18 December has been set by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2000 as International Migrants Day to reaffirm the need for safer, more inclusive and fairer migration systems in a rapidly changing world. There are a number of causes for migration, and migration can take a variety of forms.
There can be a "return migration" as we see currently in Syria where a large number of people who had fled the country during the years of civil war and were living in Turkey, Lebanon, and Western Europe are now returning home although living conditions are still difficult. There is migration from the Sahel area of West Africa where climate change has produced wide-spread drought. Most of these West Africans are trying to reach Western Europe, having been in colonies of France or England, they speak French or English.
However, in much of Western Europe, there is an anti-migrant sentiment played upon by political parties (usually Right Wing). Governments try increasingly to prevent migrants from landing. There are also measures of expulsion. People are sent back to their "home country".
The presence and integration of migrants has become a sharp political issue in the USA and also Japan under the new political leadership.
The United Nations and especially its Specialized Agencies are concerned with migration issues. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) often those in consultative status with the U.N. are closely associated with these U.N. efforts. NGOs can play a role to develop more positive attitudes toward migrants.
There is also migration within a specific state. There has long been rural to urban migration. Currently, many persons are fleeing the frontier area of Thailand and Cambodia as a consequence of the armed conflict between the two countries. Internal migration within a state may create social and psychological difficulties as strong as those created by moving from one country to another.
Thus, on this International Migrants Day, let us consider all aspects of this crucial issue. The many migrants in the world deserve our systematic attention.
René Wadlow, Association of World Citizens
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