Ignorance and Moral evasion prevail in a global migration crisis
Part 1
Brian McGavin,
UK-based writer and environmentalist
The political explosion of Britain’s narrow majority to leave the EU has left a divided nation and political chaos. The Brexit campaign’s distortions and lack of any real plan to cut immigration misled voters, as concern grows across the developed world on how to manage the pressure of migrants illegally crossing borders.
The UK has published a plan to reset its immigration policy with a points-style system, proposing no cap on numbers for ‘skilled’ workers, who will now need only lower-level qualifications. Skilled immigrants account for just 20% of total non-EU immigrants in Britain and many actually do unskilled work when they get here. All this depletes the skills base in many poor countries.
Nor does it address the ongoing challenge of illegal migration. Thousands of migrants have endangered their lives in boats and trucks hoping to claim asylum in the UK or disappear into the black economy. Despite Boris Johnson’s claim that ‘the UK will send you back’, over 1,890 migrants arrived in small boats last year. Just 125 were returned. The issue is buried.
The media barely raised an eyebrow when Britain and most EU Governments signed the UN Marrakesh Accord in December 2018, despite immigration numbers being a top concern in the Brexit referendum. Essentially, this welcomes the ‘benefit’ of UN-assisted mass migration and calls for more legal routes to be opened up for those who want to leave failing states for developed countries and bypass criminal gangs. So much for ‘taking back control’. Hungary, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia and Slovakia refused to sign, as did the U.S. and Australia.
The Accord feeds on a political and media bias for the inherent benefit of immigration from developing nations to developed nations as an expression of human dignity. Growing numbers are touted as a boost for the economy regardless of the social and environmental impact on receiving nations or the huge cost of meeting infrastructure pressures.
The ‘refugee’ lobby and much of the media have been cheerleading the appeal for public sympathy as a tragic human interest story, as it rightly is. But this people-smuggling, terrorist infiltrated invasion facilitated by some EU governments presents a huge challenge. Do we seriously think developed nations can take in the populations of all those who want to leave their own countries? Africa’s population alone is set to more than double in 30 years, fuelling ever more poverty and migration.
A Gallup poll in 2017 found that more than 700 million people questioned wanted to move permanently to another country, with over a fifth hoping to go to the United States.
The European Commission unveiled an “Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion” in November to streamline the migration and asylum process, with EU member states contributing their “fair share” based on their GDP and population. “The Plan goes further”, says Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a speech to Parliament in December. “It seeks to bring in some 34 million migrants to become EU citizens (nearly 8 percent of the current EU population). Who says this is what Europe wants or needs? When have the citizens of Europe voted for this?” said Orbán.
We are facing systemic chaos, where the Human Rights Act has spawned a people-trafficking industry from failing states with exploding populations and self-inflicted turf wars that is endangering our security and running rings around governments at taxpayers’ expense. Ninety per cent of the migrants are paying people-smuggling gangs according to Europol. It is not fit for purpose and needs reform. If we are to prevent a global crisis, our priority must be to support in failing states, not to facilitate an endless flow into Europe, USA and Canada. Countries around failing states like Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Kenya are also badly impacted and need help.
The idea that increasing legal migration is in Europe and America’s self-interest as we need to revive flagging population growth is ecologically, economically and socially illiterate. These fantasy economists and lobbyists simply have no concept of the impact of ever-growing numbers in a world of finite and diminishing resources. UN effort would be better spent on challenging poor governance in many of the sender countries.
Net legal immigration to the UK reached 333,000 in 2017 – a new city the size of Belfast every year. The U.S. adds a city the size of Chicago each year to meet growing numbers, mostly driven by immigration. Generous ‘family reunion’ for migrants outside the EU added 25 percent to non-EU immigration to the UK in 2016. Today, foreign born mothers account for over 28 per cent of UK births – the highest ever, as we face a housing, health and infrastructure crisis.
Yet the UK Government’s Migration Advisory Committee claims that there is no evidence for the substantial pressure of immigration on UK infrastructure! Environmental impact assessments are not even considered. In the face of this migration crisis, why do ignorance and evasion prevail?
