DOES TIME STOP US? | Popgen Tech

By Aditya Choudhury

The underlying narrative of migration is ironic, at the heart of conflict, a tragic fallout because politics requires a certain degree of Machiavellianism. Take Rishi Sunak for example. The first Prime Minister of Indian origin and leader of the Conservative Party, Britain, announced measures to “control immigration” – one of the reasons why his party came to power in 2019.

One wonders how his life and views on immigration would have turned out if his grandparents had not immigrated to England from East Africa.

As the borders grow fluid and illegal migration is a rising concern around the world in an increasingly globalized world, how does one ensure a structured system to control the problem of illegality and immigration?

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in 1990, adopted a resolution – international convention to protect the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families.

On December 4, 2000, the UNGA proclaimed December 18 as International Migrants’ Day to commemorate the adoption 10 years earlier.

In line with this year’s theme, “Together, We Heal, Learn and Thrive.”, Slate Desk explores the importance of this day, the qualities of immigrants, including how immigration leads to a strong, thriving multicultural world.

The first step

Human history is the history of migration. That said, the decision to leave one place for another is easier said than done. It takes a great deal of faith to seek better economic opportunities, political security and lead a dignified life. It often involves dangerous journeys across porous, man-made borders.

Needless to say, then, that any migrant (including internally displaced persons) is among the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in society, facing abuse, exploitation and little to zero access to basic services such as education and health care , to name a few.

Worse, they become targets for xenophobia and stigma, fueled further by existing stereotypes that are perpetuated over and over again.

Often, immigrants work in temporary, informal labor sectors that lack security and more often than not, are not conducive to health. While they want specific skill sets, many opt for low-paying jobs in order to survive.

Types of Migrants

People migrate for different reasons – economic, political and environmental. Another type of migration comes under the category, “Family Reunion”.

While economic migrants move to find better economic opportunities, usually in developing countries, political migrants are people who seek asylum in another country because of war or discriminatory policies, which lead to persecution.

India stood out in this respect. TMC leader Mahua Moitra recently criticized the Center on two fronts – economic growth and Indians renouncing Indian citizenship, citing incompetence as a major factor for slow economic growth and the exodus of nearly two thousand Indians abroad.

Globally, the ongoing Syrian civil war and the Rohingya crisis show how state persecution has long-term effects on cultural diversity. People migrated to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq from Syria, while Rohingyas sought shelter in Bangladesh. The latter immigrated in waves after being denied citizenship under Myanmar’s nationality law (1982).

Ugandan dictator Idi Amin’s repressive policies led to massive Asian immigration to Britain. In 1972, he initiated the expulsion of the Indian-Ugandans, calling it an “economic war”. It led the Indians to lose their property – Indians migrated to Uganda when India was a British colony in search of a prosperous life – they own businesses, which make it the backbone of the economy of Uganda.

The resulting fallout broke diplomatic ties between India and his regime. The UK followed suit in the late 1970s. Consequently, Indian-Ugandans migrated to the UK, Kenya, US, Fiji and Canada, to name a few.

Closer to home, the Reang or Bru community migrated to Assam and Tripura, escaping Mizoram, after the 1997 inter-communal violence.

A tripartite agreement signed between the Centre, Tripura and Mizoram governments aims for the permanent repatriation of over 30,000 displaced people in Tripura, from January 2020. Earlier, in 2018, a similar agreement was signed for resettlement The range. people of Mizoram.

Environmental migration occurs as a result of long-term, irreversible changes in the local environment that negatively affect livelihoods and survival. Long-term drought, desertification, deforestation and flooding, among others, have caused migration. These migrant groups are known as environmentally displaced persons (EDPs).

Migration and Culture

How does migration build secular democracy?

And people become systems of knowledge and skills that form stronger, stronger communities. Over time, cultural mixing and assimilation in the host nation allowed space for cultural interaction.

Synthesis of culture leads to vibrant cultural markers – cuisine, dance, music and language. The American Civil Rights Movement was as much artistic as it was political.

Mass immigration, therefore, works on two fronts – the introduction of the new world view, as well as the set of skills and losses at the same time as leaving the country of origin.

It, perhaps, makes us question: how do we ‘legally’ know who is a good or bad migrant?

Another often overlooked aspect is the immigrant experience…losing their roots, culture, identity and traditions as they make their way to embrace new cultural values ​​while respecting their own culture.

The anti-immigration position!

Criticism of right-wing nationalism is the argument that immigration is a threat to host nations, which hinges on the children of the soil argument and that immigrant culture replaces the ‘native’ culture.

At the heart of these arguments is the idea, rather the belief, that a culture is ‘pure’ and migration threatens cultural and racial purity.

Viktor Mihály Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister and leader of the right-wing party, Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance, said in his speech in 2018, “We must declare that we do not want to be diverse and we do not want to mix: we do not want our own colors we, our national traditions and culture mixed with that of other people. We don’t want that. We don’t want that at all. We don’t want to be a diverse country. We want to be like we were 1100 years ago here in the Carpathian basin. This it is the path that we want to continue in; and unfortunately, today this path and this opportunity is not automatically available to us. This is something that we must fight for, this is something that we must defend.”

He said again, “…, but I believe that the real danger comes from outside; and this danger is not a child’s play, and will not disappear in a few weeks or months like a teenager’s spots – of this we can be sure. The world – and in it the Hungarian world – is now experiencing the re-emergence of new phenomena that have not been seen on the planet for hundreds of years. The fact that even the UN is dealing with the global migration problem is a clear indication that we are not just talking about a Hungarian problem – and in fact not even a European problem. The question is whether people on this planet – soon to be more than six and a half billion – will be able to live and settle in the countries where they were born, or whether they will migrate here and there around the world.”

Former US President Donald Trump also focused on “building the wall” to curb immigration.

When we consider the values ​​and traditions of traveling and people, the dominant stereotypes are always looking at the ‘other’ people on the move… that certain cultures are bad social models. The xenophobia present against minority cultures in India, for example, has led to many cases of lynching. The constant propaganda of the mainstream media is no better and seeks to portray societies in constant war mode.

Historian Yuval Noah Harari, in his celebrated book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind, wrote, “Evolution has made Homo sapiens, like other social mammals, a xenophobic animal. Sapiens divides humanity into two parts, ‘us’ and ‘them’.”

It perfectly summed up the contradictions in culture – we look for what we lack and immigration is often a solution, while living in constant fear of ‘the other’.

The road ahead!

Imagine society without immigrants!

In order to effectively deal with the problems of legality, one must then see how growth and innovation lie at the heart of immigration. In a globalized world, does isolationism make sense?

Civilizations have evolved because the human experience has been and continues to be about migration. While illegal migration remains a thorn, it takes collective commitment to ensure healing, learning, and ensuring a comfortable transition from a life of uncertainty.

The question remains… will migration ever stop?