Why do people want to emigrate to Europe?

My sister in law asked why people want to migrate to Europe and are prepared to live rough during a family lunch over the weekend. I could not answer her question in great detail as there was too much noise and Dad was taken ill between the main course and desert.  So, here is my answer:

Dear Sister in Law

Dad really enjoyed the lunch on Saturday.  When we went back after getting you to the station he was fast asleep in his chair.  I saw him on Tuesday afternoon on the way home from work when we had tea and went through some paperwork.  His crisis today, Wednesday, was that his washing machine did not finish it’s cycle so I got an emergency call from him for some help.  I reset it to do another wash and when I spoke to Dad a few minutes ago he was able to empty it without flooding the kitchen.

On Saturday you asked the question about why the migrants end up in northern France, particularly around Calais?  My reading of this situation is that Turkey has a very porous border with Syria, Iraq and Iran which although patrolled is still possible to cross.  The people that make this journey into Turkey cross the border in dangerous, remote and less patrolled areas.  Once in Turkey they are on part of the mainland of Europe and only a short journey into the EU via Greece.  As you have seen on TV this sea crossing is very short but dangerous and Greece in all probability does not have the resources to fully patrol this coastline so boats do get through successfully.  Then those boats that are stopped by the Greek authorities what do they do with the people on board?  They can hardly turn them back to Turkey to risk the dangerous crossing again so they have to rescue them.  This is where organisations like MSF and UNHCR step in and do the best they can with stretched resources. The people are landed in Greece and then get dispersed across the EU.  Some settle in their new countries and become active members of the community.  Others drift north hoping somehow to get across to Britain hence the gatherings at The Jungle outside Calais.

The other main route is across the Med from Libya and Egypt into Italy via Sicily.  Again a very treacherous piece of water to cross that is patrolled by European navies and I know that MSF has a rescue ship in the area.  Once found close to the European shore it would be inhumane to turn these boats around to make the return crossing so the people are brought ashore in Italy.  From there they follow the same routes as those that came through Turkey.  I know that on this crossing there is at least one Royal Navy vessel patrolling the Libyan coast that does try to prevent the boats leaving shore or tries to turn them around if they are still close enough to the coast to get back safely.

Why do these people want to get to Europe?

One of my lecturers at the Open University summed it up quite well.  He said that when we finished our class with him we could all go for a drink, have a chat and then go our separate ways home.  When we were heading home we were travelling safe in the knowledge that there was 100% certainty that our home would still be standing safe and secure as we had left it earlier in the day.  There was a 100% certainty that our family would be safe when we got home. There was a 100% certainty that there would not be a knock on our door by the secret police coming to arrest us to find out what we had talked about over a drink after lectures.

These are the fundamental reasons why people want to come to Europe.

Parents of young children in particular are prepared to risk everything including their lives and the lives of their children to get to Europe away from trouble zones such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan so that they can give their children a chance to do better than they have in life with education and living standards.  Some people have come from these countries with money which means that it is not economic reasons for making the journey but more for improving their lives and the lives of their children.  When most of them are asked if they would like to live in their home country most say ‘yes’ but only when things have got better.  That is living in a place where there are those 100% certainties already mentioned.

It is like the man I told you about whose family had paid $10,000 to get him trafficked from Afghanistan to the UK.  When the author interviewed him in London he was working legally with his brother in a shop somewhere in Hendon funnily to raise money to send home so they could get their mother over here to live with them.  The young man also wanted the things we have here like nice cars, smart shops, good food and freedom that he could not have in his home country.

With the Roma that you mentioned who were offered the bus fare back to Budapest and only a handful accepted the offer; that must be an indicator of how bad things are in their home country. If those who decided that living in a subway near Marble Arch is preferable to getting home after a twelve or sixteen hour bus journey then life must be pretty bad back home.

There was a letter in our local paper a couple of weeks ago that suggested that those who are in favour of immigration should pay the costs through their own taxes which suggests that immigration has a negative impact on our economy.  I searched the internet to find learned papers that would support this argument but surprise, surprise I could not find one.  Instead I found several that supported the argument that immigration is good for the economy.  One was written by a House of Lords Committee and the other one by the London School of Economics.  Both concluded that immigration is good for the economy in that immigrants contribute to the economy positively through paying taxes and having spending power and are not the drain on our welfare system that they are perceived to be in some parts of the media.

Let me think a bit more about how we stop this migration.

Looking forward to staying with you next Friday

Lots of love

Alan