Migrant Smuggling to Canada
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Migrant Smuggling to Canada An Enquiry into Vulnerability and Irregularity through Migrant Stories The opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants. _____________________________ Publisher: International Organization for Migration House No. 10 Plot 48 Osu-Badu Road/Broadway, Airport West IOM Accra, Ghana Tel: +233 302 742 930 Ext. 2400 Fax: +233 302 742 931 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.iom.int Cover photo: An Iraqi refugee who did not want to have his identity revealed stands in Istanbul's commercial district of Gayrettepe during afternoon rush hour. Istanbul districts, such as Aksaray and Beyoglu have been refugee transit hubs since at least the 1979 Iranian Revolution, with subsequent waves including Afghans, Africans, Iraqis and now Syrians. © Iason Athanasiadis, 2017. Recommended citation: International Organization for Migration (IOM)/Samuel Hall, Migrant Smuggling to Canada – An Enquiry into Vulnerability and Irregularity through Migrant Stories, IOM, Accra, Ghana, 2017. © 2018 International Organization for Migration (IOM) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. 61_17 Migrant Smuggling to Canada An Enquiry into Vulnerability and Irregularity through Migrant Stories Migrant Smuggling to Canada An Enquiry into Vulnerability and Irregularity through Migrant Stories iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report seeks to amplify the voices of smuggled migrants and shares their lived experiences of migration, through the case study of Canada as a destination country. This report is the second part of a series commissioned by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and conducted by Samuel Hall in Afghanistan, Turkey, Greece and Canada. We would like to thank all of those who contributed their insights and experiences – the migrants, smugglers and the key informants, from academia to practice, from authorities to communities and individuals. We also thank Nassim Majidi and Saagarika Dadu-Brown, lead researcher, who worked alongside the research teams in Afghanistan with Zabihullah Barakzai, Ibrahim Ramazani and Abdulbasir Mohmand; in Turkey and Greece with Preethi Nallu, Iason Athanasiadis and Wael Al-Harba; and in Canada with Habib Zohori. Special thanks to Anita Jawadurovna Wadud, Project Manager at IOM, and to a peer review, during the inception phase, by Michael Collyer, Professor of Geography at the University of Sussex. ABOUT Samuel Hall Samuel Hall is a social enterprise dedicated to migration research. We work directly in countries affected by migration. Our mandate is to produce research that delivers a contribution to knowledge with an impact on policies, programs and people. To find out more, visit samuelhall.org. Migrant Smuggling to Canada iv An Enquiry into Vulnerability and Irregularity through Migrant Stories TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... iii List of figures and table ..........................................................................................................................v List of acronyms ......................................................................................................................................v Glossary of key terms ............................................................................................................................ vi 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................1 1.1. Project background ...................................................................................................................2 1.2. Methodology .............................................................................................................................2 1.3. Limitations and constraints .......................................................................................................6 1.4. Structure of the report ..............................................................................................................6 2. CONTEXT OF MIGRANT SMUGGLING ..............................................................................................7 2.1. Approaches to addressing migrant smuggling ..........................................................................8 2.2. Nature of migrant smuggling .....................................................................................................9 2.3. Political environment and context ...........................................................................................10 3. MIGRANT THRESHOLDS ...............................................................................................................14 3.1. The diversity of profile of migrants .........................................................................................14 3.2. Indifference threshold .............................................................................................................17 3.3. Locational threshold ................................................................................................................19 3.4. Trajectory threshold ................................................................................................................21 4. PREPAREDNESS AND RESOURCE MOBILIZATION ......................................................................23 4.1. Level of information about Canada during decision-making ...................................................24 4.2. Relying on the smuggler ..........................................................................................................24 4.3. Relying on other actors ...........................................................................................................32 5. VULNERABILITIES AND EXPOSURE TO EXPLOITATION ...................................................................35 5.1. Definition: Vulnerability and exploitation ...............................................................................35 5.2. Trends in vulnerabilities and exposure to exploitation ............................................................36 5.3. Implications for protection ......................................................................................................42 6. ASPIRATIONS .................................................................................................................................48 6.1. Then and now ..........................................................................................................................49 6.2. Looking to the future ...............................................................................................................50 7. RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................................52 7.1. Recommendations for Member States, governments, international organizations and other stakeholders ............................................................................................................53 7.2. Framework for protection programming in contexts of transit ...............................................54 7.3. Recommendations for the use of complementary approaches and non-traditional response ..................................................................................................56 7.4. Recommendations to strengthen the ecosystem that protects migrants ...............................57 Annex ...................................................................................................................................................58 Interviewee list ................................................................................................................................58 Bibliography ..........................................................................................................................................61 Migrant Smuggling to Canada An Enquiry into Vulnerability and Irregularity through Migrant Stories v LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLE Figure 1. Map of interview locations for the study ............................................................................. 4 Figure 2. Internal and external aspects of an Afghan migrant’s life before migration .......................17 Figure 3. Exploitation, vulnerability, circumstance nexus .................................................................. 36 Table 1. Locations of fieldwork, sample size and criteria ..................................................................