For as long as humans have been humans, they have travelled. Long before borders existed, they have packed up, left everything behind and made their way across lands and oceans, in search of a better life. Migration is fraught, and difficult and scary, but its also hopeful. It represents parents, children, friends and lovers trying to make their way to a better life.
You’d be forgiven for forgetting all of this when you read the papers. Often, we forget the journeys that people have been through. Instead, we see them as a threat or something to fear.
But what is a migrant, or a refugee? And why are we reading more about it now?
A migrant is anyone who leaves their country of birth in search of a better life for themselves and their children. Often, this decision is about money – where can I make the most money to support myself and my family. But it also could be around access to a family support network, to look after relatives. Or even just to try something new. Migration can also be forced - families and children are often left no choice but to migrate away from their homes and lands, often due to conflict and the impact of the climate crisis. They make these journeys in the hope of finding safety and stability elsewhere. Migrants come from all around the world and travel to all countries around the world. Many of us will have been migrants at some point in our lives, although British people tend to prefer the term ‘ex-pat’.
A type of migrant is a refugee. The UN defines a refugee as someone who is escaping conflict or persecution, someone for whom ‘denial of asylum could be deadly’. Just 5 countries produce 68% of the world's refugees and these are mostly conflict-affected countries, like Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar.
Whilst conflict is still a huge cause of forced migration worldwide, it's clear that climate change is threatening to overtake as the main driver of refugees, as more and more people have to flee their homes in search of safety. In 2018, 17 million people were displaced because of natural disasters. Millions of whom will be children - children who often have no choice but to make the journey alone. This number is expected to grow dramatically as climate change gets worse. Many of these people do not move across borders. A 2018 study ound that then, there were 1.2 million people in the USA who have fled their homes due to climate disasters.
However, as climate change gets worse, we’ll see more people fleeing the countries they call home.
The Pacific island nation of Kiribati has bought a parcel of land in Fiji to cope with rising sea levels. And many of the people trying to cross the US-Mexico border could be considered climate refugees. But climate refugees are rarely recognised as such. They are not granted the same rights as refugees from conflict. But if your country is becoming uninhabitable, wouldn’t denial of asylum represent a threat to life?
As climate change worsens, its important that we step up and help those affected.
One way, is to make sure our politicians know that we support compassionate treatment of everyone fleeing their homeland. And for many, that can include in their own homes too. In the recent (at, at time of writing, ongoing) conflict in Ukraine, people up and down the UK have been volunteering to host refugees fleeing the conflict. If that’s something you’d like to do, please check out the Sanctuary Foundation.
