships. One was discovered squashed into a suitcase in the trunk of a car attempting to enter Italy, having just travelled by ferry from Greece. The police were told that the two boys had paid £2,300 to be smuggled into the country.
Those who successfully enter their host country also never fully arrive. Even if they have escaped circumstances back home, their illegal alien status makes them invisible to the society which they occupy.
Due to this absence of legal rights, individuals become entangled in webs of constraints which may severely impact their health. Not only do they lack health insurance, but often have low incomes, limited language skills, little access to transportation, and frequently having to shift accommodation as well as workplace- if they manage to find any. Above all, the fear of being deported by authorities is omnipresent. These everyday stresses are extremely detrimental to their health.
Germany has severe laws on the medical treatment of unauthorized migrants- these can criminalize healthcare workers for providing their services. The healthcare system rests on employment status and welfare eligibility neither of which migrants have. Consequently, health services have a low utilization despite few clinics in Berlin still attempting to provide medical assistance to illegal migrants.
Whether illegal or not, as migrants cross borders they threaten national identity. Hence David Cameron’s emphasis in foreign policy discussions, on the need for migrants to demonstrate knowledge of the English language and life in the UK. Having worked in a bookstore, the most common question which I was ever asked was, “Excuse me, where do you keep the life in the UK citizenship test book?” I’ve lost count of the number of times the friend accompanying the customer turned to me after flicking through the questions and said, “I haven’t got a clue as to what the answer to that is – and I was born here!”
Lenient border controls can have the benefit of creating positive net migration in times of acute labour shortage. Transnationals can be viewed as a threat by some as they link their societies of origin and settlement, whether it is through gaining access to services for their family in their host country; maintaining cross-border kin bonds through frequent reunions and visits; or transferring remittances back home. However, the benefit of these remittances must also be considered, as they can help to alleviate poverty in recieving developing countries if invested into education, entrepreneurship and health. They also help in situations of unexpected events such as floods or illness.
It is not surprising then, that following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the question arises as to whether a new wave of migration is likely to occur. With the lowest GDP per capita in the western hemisphere, Haiti is barely able to react to such a crisis. At present, people are still trying to digest the current situation which has shaken thousands. Once that shock turns to the feasibility of reconstructing a life in Haiti for the long haul is when we are likely to see if there will be new patterns of migration, possibly to the U.S or the Dominican Republic.
There is no doubt that border controls need to be monitored for the sake of national security, economic welfare and national identity. However, let us hope that any future policies regarding those seeking asylum or employment, do not turn a blind eye to those who may be caught in web of anguish, that is made still more complex by closed borders.
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