Archive for the ‘Migrant Crisis’ Category

Solidarity in times of hardship – TT Newsday

CommentaryNewsday22 Hrs AgoTT Red Cross staff conducting an assessment of a migrant familys needs in Wallerfield. - Photo courtesy EU Delegation to TT

European Union Delegation to TT

Statement on the occasion of World Refugee Day 2021

As the world continues to battle covid19, it is easy to forget about the vulnerable in our midst who struggle the most. "World Refugee Day" is an opportune time to acknowledge and reflect upon the hardships of one such community migrants and refugees. These groups, who typically deal with an array of difficulties and obstacles in their host countries, have lately found their struggles compounded by the social, economic, medical and psychological difficulties caused by the pandemic.

Since 2015, over 5.6 million Venezuelans have left their homes, with over 4.6 million remaining in the Latin America and Caribbean region. The continuous cycle of economic deterioration leading to violence and insecurity inside Venezuela, made worse by the lack of access to food, medicine and essential services, has accelerated this mass displacement. The countries and communities in the region, including TT, that are hosting this displaced population have been under increased pressure as they each also wrestle the social and economic challenges caused by the covid19 pandemic. This country has seen a rapid influx of migrants and refugees from Venezuela, leading to the Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V) projecting that for 2021 the refugee and migrant population in TT will be an estimated 31,000 people.

Urgent support is therefore needed, both for the migrant population and for the countries and communities who continue to welcome and integrate them into their societies.

For years, the European Union and its member states have been supporting Venezuelan refugees and their host communities. In TT beginning in 2020, as part of our Team Europe global response to covid19, the European Union Delegation to TT and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands have been providing support to the local migrant population who lack access to the social protection measures implemented by TT government. The 18-month project, which is being implemented by the TT Red Cross Society, provides immediate humanitarian assistance to migrant families including food, mental health and psychosocial support, and basic health screenings for children.

Another project for Euro 2.7 million (nearly USD$ 3.3 million) has recently been approved to provide protection, education and healthcare for Venezuelan refugee and migrant children in six Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries, including TT. Further, the European Union will implement another regional project with a budget of Euro 16 million (approx USD$19.23 million) entitled Fostering local communities of solidarity for refugees and migrants from Venezuela, which in TT will include the city of Chaguanas among nine other cities in LAC. The project, implemented by UN Habitat, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is designed to show that migrants and refugees can make positive contributions to socio-economic and cultural fabric of their host cities and communities.

Earlier this week the International Donors' Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants 2021 took place. It follows conferences in May 2020, and in October 2019, that the EU organised together with UNHCR and IOM, which aimed to raise awareness about the crisis, as well as to mobilise donor funds. The conference, this year hosted by Canada and with the support of the UNHCR, IOM, Spain and the European Union, brought together over 40 countries along with UN agencies, international financial institutions and representatives of national and international civil society to take stock of the situation, strengthen coordination and mobilise resources, including access to vaccines.

Arising from this years conference, the EU has pledged another Euro 147 million to the Venezuela migrant crisis. This is on top of Euro 318 million already allocated since 2018. This new support will focus on humanitarian assistance (Euro 82 million); development cooperation, focusing in particular on the social and economic integration of migrants and the host communities most affected by the crisis (Euro 50 million); and assistance through the EU Foreign Policy Instrument (Euro 15million) that will target the most vulnerable migrants unaccompanied minors, single parent households, women and girls at risk of being trafficked and prey to violence, the elderly and LGBTI people.

These outcomes reinforce the continuous and increasing attention that the European Union, in partnership with the wider international community, is devoting to this humanitarian crisis in the region.

The European Union is uniquely positioned, by its own recent experience, having itself dealt with a critical refugee situation across Europe since 2014. We understand the challenges of host countries, but at the same time we are committed to humanitarian interventions to support displaced persons. We commend the efforts of state and local authorities, civil society organisations, community groups and other stakeholders in TT who have whole-heartedly stepped in to help. As the worsening of the pandemic makes it even more urgent to assist refugees, migrants, and their host communities in the region, the EU pledges to continue help as much as we can.

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Solidarity in times of hardship - TT Newsday

Fostering Tolerance in Europe: Issues of Migration and Populism in Italy – Modern Diplomacy

Authors: Maxim Sigachev and Elena Elena*

Tolerance remains a complicated issue in the West and Russia alike. The challenge, though, remains in the need to account for the connection between the notions of tolerance, social security, and the development of the society. The West tends to adopt a broader perspective on tolerance when compared to Russian practices. In Europe, the notions of tolerance is informed by active cooperation rather than merely patience, as is the case in Russia.

There are at least four dimensions to this issue in Europe:

This article is devoted to the problem of the social and political crises in Italy, which have been caused by pan-European problems (i.e., migration, anti-EU attitudes of the public) and strengthened by the national Italian conflicts (the gap between the Northern and the Southern regions, debates between the Left and the Right opposition, the rise of the populist parties etc.).

Social and political discrepancies in Italy

As a part of the EU, Italy has to get through the complex processes of adaptation to a life in a supranational union, which includes profound transformations in socio-economic, cultural, and even religious spheres. If we analyze the election agenda used by the Italian populist parties in the European elections 2019 campaign, we will notice the strong anti-EU discourse and a deep disappointment in the EU politics. Being part of the EU is conceived as a loss of independence. Further, we can notice the increasing deficit of tolerance in many spheres: religious, sociocultural, ethnic, ideological.

Research on the contemporary European political parties notes that Eurosceptical spirit is strong in developing economies and advanced economies (as is the case with Germany and the UK) alike[1]. Thus, Italys crises are not necessarily unique but can be found across the Western world as well.

The crisis of Western world order manifests itself on, at least, three levels:

The European societies are characterized by a growing alienation between the rich and the poor, the elites and the people, the establishment and the middle class.

The idea of social and political divisions was first proposed by Stein Rokkan, who studied the existing divisions between political parties that are caused by cleavages between the center and the periphery, the city and the village, etc.

Rokkans theory was developed by Paul Lazarsfeld, who studied electoral behavior and stated that people vote not only for their own social group but also in favor of it[2].

According to S. Rokkan, the European party system was developed on the foundation of existing social conflicts. Rokkan also formulated the basic lines of conflicts such as centerperiphery, statechurch, employeeemployer, citycountry. The social discrepancies of the Lipset-Rokkan theory were built on by French political scientist D.-L. Seiler in the work Whether it is possible to apply the clivages of Rokkan to Central Europe?

We can use this theory to explain the stability of the European political systems in the second half of the 20th century and electoral behavior of the Europeans.

Among the notable works on the cleavage theory are R. Rose and D. Urwin Persistence and Change in Western party systems since 1945 [3] S. Wolinetz The Transformation of Western European Party System Revisited [4]M. Abrams, R. Rose and R. Hinden[5], G. Evans and S. Whitefield The Evolution of Left and Right in Post-Soviet Russia [6].

Russian scientists rarely study the Italian political system and electoral behavior in the frameworks of the cleavage theory, as they usually study the different aspects of the political life in their research papers. There are some fundamental works that attempt to analyze facts and knowledge of Italian political thought from the perspective of the communist ideology. Cecilia Kin divided the liberal political thought into purely liberal and catholic in her work Italy at the turn of the century. From the history of social political thought, K.G. Kholodkovsky and I.B. Levin compared the Italian Socialist and Communist parties.[7]

The basic factors of social political crisis in contemporary Italy

The basic factors of the social political crisis in modern Italy can be divided into two groups. The first group includes socio-political divisions of a more historical, traditional character, whereas the second group consists of relatively new, contemporary collisions.

The North-South Divide

The contemporary socio-political crisis in Italy originates from the long-term and unfinished division between the North and the South, which has not been overcome since the Italian Risorgemento (unification) in 1861. Historically less developed Southern Italy has always faced serious difficulties. The process of modernization in Southern Italy is ongoing, the standard of living still pales in comparison to wealthy Northern regions. According to the Soviet-Russian researcher K.G. Kholodkovsky, Italy still suffers from the fact that different parts of the country existed as separate states for centuries. The most important consequence of this Italian historic disunity is economic and cultural gaps between the North and the South[8].

Polarization between the Left and the Right

The ideological conflict between the Right-wing and the Left-wing political forces also has historically contingent roots and goes back to the period of Risorgimento. In 19th century, the two leading political movementsrepublicans and monarchistsvied for leadership of a newly unified Italy.

One group of politicians led by Giuseppe Mazini tried to establish a Republican Republic, which was supported by the socialist-utopist Carlo Pisacane. Their ideas became the ideological basement for the Italian republicanism. The second group advocated for a monarchy and was led by Camillo Cavour who would later become Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy. Those advocating for monarchy provided a base for conservative right-wing sentiments/ideology.

In the 20th century, there was a divide between fascists and anti-fascists. Those who supported Mussolini espoused conservative views. The anti-fascist coalition united a broad spectrum of political movements including democrats, socialists, and communists.

Today it is impossible to claim that the contemporary Italian Left and Right are descendants of that original opposition, but ideological divides are still a prominent feature of Italian politics.

It would be more correct to divide the Italian parties not only along their preferences of political system but along their attitude toward traditional values as well. Today, political parties on the Right tend to be more nationally oriented and Eurosceptic. They typically advocate for traditional values and greater autonomy from EU Commission directives. They are also staunch opponents of high levels of migration from outside the EU.

The Left is more loyal to the EU and the benefits provided to Italy by its institutions. They also support more progressive economic and family policies. A key difference between left and right in Italy is migration. The left tends to be more tolerant of migrants and refugees and advocate for the integration of migrants into Italian society.

Thus, while the division between the Left and the Right has weakened, it certainly still remains intact. Due to the particularities of the national election law, it is difficult to get the majority of the vote needed and enough seats in the Italian Parliament to form the Cabinet of Ministers. Subsequently, this problem forces the Italian parties to create different coalitions to secure seats in the Parliament. These coalitions are often characterized by the ideology of party members (center-right, right-wing, etc.). This changed in 2013 when a new political party, the 5 Stars Movement, uprooted the traditional political spectrum. Now, there is no pure center-right or center-left coalition. Coalitions have become more volatile as ideological divides become deeper as compared to the situation of ten years ago. For example, the right-wing coalition which included Forza Italia! (S. Berlusconi), Fratelli dItalia (G. Meloni) and the Northern League (M. Salvini) won the parliamentary elections of 2018. Despite this result, the far-right League abandoned its ideological partners to form a Coalition Cabinet with the Five Stars Movement which cannot be defined as entirely Left or Right-wing.

New collisions

Recently (in the last decade of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century), new collisions emerged: Eurosceptics vs. Eurooptimists, populists vs. traditional political parties, the supporters of migrants vs. opponents of mass immigration (as well as the division between migrants and local communities).

Eurosceptics vs. Eurooptimists

The growth of Euroscepticism in Italy can be attributed to a crisis in relations between the European Union and Italy as well as disappointment from the Italian society in the EU.

Since 1957, Italy has been a strong advocate for greater European integration, however, recently Italy has begun to transform into one of the Euroscepticism centers. According to the sociological data of Eurobarometer, about 50 per cent of the Italian society is disappointed with the European Union.

The question about the relation between Euroscepticism and populism is an intellectual challenge. On the one hand, Eurosceptics are mainly populist movements: not only the anti-immigrant League but also The Five Star Movement. On the other hand, Euroscepticism has been typical for classical Italian communiststhe heirs of the Communist party of Italy. Besides, old populism of Berlusconi is more euro-optimistic than the new populism of Salvini.

Particularities of the relations between Italy and the European Union are based on a disagreement in two key issues: immigration policy and the social economic policy.

Populists vs. Traditional Political Parties

One of the results of this political crisis is the growth of social and political populism. Weinstein noted that there are a few approaches to the phenomenon of populism. According to these approaches, a hybrid phenomenon seems to exist in different dimensions: as an ideology, as a specific style of politics, and as a specific form of political organization.[9] The Italian populism started with Silvio Berlusconi coming to power in 1994. Berlusconi is perceived as the founding father of Italian populism, who managed to unite center-right forces. K.G. Kholodkovsky underlines that populism has in new conditions become a complex of sense and values, uniting many Italians in being connected with the illusion of personalistic overcoming of the gap between authorities and citizens. The breaking of the barriers between the authorities and the people has found its personification in the figure of the uniter of the center-right forces Sylvio Berlusconi[10] As noted previously, the rise of Berlusconi came against the background of the collapse of Christian Democratic and the Communist parties. This fact reflects an important feature of populism:

Pro-migrants vs. Anti-migrants

The migrant crisis manifested itself most significantly in Southern Italy, since the coast of the Italian South is the closest to the North Africa. From a geographical perspective, this fact has turned the Southern part of Italy (especially the island of Lampedusa) into a gate from Africa to Europe for immigration. The immigration issue is not a new one for Italy. There were several waves of internal migration from the Southern to the more economically developed Northern regions. This process fostered resentment between citizens from different parts of the country. However, the European immigration crises as well as burgeoning crowds transformed this internal cleavage into an external one.

The intensification of the migrant crisis in Italy and in the European Union has been reflected in public opinion. According to Eurobarometer, about half of Italians consider immigration as the most important problem for the European Union, whereas another half of the Italian society cites terrorism as the most important dilemma. This fact also demonstrates that Italians are anxious about the consequences of the immigration crisis, because illegal immigration is one of the factors of the growing terrorist threat. According to the Eurobarometer spring 2016 data, 44% of Italians pointed immigration as the most important problem of the European Union. By autumn 2016, this number rose to 49,1%, by spring 2017fell to 40%, then in autumn 2017fell again to 38%, by autumn 2018rose to 41%.

The growth of anti-immigrant sentiments in the Italian society has led to the emergence of the new nationalism, which is typical not only for the poorer regions but also for the richer ones. The figurehead of new nationalism in Italian politics is the League, formerly the League of the North, which has changed its name to appeal to broader segments of Italian society.

Thus, the migrant crisis has added a new collision between migrants and Italians. The problem of illegal migration became an accelerator of the existing Italian conflicts rather than an entirely new phenomenon. Illegal immigration has essentially accelerated these already-existing Italian conflicts.

Conclusion

Economy and culture are the two principal ingredients of the Italian mindset and are sources of intense socio-political divisions, as economic reasons lead to a rise of new divisions, as well as feeding traditional ones.

Economic crises lead to social and political crises. Nowadays, Italian voters are disillusioned with the existing political order giving way to new and less ideologically driven parties. Yet, these parties first years in power have demonstrated their weakness in taking action to overcome the existing crisis.

For example, under Giuseppe Contes First Cabinet, known as yellow-green government of change (due to the colors of the League and the Five Star Movement), inter-coalition conflict between Salvini and Di Maio led to a significant political crisis, creating a weaker position for the Five Star Movement and the ambitions of the Leagues leader Matteo Salvini for domination. On September 5, 2019, Contes Second Cabinet was formed, usually referred to as the yellow-red government, because it was supported by the yellow M5S and the center-left red Democratic party.

The internal political situation in Italy remains unstable, which also results in instability of its foreign policy. Irrefutably, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed significantly to the Italian political crisis. On February 13, 2021, the dilemma peaked when Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte stated he would resign from office. Pro-European technocrat Mario Draghi became the newest Prime Minister of Italy in the wake of Contes resignation. Draghi leads a unity government consisting of mainstream political parties and populist parties such as the League and M5S. This government only failed to garner support of the far-right Brothers of Italy.

Although Draghi has enjoyed widespread support throughout the coronavirus crisis, in the post-covid world there are long-term prospects for conflict between Italy and the EU and between Italys internally divided political system.

*Elena Elena, PhD student at the Institute of Socio-Political Research under the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPR RAS)

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Fostering Tolerance in Europe: Issues of Migration and Populism in Italy - Modern Diplomacy

World Refugee Day 2021: Theme And Importance Amid COVID-19 – NDTV

World Refugee Day 2020: Know the importance of World Refugee Day on June 20

World Refugee Day is observed every year on June 20. A United Nations designated day, the World Refugee Dayis observed to respect and honour the courage and resilience of refugees across the world. The unprecedented and prolonged coronavirus pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of refugees who hardly have any resources to fight the health andeconomic crisis. The enormity of the migrant crisis as well has been exposed by the pandemic like never before.World Refugee Day is utilized to build up public awareness and support for human rights of refugees. Often we use the term refugeefor the poor and underprivileged but do we know the definition of refugee?

'No one is safe till everyone is safe' is the tagline or slogan for fighting the pandemic. This year's World Refugee Day theme - together we heal, learn and shine - aims at people belonging to all faiths, all over the world, working together to welcome stateless persons, displaced people,refugeesand others who have been forced to flee their homes. Whether it is education, arts, music or sports - doing activities together helps boost the confidence of vulnerable people, according to the UN Refugee Agency.Doing things together also helps people learn new skills.

According to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention, people who fled their homes and countries due to "a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion" is a refugee. It is a heart-breaking situation, when overnight people become homeless and stateless, thrown into an uncertain future. Often natural disasters like cyclones, floods and earthquakes force people to leave their homes.

World Refugee Day, dedicated to refugees around the globe, was held for the first time on June 20, 2001. The day commemorated the 50th anniversary of the "1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees." It was earlier known as Africa Refugee Day. The United Nations General Assembly, in December 2020,designated it as an international day.

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UNHCR, IOM, aid partners call for urgent support to refugees and migrants from Venezuela and their hosts – Colombia – ReliefWeb

Joint UNHCR-IOM Press Release

Ahead of the International Donors Conference on 17 June, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) call for renewed international support to address the urgent needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela and to assist their host countries.

As the exodus of Venezuelans is prolonged over time, it risks becoming a forgotten crisis, said the Joint UNHCR-IOM Special Representative for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants, Eduardo Stein.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate the region, and the future of millions of refugees and migrants and their hosts is at stake. Solidarity and commitment are needed more than ever to ensure the continued delivery of assistance.

Prolonged lockdowns, loss of livelihoods and increased poverty are forcing many Venezuelan refugees and migrants to depend on emergency humanitarian assistance to survive. The needs are dire in the areas of health, food security, water and basic sanitation, as well as access to education and opportunities to earn an income. The pandemic has also resulted in rising rates of evictions and homelessness, as well as a dramatic increase in reported cases of gender-based violence and mental health needs.

The continued departure of refugees and migrants from Venezuela is one of the largest external displacement crises in the world. To date, over 5.6 million people have left their country. In this context, the 2021 Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) brings together 159 organizations to respond to their urgent needs and to establish longer-term resilience and integration solutions targeting close to 3.3 million Venezuelans and host community members. Yet, the US$ 1.44 billion plan remains critically underfunded.

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean host 80 per cent of refugees and migrants from Venezuela. They have continued to show their solidarity during the global health emergency, notably through the establishment of large-scale regularization programmes. However, national capacities have been dangerously strained by the pandemic.

The burden should not fall on countries in the region alone. The international community has the responsibility to support these efforts favouring regional stability, said Stein. A shortfall in funding would leave hundreds of thousands unprotected, with few options to rebuild a life in dignity.

Canada will host the next International Donors Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants on 17 June 2021, in collaboration with UNHCR and IOM, who are co-leading the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V). The event will bring together host and donor governments and key actors involved in the response, including the private sector, development banks and civil society.

The International Donors Conference is scheduled to run from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. CEST Geneva (9:00 a.m to 12:30 p.m. in Canada; 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. GMT+5 in Panama) on 17 June. The event will be live streamed here.

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Hunger Over Health: Joblessness Triggers Remigration From Odisha Amidst Pandemic – OTV News

"I dont want to go but I dont have any option either,"says a migrant labourer waiting to board a train to Surat. A deep furrow came up between his brows while his eyes spoke of an uncertain fear as he narrated his ordeal of having to live without any jobs to feed his family during this Covid time.

A crisis like never before, this pandemic has struck dread in the minds of Dhanu Pradhan and millions of other labourers who migrate to Surat, Mumbai, Chennai and many other distant trade and commercial hubs beyond the boundaries of state to earn a livelihood.

A crisis like never before, this pandemic has struck dread in the minds of Dhanu Pradhan and millions of other labourers who migrate to Surat, Mumbai, Chennai and many other distant trade and commercial hubs beyond the boundaries of state to earn a livelihood.

Between the second wave of the pandemic which is still far from over and a third wave possibly looming near the horizon, mass exodus of migrants from Odisha has once again exposed the sordid tale of unemployment picture in the State.

On Sunday, hundreds of passengers including Dhanu boarded the Puri-Okha Express from Berhmapur Railway Station as they embarked on a journey to Surat.

Many of them had returned to the State a month and half ago after the shutdown of industries due to enforcement of lockdown in the wake of virus resurgence.

It was a dj vu, says Dhanu, because just a year ago exactly a same picture unfolded before their eyes. But this time, they had hoped of a silver lining in the dark clouds. A bit of work to earn something for the family to tide over the surging wave was all they wanted and the homeward journey promised it as well. But yet again, their aspirations vanished as soon as morning stars did.

Odisha governments big promises to provide employment opportunities to such a sizeable population of migrants once again fell flat.

The misery of Khallikote resident Balmiki Das is more or less the same. A month ago, he had to come back home after losing work but now he has nowhere to go other than return to Gujarat. He says there is no work in Odisha and there is little hope that one may find any job with ease because of poor employment and the prevailing pandemic restrictions.

Government is helpless and we are hapless. It is better I return to Surat, at least I will know that we wont die of hunger, says an exasperated Balmiki.

With several states beginning to reopen their economies in a phase wise manner after weeks of lockdown, the hopes of a new rise is rekindling in the hearts of many such migrant labourers like Dhanu and Balmiki.

Jitu Bhai Akharia, president of Textile Mills, Surat has urged migrant employees to return back to the city to resume their work. "I welcome the workers to come back to Surat because we are restarting our factories and are waiting for you all,"said Akharia.

BJD MP and former trade union leader Subas Singh however played down the migration crisis in Odisha. I accept that people from Odisha are moving to other States and it is because of difference in wages. But there is no such situation that people are moving out of the State along with their families in order to save themselves from hunger.

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