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The Many Faces of Migration
by International Organization for Migration
 
February 2012
 
The Gallup report: The Many Faces of Migration published in IOM"s Migration Research Series, gives a comprehensive picture, for the first time, of the lives and experiences of people who desire to migrate permanently or temporarily for work, those who are planning and preparing to go, and those who have returned home.
 
The report, which analyses the results of interviews conducted with 750,000 adults worldwide since 2005, has given an unprecedented insight into who the migrants are, where they come from, how they live, where they might go and what this all means for governments, NGOs and stakeholders. For the first time it has given migrants a voice in the dialogue about international migration.
 
The findings show that while the desire to migrate permanently reaches 630 million, less than one tenth of them- 48 million- are planning to migrate in the near future.
 
As many as 26 per cent of the world"s adults say they would like to migrate to another country for temporary work.
 
Those who want to migrate are most likely to be underemployed, but to some, employment status does not matter. Transnational social networks also have a major bearing on people"s desires, plans and preparations to migrate.
 
Leading the table of regions with the most people planning to relocate to other countries permanently is the Middle East and North Africa with 16%, followed by Sub Saharan Africa with 12%.
 
The findings show that 18 countries attract more than 70 percent of migrants worldwide. The USA continues to be the top migration destination, followed by Canada, the UK, France and Spain.
 
Climate change is another factor pushing people to migrate, says the report. It is predicted that in the next five years, as many as 500 million adults may make the choice to move to other countries or to other areas in their countries because of severe environmental problems facing their communities.
 
Three percent of adults in 135 countries receive remittances from someone in another country. In 35, mostly Sub-Saharan countries, as many as ten percent of adults are in receipt of remittances from a migrant working abroad.
 
However, the survey found that remittances are often used to pay for basic needs rather than for savings, education or for starting businesses, and that those who receive remittances are more likely to find the idea of migration more appealing.
 
The report sums up by saying, while migration trends will continue to evolve, voices of the migrants and potential migrants are important to assist policymakers create appropriate migration and development strategies.
 
* Visit the link below to access the IOM report. Radio National - How does immigration result in the loss of familiar worlds, both for immigrants and for host societies? More importantly should a country belong to its inhabitants? Are we not all newcomers to the countries in which we are born? A radio discussion with three experts on the effects of mass immigration on Australia, Europe and North America. Originally broadcast on 10/10/12.
 
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/immigrant-nations/4419288
 
* See also AMES report to 2011 Inquiry into Multiculturalism in Australia:
 
http://www.ames.net.au/files/file/Policy/Inquiry_into_Multiculturalism_in_Australia.PDF


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Captured Childhood
by International Detention Coalition (IDC)
 
Over the past two years, the International Detention Coalition (IDC) has heard first-hand the stories of children and parents from all over the world who have experienced or been impacted by immigration detention. One such story follows:
 
Dakarai was working on a farm in South Africa…He was arrested because he didn’t have the right papers. Adults and children were detained together... More than 300 people were there at the time. ‘Sometimes we were sleeping on the floor without blankets, we were staying there for a long time because they were telling us there was no transport to Zimbabwe to deport us. We stayed there for a whole month. The building was made from iron sheets and the food was also another problem, we only received one meal a day, just bread, sometimes with soup…there was nothing to do in the detention centre: no toys, ball or place to play…’ Dakarai became ill in detention so the authorities took him to hospital. After receiving some treatment, he was released, but had nowhere to go. He slept on the streets.
 
Dakari from Zimbabwe, detained in South Africa, aged 15.
 
Consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and in response to this research, the IDC has written a policy document which conveys the stories of these children who have been in immigration detention. Their experiences highlight the need for alternative approaches to managing the irregular migration of children.
 
The IDC has found the detention of children is a global practice, even if it is difficult to quantify. Children themselves speak of the hardship they endure in immigration detention, as highlighted in this document. Yet the goal of immigration control can be better achieved and with fewer detrimental effects by seeking not to detain children. This policy document concludes with a step-by-step guide on how to avoid detaining children.
 
This involves recognising three core principles:
 
Undocumented child migrants are, first and foremost, children. The best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in any action taken in relation to the child and the child’s family. The liberty of the child is a fundamental human right.
 
At the same time as detention of children has been increasing, there has also been a move, in some countries and regions, away from detaining children. Some governments are seeking innovative ways in which to limit or prevent refugee, asylum seeker and irregular migrant children from being detained. This policy document details some of these good practice examples. It does so while describing a model for states to use to prevent child detention. The model, which we call the Child-Sensitive Community Assessment & Placement (CCAP) model presents states with concrete means to manage immigration and their borders but also to implement legal, policy and practical measures to prevent the detention of children.
 
The IDC launched its policy document and the CCAP model in Geneva at the Human Rights Council on March 21, 2012. In total 70 children were interviewed for the IDC’s research in Malta, Greece, Hungary, Turkey, the United States, El Salvador, Mexico, Israel, Egypt, Malaysia and Australia. The children had travelled from Afghanistan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia, Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala. We also listened to the experiences of 16 parents of children who had been detained.
 
* The Committee on the Rights of The Child also held a recent forum on the issue.
 
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/discussion2012.htm


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