Checking migrants

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s presence at a four-nation conference on illegal migration

Saw him promise a more rigorous countering of illegal migration in exchange for the expanding of legal pathways to migration. However, the fact that such a high-level meeting merely saw repetition of well-worn tropes shows that none of the governments involved has a real grasp of what the problem is. Illegal migration does not occur because the country of origin is not discouraging human traffickers enough, nor because destinations do not provide sufficient pathways to legal migration. They are occurring simply because there are not enough jobs at home. There is also the attraction of the West, not just in terms of economic benefit, but perceived personal freedom as well.

One factor is that the destination countries’ populations generally resent migrants, as witnessed in the rise of far-right parties in virtually all Western countries. This is despite the fact that populations are stagnating, and it is the migrant who services the dark underbelly of Western society, because he is willing to take on tasks that the native-born are unwilling to do. One problem is that states have become greedy, and look forward to the remittances that migrants send home. An associated problem is that of the brain drain, as even illegal migrants are often possessed of skills poorly rewarded at home, better rewarded abroad. Can the West help migrants’ countries provide their populations jobs? Western countries are ex-colizers, and want to continue exploiting the ex-colonies. Immigrants’ countries do not want large unemployed populations at home, and are thus likely to turn a blind eye to human traffickers. Providing legal pathways does not work entirely, because migrants often enough carry the baggage of their countries of origin in culture, politics, cuisine… the list is endless.

Pakistan’s participation in this conference shows that the issue is not that of a colonial legacy. After all, Pakistan was never colonized by any of the three countries participating. However, the presence of substantial Pakistani diasporas in all three is a sign of the attraction of Europe. Also, they are routes to the preferred destination of former colonzer Britain. Traffickers will only become more sophisticated as they are suppressed, so long as demand continues to grow. Legal pathways have the disadvantage of helping the West skim off the cream. The challenge of climate change is yet to kick in, as people seek climes which offer a living. It would be well to plan for this, now that the countries are putting themselves together.