Millions of people are compelled to leave their country due to various reasons annually, and their experiences are the subject for debates by legislators, sociologists, and social workers. Those people who have to migrate because of political regimes, natural disasters, or famine are known as refugees. The forced migration of refugees can be defined as the specific coerced “movement from place or country of residence” (Kacowicz & Lutomski, 2007, p. xv). This essay will discuss such main causes of the forced migration as civil wars and environmental disasters and the potential consequences for displaced people and their host country that include the economic deprivation of immigrants and dramatic transformation of the economic situation in the host country.
Overall, civil wars can be viewed as a critical factor that contributes to migration. It should be mentioned that various regions in Africa and the Middle East are continuously affected by internal military conflicts; for instance, it is possible to refer to the examples of such countries Somali, Syria, Libya, Negeria, and Sudan (Okoth, 2006, p. 273). At the end of 2012, there were 28.8 million people who were displayed by war (Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Loescher, Long, & Sigona, 2014, p. 164). It should be noted that such confrontations are usually accompanied by many violations of human rights often associated with torture or rape. Moreover, armed conflicts pose a threat to non-combatants who do not want to be involved in the confrontation (Sancin, 2012, p. 177). Thus, it is possible to say that the military conflicts within states endanger the lives of many people who have no choice, but to leave their homes.
Yet, civil wars cannot be viewed as the only cause of forced migration. Environmental disasters, which can be natural and man-made, can be regarded as the second major factor which prompts people to leave their homes. For instance, floods and earthquakes force thousands of people to search for new houses; in many cases, they need leave the places in which they have lived for many generations. Additionally, some territories, especially in Africa, are adversely affected by draughts that compel many people to move away in search of such resources as food and water. Furthermore, forced migration can be attributed to the activities of people. Thus, researchers speak about the release of dangerous chemicals, and it is possible to mention the notorious Bhopal disaster which made thousands of people leave their homes (Sancin, 2012, p. 265). Furthermore, oil spills may also prompt large communities to leave their residence because they can no longer engage in agricultural activities; this issue profoundly affected the Urhobo people leaving in Nigeria (Ekeh, 2007, p. 557). Thus, environmental disasters can threaten the lives of many individuals or their economic sustainability, and such events can force many people to search for a new place of residence.
Furthermore, it is critical to examine the way in which the experiences of refugees transform. Overall, economic deprivation can be viewed as the main consequence of forced immigration because refugees are deprived of their former sources of income. Many refugees may lose a significant part of their property, for example, housing, vehicles, businesses, and so forth, and these individuals may become unemployed for a long time. The unemployment among immigrants can range from 30% to 60%, depending on the ethnicity factor (Vargas-Silva, 2012, p. 106; Ritzer, 2009, p. 451). In the future, these people can become the members of the lower classes because their income is significantly smaller in comparison with citizens of the host country (Anderson, 2010. p. 192). Immigrants find it rather difficult to integrate into the new community because they cannot get access to education and employment due to linguistic barriers (Elliott & Segal, 2012, p. 97-98). Therefore, the economic status of refugees deteriorates significantly, and these people struggle with this effect for a long time.
Apart from that, countries that accept immigrants also change profoundly. The main effect of immigration on the host country is the dramatic economic transformation of this state. Governments of such countries have to incur additional expenses to support many individuals who struggle with economic difficulties. Thus, the European Union has to spend money on providing shelter, food, and healthcare services to refugees (Opeskin, Perruchoud, & Redpath-Cross, 2012, p. 211-212). The labour market of these countries can be transformed, because local employers will have an access to a wider pool of professionals who may be both skilled and unskilled; and the cost of labour in the host country can reduce significantly (Lomborg, 2004, p. 398-399). Nevertheless, many local businesses can benefit from this trend. Therefore, the increased inflow of refugees changes the economic landscape of the host country because forced immigration strongly affects the labour markets of this state.
The examples discussed in this essay can throw light on the experiences of people who have been compelled to leave their country or place of residence. This essay illustrates the main underlying causes of forced migration such as civil wars and environmental disasters as well as the main effects that include economic deprivation of immigrants and dramatic transformation of economic situation in the host country. The examples that have been provided illustrate the experience of refugees and the effects produced by the inflow of displaced individuals on a country that accepts these people. In the future, the forced immigration can become a real challenge for advanced countries because of the lack of resources, increased spending, and economic crisis.
References
Anderson, S. (2010). Immigration. New York, NY: ABC-CLIO.
Ekeh, P. (2007). History of the Urhobo People of Niger Delta. London: Urhobo Historical Society.
Elliott, D., & Segal, U. (2012). Refugees Worldwide. New York, NY: ABC-CLIO.
Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E., Loescher, G., Long K., & Sigona, N. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kacowicz, A., & Lutomski, P. (2007). Population Resettlement in International Conflicts: A Comparative Study. New York, NY: Lexington Books.
Lomborg, B. (2004). Global Crises, Global Solutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Okoth, A. (2006). A History of Africa: African nationalism and the de-colonisation process. London: East African Publishers.
Opeskin, B., Perruchoud, R., & Redpath-Cross, J. (2012). Foundations of International Migration Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Vargas-Silva, C. (2012). Handbook of Research Methods in Migration. New York, NY: Edward Elgar Publishing.