* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
*International Migrants Day is on Dec 18. Find out more*
In recent times, western communities have seen an ever-widening internal gulf between “liberal elites” and those who have been left behind by globalization. While there are many benefits to be had through globalization, these benefits do not reach everyone.
This causes further disaffection between those benefiting from globalization, and those overwhelmed by the rapid social and economic changes it may bring. After free movement of goods and capital[1], migration, is what William Lacy Swing, director general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has called the “third wave of globalization”. A highly visible issue, caught in the middle of a much larger societal division.
Xenophobia is both a cause and symptom of this division. In its best-known meaning, it is a symptom which manifests as negative opinions of migrants focusing on fears of mass influxes, or economic impacts, in communities that already feel deprived, ignored, or overwhelmed. While these can play a role in public tensions toward migration, there is no reliable correlation between a rise in xenophobia and poor economic conditions or mass influxes of migrants. Rather, it is the interplay between numerous factors that contribute to xenophobia.
In our current circumstances, perhaps the most salient of which is the quest to define an identity (on an individual, communal, and/or national level) in uncertain times of rapid shifts in values and norms[2]. Migrants serve as an easily identifiable symbol for fears of deeper changes lying beyond individual or local control in an evolving society, as they represent groups bringing with them different languages, religions, and cultural practices.
Yet, in its broader definition as the “fear of strangers”, xenophobia is also a cause of societal division. All parts of society, liberal and conservative, urban and rural, are increasingly fearful of engaging with those who hold a different worldview, or those who are “strangers” to our individual beliefs of what defines the society of which we are a part. This fear is not only applicable to the way some feel about migrants, but often also to those inter-communal divides that already exist in our society.
This fear limits productive dialogue, both between groups, and within. This risks further entrenching polarised views and moving away from constructing a shared set of values and norms, ones which are inclusive of myriad opinions. This heightened polarisation can often lead to obstacles in managing migration issues constructively and to the benefit of all.
While numerous studies have demonstrated the overwhelming economic benefits of migration, who feels the benefits of, for example, an increased national GDP rate due to migration[3] versus who experiences the initial costs of migration in the need to accommodate additional demands on resources in tightly funded schools can be quite different, demonstrating the spectrum of lived experiences impacted by migration.
Ignoring individual concerns over migration and citing facts of its benefits can, therefore, only go so far in mitigating fears, risking distrust in mainstream policies and discourse and an increased interest in radicalized groups[4]. Xenophobia must therefore be addressed through creating spaces in which a wider spectrum of thoughts, feelings, experiences, and voices around migration can be shared. We need to get to know people of beliefs and backgrounds different from our own to understand and alleviate fears of migrants, and to establish spaces of commonality within our communities.
To help create a space of commonality, the IOM developed Portraits of Welcome. This project, consisting of portraits and accompanying text, aims to create a picture of the welcoming and diverse British society that awaits refugees. It asks participants questions such as “how do we define ’home’?”, and “what does community mean to you?”.
Although this project was originally positioned to show Syrian refugees the welcoming British community awaiting their arrival, in today’s environment the project also offers an exploration of the shared human experience of migration. This not only humanises migrants, but presents a mosaic of values and experiences existent in British society today. Portraits of Welcome illustrates an opportunity to open constructive conversation through common experiences and themes, exploring notions of identity in a continually changing world.
IOM is by no means the only organisation fostering communal environments. City of Sanctuary, a grassroots movement building a network of towns and cities throughout the UK offering welcome and support to those in need of safety, creates opportunities for relationship-building between local people and vulnerable migrants.
Events for Refugee Week and International Migrants Day bring international and national partners together (such as IOM, UNHCR, Counterpoints Arts, and The Migration Museum) to create a host of activities engaging local communities in the exploration of migrant stories and experiences. By creating a sense of community and shared action, individuals are offered a safe space in which to confront their assumptions and fears of migration, as well as relate to the commonality between their lives and those holding a different set of views and beliefs.
The road ahead is increasingly uncertain. While this uncertainty raises a number of fears, it also presents us with the opportunity to mindfully ask ourselves, and each other, what together we want our society to look like. Is ours a society reacting in fear to the unknown, or one interested in proactively engaging challenges, changes, and each other to shape the future as we see fit? Will we greet migration merely as a problem, or as a source of benefit for all? It is up to each of us to push outside our comfort zones and build a community of shared humanity, one of which we can be proud.
Dipti Pardeshi, Chief of Mission & Mallory Carlson, Senior Project Supporter, IOM UK
[1] 5 December 2011, Interview with William Lacy Swing, IOM’s Director General, International Geneva.
[2] Papademetriou, Demetrios D. and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Understanding and Addressing Public Anxiety about Immigration, 14th Plenary Meeting of the Transatlantic Council on Migration, July 2016.
[3] McKinsey & Company, People on the Move: Global Migration’s Impact and Opportunity, December 2016.
[4] Papademetriou, Demetrios D. and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Understanding and Addressing Public Anxiety about Immigration, 14th Plenary Meeting of the Transatlantic Council on Migration, July 2016.
