Migration

Η ιστορία είναι παλιά. Πριν από εκατό και ένα χρόνια, το 1914, στη Λέσβο ζούμε το πρώτο προσφυγικό κύμα από τα μικρασιατικά παράλια. Στην απαρχή του Α’ Παγκόσμιου Πολέμου, περισσότεροι από 50 χιλιάδες Μικρασιάτες, περνούν στο νησί. Η τοπική κοινωνία σοκάρεται, γίνεται προσπάθεια για την ένταξη των προσφύγων στην κοινωνία αλλά τα προβλήματα είναι πολλά. Γύρω στο ‘19 και ’20 πολλοί από τους πρόσφυγες επιστρέφουν στα σπίτια τους αλλά η Μικρασιατική καταστροφή του ‘22 ξυπνά και πάλι μνήμες του παρελθόντος με τη δεύτερη προσφυγιά. Εάν στην πρώτη προσφυγιά οι ντόπιοι ήταν κάπως ανεκτικοί στο ζήτημα, τη δεύτερη δεν μπορούν να τη διαχειριστούν.

There is nothing new about refugees fleeing from war. In the first years of World War I, more than 50,000 people arrived in Lesbos from the nearby shores of what is now Turkey. At the end of the war many of these refugees returned to Asia Minor (the Anatolian peninsula). But not much later the Greco-Turkish War and the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922 sent more than a million refugees to Greece.

Many inhabitants of the Maghreb have no other choice than to leave their homes, and start a new life abroad.

In light of the wave of populism continuing to gain ground, many European leaders are adopting the intolerant and scapegoating rhetoric of the far right. More than ever, social alliances against the extreme right are needed in order to counteract this trend and to promote the values of a Europe of solidarity.

It was not until the late 2000s that environmental migration and displacement stepped into climate change negotiations. Now that they have however, are the EU and UN doing enough to deal with this growing issue? In the run up to the Paris 2015 negotiations, Esmeralda Colombo explores the debate.

In Portugal, emigration worsens the problems caused by austerity. A recent study documents its dramatic consequences on the demography of the country. As a result of the current trend, the Portuguese population, currently estimated at 10.4 million people, could decrease to 7 million by 2061.

France’s experience with immigration teaches us that unless we provide real equality, including political and social rights, we will always struggle as a society to cope with our changing demographics. For this to happen, we need to step out of our national context and see this as an issue that needs European level and global attention. This includes looking at environmental and social problems from a global perspective.

Hungary has become an interesting test case for integration and migration policies especially with regard to co-ethnic immigration (those of Hungarian descent born in other countries) and of course the migration of people from other EU countries. This complex relationship is not without lessons on exclusion and inclusion.