Some issues are taxing, they demand a lot from us, what to do with and about migrants and refugees is such an issue. Closing of borders, deportations are common and easy. But the reality may require more from us. In several parts of the world notably at the present in Europe and in the US/South American borders the problem is unavoidable and poignant. A recently published report by both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund foresees the problem as continuing and in larger proportions if demographic trends and national policies do not take it into account. It states that the growth of the problem is not inevitable, but given that policy makers Continue reading “A Blot on Our Conscience”
Tag: migrants
The Plight of Poultry Workers
I’m revolted by certain working conditions, by what people have to do to earn a living and be able to survive. I’ve written about farm laborers and Amazon employees, now I find that poultry workers work in what an Oxfam recent report calls grim conditions. The machines are faster than they were years ago, they have to process 34 chickens per minute, and in an 8-hour shift, they only have a half hour for lunch. They are not entitled Continue reading “The Plight of Poultry Workers”
Refugees, Refugees, Refugees
As I write, and more than likely as you read, boats of migrants from Myanmar are trying to reach shore somewhere, but no country wants to accept them, for once they reach shore, it’s harder to send them back and some no doubt have and will die at sea. They are Rohingyas and some Bangladeshis, a Muslim minority in Buddhist Myanmar fleeing persecution. An L.A. Times headline said it well “Migrants Stuck in Web of Rejection”. In the recent past we’ve witnessed tragedies of migrants from Somalia and Libya trying to reach Europe through Continue reading “Refugees, Refugees, Refugees”
A Sad Story
Ruwan Rangana, from a small village in Sri Lanka, paid the equivalent of $1500 to be able to go to Australia. He traveled clandestinely about 3 weeks in a leaky trawler with dozens of others. But when he reached Australian waters, the boat was intercepted by the Australian Navy. A law passed a couple of years ago gives them the right to turn back boats of asylum seekers without their ever reaching Australian soil. This kind of fast track processing, sometimes no more than a phone call to a border official, enables them to say they have met the requirement and can legitimately deny asylum. The offshore fast tracking, however, is decried and criticized by several human rights groups. Once back in Sri Lanka Rangana was arrested, and was fortunate not to end up in jail because he was bailed out for $45, a heavy sum for his family which makes about $300 a month. When the case is disposed of, he probably won’t face a jail term, say the lawyers involved, but be given a fine around $750, something very stiff for a poor family. Now with no savings and no job, Rangana does odd jobs, barely making ends meet. Yet, he keeps hoping to try again to go to Australia despite the odds, because he feels that even were he to die at sea, it is better than to waste away in poverty.
With variations, some far worse, it is a sad story repeated thousands of times in any number of countries. It underlines that immigration laws in Australia, Europe, the U.S. or many other countries, are made by politicians mindful of their own concerns, not by statesmen and women interested in solving a big human problem.