migratory movements

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Featured photo: Refugee camp in Shinkiari, Pakistan | © Pixabay

Motivated by recent political statements that we are currently having to live through a “refugee crisis” and that people are to be degraded more and more to the point, I write about various migration movements – a fact that has been completely ignored by politicians for decades – and suggest possible solutions such as one could cope better with the current situation, which is unfortunate for everyone involved.

Migration movements are as old as human history itself. All of our ancestors came from Africa, where they emigrated around 100 years ago and subsequently reached Europe around 000 years ago. And since that time, there have been repeated migrations of peoples from East to West for a variety of reasons with the goal of Europe and, since modern times, even further to America.

It can be assumed that east-west migration is a continuous movement of people from Asia and the Near and Middle East.

We Europeans have also always taken part in these migration movements and have populated the American continent and Australia over the centuries.

Waves of immigration and emigration are therefore part of our lives and usually only differ in the number of people who regularly arrive. It can be assumed that this migration has contributed to the health and stability of our population and was essential for us Europeans in the post-war and epidemic times. One must also assume that we owe our own European culture to these waves of immigration; we Europeans today are therefore the product of these ongoing immigration movements.

What is new for most of us, however, is the intensity and quality of the current "flows of refugees" into the European Union. However, this development has been apparent for decades, and scientists and interested citizens have been pointing this out again and again since the 1970s of the last century at the latest; perhaps some remember the 1990 British TV drama The March.

In order to be able to better understand the current situation, which is certainly also threatening for us Europeans, a more detailed examination of the current migration movements is required.

First of all, I would like to mention the continuous inner-European migration movements, which have their main cause in the different European security and prosperity conditions as well as job opportunities. On the one hand, I also include the migration movements of the traditionally unsettled population groups in Europe and, on the other hand, the immigration efforts of parts of the population in North Africa who have always seen themselves as belonging to Europe.

Secondly, there is the immigration movement from the East, which has been going on for millennia, with non-Chinese or non-Indian populations continuing to migrate west and seek their new home in Europe or beyond.

Third, I list the migratory movement of “war refugees” from the Near and Middle East who no longer want or can withstand the catastrophic conditions in their respective home countries that have persisted for years.

In addition to these three different migration movements, two more have recently been added, which are unique in their quality and the resulting consequences for Europe and ultimately will at least call into question the existence of Europe -- as we know it.

This fourth and probably most momentous immigration movement for Europe comes from groups of people from sub-Saharan Africa who have to leave their continent for the first time in around 100 years just to be able to secure their bare existence.

The fifth wave of immigration, which is unique in terms of quality, comes from Chinese and Indian sections of the population who are seizing the opportunities of so-called globalization and filling the gaps we have created in Europe, looking for qualified jobs or taking the opportunity to set up their own businesses.

Taken together, all of these five immigration movements shown into the European Union seem to be completely surprising or overtaxing all those responsible in Europe at the moment.

Populism, actionism and rigid shock are currently replacing the search for suitable options for action and are thus continuing to delay the inevitable political discussion about a pan-European immigration policy that is acceptable to everyone involved. With the following proposals, I would like to contribute to this necessary discussion.

The first wave of immigration should be able to be administered by rules that apply uniformly for Europe.

One possibility would be that EU citizens remain in their respective social systems, regardless of where they are in the EU or the responsible states have to make compensation payments for their citizens. On the other hand, non-Union citizens should be transferred to a Union-wide social system.

The administration of the second wave of immigration should be based on the EU's need for qualified workers and be regulated by a European immigration law.

The only way to cope with the third wave of immigration is to contribute to political stability in the countries of origin through a responsible European foreign and security policy; this may also include military operations.

The right to asylum must be regulated uniformly throughout Europe -- including the establishment of "safe places to stay" outside of Europe. A European immigration law to be created could also have a relieving effect and take the pressure off the "reception centers" for asylum seekers. 

Even a European immigration law will no longer be able to do justice to the fourth wave of immigration. The EU must fulfill its responsibility towards Africa as quickly as possible and at least stop the further exploitation of this continent by EU member states, and finally create a European development policy that not only serves as a job-creating measure for EU citizens who are otherwise difficult to place or to assert its own economic interests. Consideration should also be given to giving Africa the means to finally be able to operate independently through European compensation payments.

The fifth wave of immigration must be countered with a social and educational policy that is as uniform as possible across Europe in order to enable most EU citizens to continue to be able to fill or create the necessary qualified jobs.

"The only people who see the whole picture ... are the ones who step outside the frame."

Salman Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet (2000: 43)

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