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ATLAS of MIGRATION Facts and Figures About People on the Move ATLAS OF MIGRATION Facts and figures about people on the move ESCAPE, WORK, FUTURE IMPRINT The ATLAS OF MIGRATION is published by the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Berlin, Germany Chief executive editors: Johanna Bussemer, Dorit Riethmüller Editors: Christian Jakob (coordination), Stefanie Kron, Wenke Christoph Managing editor: Dietmar Bartz Art Director: Ellen Stockmar English Editor: Paul Mundy Proofreader: Maria Lanman Fact checking: Infotext Berlin Contributors: Friedrich Burschel, Wenke Christoph, Johanna Elle, Sabine Hess, Christian Jakob, Bernd Kasparek, Stefanie Kron, Laura Lambert, Ramona Lenz, Carlos Lopes, Sowmya Maheswaran, Johanna Neuhauser, Mario Neumann, Jochen Oltmer, Maria Oshana, Massimo Perinelli, Maximilian Pichl, Matthias Schmidt-Sembdner, Helen Schwenken, Maurice Stierl, Christian Stock, and a team of authors. Cover image: Ellen Stockmar The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishing organization. Editorial responsibility (V. i. S. d. P.): Alrun Kaune-Nüßlein, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation First English edition, June 2019 Produced by Bonifatius GmbH Druck – Buch – Verlag, Paderborn Climate-neutral printing on 100 percent recycled paper. This material (except the cover picture) is licensed under Creative Commons “Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported“ (CC BY-SA 4.0). For the licence agreement, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode, and a summary (not a substitute) at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en. Individual graphics from this atlas may be reproduced if the attribution ”Bartz/Stockmar, CC BY 4.0“ is placed next to the graphic (in case of modification: ”Bartz/Stockmar (M), CC BY 4.0“). ATLAS DER MIGRATION Daten und Fakten über Menschen in Bewegung FOR FREE DELIVERIES AND DOWNLOADS: Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Franz-Mehring-Platz 1, 10243 Berlin, Germany www.rosalux.de/atlasofmigration FLUCHT, ARBEIT, The ATLAS OF MIGRATION is also published as ATLAS DER MIGRATION in German. ZUKUNFT www.rosalux.de/atlasdermigration ATLAS OF MIGRATION ARBEITFacts and figures about people on the move 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS 02 IMPRINT 18 VISAS HOW FAT IS YOUR WALLET? 06 INTRODUCTION Within most of the European Union, borderless travel has become almost a matter 08 12 BRIEF LESSONS of course – as long as you have the right ABOUT THE WORLD OF MIGRATION passport. If you don’t, but still want to travel internationally, you will quickly find that 10 HISTORY your wallet determines how far you can go. CROSSING BORDERS, BREAKING BOUNDARIES 20 LABOUR MIGRATION In the last few centuries, poverty, repression IN SEARCH OF WORK and violence have forced millions of people Labour migration is politically controversial to leave their homes. For some, the end of in destination countries. On one hand, the a perilous journey has been a better life. For developed world has a huge demand for others, it has meant generations of slavery. migrant workers, both qualified and low-wage. On the other hand, immigrant workers are 12 MOBILITY often subject to racist treatment. HOME AWAY FROM HOME Employment, independence and security are 22 MOVEMENT OF LABOUR major drivers of migration. Movements are SENDING MONEY TO in flux, with cheap flights and mobile phones THE FOLKS BACK HOME allowing people to keep in touch with their Migration and economic development loved ones at home. But the traditional go together. For the migrants’ countries migration corridors are still in operation. of origin the economic advantages outweigh And new boundaries mean that people the disadvantages. In particular, the who follow social ties to newly independent harm caused by the loss of skilled workers neighbouring countries are now considered is often overestimated. Many such international migrants. workers would return if they could find good employment at home. 14 MOTIVES REASONS TO MOVE 24 GENDER People move for many reasons. Many seek I AM STRONG, I AM WOMAN a better life for themselves and their children; Whether at work or on the move in search others flee threats and violence; still others of a better life, women are threatened are displaced by natural disasters. Very often, by violence and discrimination. But as with their reasons for moving overlap. all migrants – and all women – female migrants should not be seen primarily 16 ON THE RUN as victims. Above all, they need stronger A FAILURE OF COMMUNITY rights so that they can defend themselves. Never before have so many people found themselves fleeing for their safety. The 26 IMMIGRATION LAWS international community often fails not DOCUMENTS FOR THE UNDOCUMENTED only to prevent wars and conflicts, but also Immigration laws focus mainly on to protect the victims. attracting skilled workers and keeping 4 ATLAS OF MIGRATION everyone else out. But they lag far 38 RIGHT-WING NATIONALISM behind the real world: millions of workers MISPLACED FEARS, live and work in destination countries FALSE PROMISES without any official papers. That puts them Right-wing politics is on the rise across the at risk of exploitation. globe. Rabble-rousers blame outsiders and minorities for the shortcomings of their own 28 BORDER CONTROL societies. Even if they do not win power, the OUT OF BOUNDS noise they make still influences the political In its attempts to control migration, the EU agenda of more moderate parties. bribes or coerces African countries to stop and detain people before they can even get 40 RIGHT-WING VIOLENCE IN GERMANY to the southern shore of the Mediterranean. WHERE RIGHT IS WRONG Development aid is being diverted to stop Racism has a long and tragic history in migrants rather than fight poverty. Europe – and nowhere more so than in Germany. Alas, racism is alive and well 30 SCHENGEN AND DUBLIN 80 years after Nazism and the Holocaust, and UNPREPARED AND is now directed at migrants as well as Jews. UNCOORDINATED But resistance in broader society is growing. Europe’s approach to the refugee question has been chaotic. Different countries have 42 MIGRANT ORGANIZATIONS different interests, and refuse to compromise LEARNING THE ROPES or show a sense of solidarity. But they Migrants are often portrayed as helpless all agree on policies making it harder for and in need of protection – or hopelessly refugees to get asylum in the EU. divided along national, ethnic, linguistic and religious lines. That is far from the truth. 32 THE MEDITERRANEAN AND THE SAHARA In reality, they help each other when in DEATHS IN THE DESERT need, and help those who come after them. Europe’s southern border is the deadliest in the world. Thousands of people have drowned 44 SOLIDARITY CITIES trying to reach the northern shore of the A COUNTERWEIGHT Mediterranean. They are now dying of thirst in TO XENOPHOBIA the Sahara. Refugees not only have rights; they also enrich the society and economy of the 34 DEPORTATIONS places where they settle. Enlightened GOODBYE AND DON’T COME BACK local politicians recognize this. They Faced with deportation, a distressing number provide a much-needed counterweight of asylum applicants kill themselves in their to the shrill tones of populists that call desperation. Deporting someone is a lot more for yet more deportations. expensive than allowing them to stay, earn a living and pay taxes in their host country. 46 CIVIL SOCIETY FROM SYMPATHY TO SOLIDARITY 36 INTEGRATION Activists throughout Europe have long ARRIVED AND SETTLED, agitated for the rights of migrants BUT STILL NOT HOME and refugees. But their numbers were Well-integrated migrants are the ideal and small – until the summer of 2015, when many in the host society welcome them. the influx of people across Europe’s borders However, migrants that are not integrated stimulated an outpouring of sympathy, are perceived as a threat. But focusing on practical help, and political engagement. “integration” means ignoring the real issue, which is granting migrants social and 48 AUTHORS AND SOURCES political rights. FOR DATA AND GRAPHICS ATLAS OF MIGRATION 5 INTRODUCTION MIGRATION: A are those of “streams”, “waves” and CONTESTED “flows”. All these metaphors portray migration as something to be feared, HUMAN RIGHT and they render invisible the individual people who are doing the migrating. igration has always been part of his atlas aims to stimulate a us: it is the origin of all human political rethink by showing M societies. The movement of T migration from a different people across land and sea and from angle. We present a trove of statistics one continent to another is as old as and graphics in order to give a more humankind itself. Few nations in the objective basis to the debate on the left modern world would be what they are side of the political spectrum in Europe today without centuries of immigration – and we hope, beyond. On the left, the and emigration. continuum of views ranges from those who demand open borders to those who But today, the issue of migration is largely reject migration, often because the subject of heated political debates they assume migrants will compete with all over the globe. Attitudes towards the economically weaker members of migration guide the opinions of citizens our societies. The positive image of an and politicians; they form the basis of open society with enough resources to political parties and social movements. go around in all areas of life stands in an The myths, stories and images that apparent stark contrast to the negative have emerged – and continue to emerge image of communities that have to – around the social phenomenon of fight on all sides, and with each other, migration are correspondingly large for those same resources. In the 2019 and powerful. This is evident in the European parliamentary elections, the terms used to describe migration: the political right – from right-of-centre to commonest verbal and visual images populists and far-right extremists – stood 6 ATLAS OF MIGRATION out with its nationalistic, anti-migrant against deportations, xenophobia and rhetoric, profiting from voters’ fears of far-right populism, and for the right to social decline.
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