One of the most pressing and cross-cutting issues on the international agenda today is global migration – an issue only made more challenging by climate change and armed conflict. Against this backdrop, UNU-MERIT joined a global event designed to train future policymakers how best to tackle the challenge of refugee crises in support of SDG16 — for Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. UNU-MERIT continued its partnership with the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administr...
I was born a long while ago on a snowy night in Oslo. This was not the Oslo of now, where a third of the population is either immigrant or born to immigrant parents. This was the Oslo of old, of presumed certainty of place and identity. My parents, both from southern India, had gone to live there three months earlier. Though pleased that I had safely arrived, I suspect that, in those days when hospital rooms did not come equipped with television screens, my father did wish, deep down, that my bi...
A new report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) provides updated evidence on the trends of internal migration within Mongolia. UNU-MERIT researcher Dr. Craig Loschmann contributed to the study by assisting the Population Training and Research Centre (PTRC) of the National University of Mongolia with data analysis and in writing the report. The descriptive analysis is based on extensive quantitative and qualitative data collection with internal migrant and non-migrant househo...
Every 18 December, the UN celebrates International Migrants Day to recognise the efforts, contributions, and rights of migrants worldwide. A perfect moment to speak with Arjen Leerkes, who was appointed Professor of ‘Migration, Securitisation and Social Cohesion’ at Maastricht University and UNU-MERIT last month, about the position of immigrants in our societies. Where can asylum seekers go when they are trying to flee their country? Should they stay in the same region, or can they go else...
My migration story began in Honduras, a beautiful country, at the heart of the Americas. This is the land where the sacred pyramids of our Mayan ancestors stand tall among the jungle canopy, and where the coffee beans grow strong at the skirt of our mountains. We are mestizos, which is Spanish for ‘people of mixed race’. Since colonisation the blood of our indigenous ancestors has been mixed with the blood of African slaves and that of the European colonisers who settled there. It is these three...
Migration risks bringing Europe to a breaking point. It is about refugee boats, borders, Islam — about us and them. These are themes that not only concern society and politics, but also science and academia. … For more than 13 years, Prof. Melissa Siegel has been working on the theme of migration, most recently as Head of Migration Studies at UNU-MERIT. She is currently working on a book about the links between migration and many other themes such as employment, children and health. ...
Our researchers regularly give policy recommendations to the UN and its Member States — not just in emerging economies but also across Europe. In November 2018, Prof. Melissa Siegel spoke before the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, where she briefed members on the migration situation, shared scenario planning for the future, and discussed various ways to help migrants and refugees integrate into society. … What are the issues at stake – and who are the main stakeholders? I spo...
Sofia Luz Castaneda was the daughter of a wealthy family in Guatemala, a country in Central America. Her father was a farmer, who employed many men to cultivate his lands. However, one day, one of her father’s employees caught her eye – Samuel Bonilla. Sofia and Samuel fell in love, yet their union was rejected by her family because of their different social standing. So the young couple decided to elope, moving across the border to San Francisco Menendez, in El Salvador. There they lived an eco...
Labour market experts Inge Hooijen and Julia Reinold researched the mobility intentions and behaviour of graduates in the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion – the borderlands of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands – and found that big life decisions are down to more than an attractive labour market. “Obviously the hard factors play a role: you might not find a job in the region or leave for a better opportunity elsewhere,” explains Hooijen. “But we found that soft factors are really important too – from re...
Migration across the Mediterranean is often portrayed as the new societal and political ‘crisis’ of our time; EU nations are struggling to agree over a few rescue boats, while narratives of “invasion” and “call-effect ” have become part of the political discourse. Yet, migration across the Mediterranean is nothing new; in fact, the Mediterranean is one of the most ancient channels of migration. From North to South, East to West, various civilizations have settled and resettled its shores. In fac...