Mariette Grange - A few questions on migration: what policy makers never tell you

Mariette Grange is an international human rights advocate.  She is experienced in campaigning and research work on the human rights of migrants and is currently the Director of the Human Rights Watch office in Geneva.  A long-time advisor to December 18, she also acted as an advisor on a number of occasions, including for the Global Commission for International Migration, and has participated in the Berne Initiative.

This blog also in Español and Français.

Migration is a human phenomenon dating back to the beginning of history. Population movements on very long distances always have characterised the human species. In most of our societies through time the most common punishment for those who had committed offences and crimes has been the deprivation of freedom. However in Europe and elsewhere a growing number of people is put in detention for the mere crossing of borders - or for trying to do so - without holding the proper documents and visas.

How could this happen? Who remembers that up to World War II, Europe was a place of emigration? From 1820 to 1930, at least 65 million Europeans left the Old World. This is a daunting number, given that the world population was hardly over two billion in 1930. Why did so many Europeans leave our soil ?

Their motivations were not basically different from those of women, men and even children who arrive on our coasts today. Poverty, lack of access to land, starvation, violence, religious or ethnic conflicts, or wanting a better future for coming generations have been at the origin of these movements out of Europe. Did these emigrants possess visas ? How did populations and governments in the receiving countries face these – often massive – arrivals on their territories? Did the newcomers adapt to the culture and religions they found in Asia, in the Americas and in Africa? History teaches us that the answer is no. The preceding generations often emigrated at the expense of the customs and freedoms, or even the life of local populations.

Today Europe gathers 11,3% of world population and North America 5,1%. One sixth of human beings have in their hands 80% of world resources, while two sixths only hold 3%. Meanwhile, contrarily to what policy makers would have us believe, the proportion of migrants in the world has remained remarkably stable in the last 60 years. The vast majority of human beings want to live in their country of origin. Only about 3% of individuals migrate abroad. What did change is the direction of these flows as well as our attitude towards migration. By building walls in North Africa, by requiring visas for nationals from about 150 countries, the European Union is shaping a state of siege mindset in its population. The populist excesses observed in many European countries do recall other excesses.

Forgetting that migration is a natural phenomenon, policy makers talk of « managing » migration. Building Europe has had as a cornerstone equality and respect for human rights. Will Europe be able to argue that these rights are suspended when immigrants arrive without authorization or papers ? Can they be put in detention, often with ordinary prisoners, sometimes in unworthy conditions, without any remedy for indefinite terms? Do children of undocumented parents have access to the right to education that is guaranteed under the Convention on the rights of the Child ratified by 192 states? These are numerous questions that are worth pondering about.

After World War II our devastated continent has been rebuilt, with the help of our allies. Are we going to leave at the doorstep those who only repeat what preceding generations have done? Do we want to create a caste of individuals without any rights?

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