• What is the dialogue "I still can’t imagine it …. " about?

In this dialogue, the children address a problem which takes many forms and to which there is no clear answer in the modern world. They also inform each other of the reason which brought them to the Czech Republic. Often it was a very complex family situation or even a tragedy which brought Suong, Jami and Olga to richer parts of the world. In the dialogue, we can acquaint ourselves with the individual stories of the children, and the text below offers a somewhat more general picture of the phenomenon of migration.

• What is...?

Migration: A designation of the geographical movement of individuals or groups, i.e. of the mobility of people within a narrower or broader geographical space. The motives for migration may be economic, ecological, national, political, associated with wars, natural disasters, etc. - international migration – designates movement between different countries
- internal migration – designates movement within one country
- voluntary / forced
- legal / illegal

Immigration: Going in the direction toward a country, to immigrate = to arrive somewhere, to travel to somewhere (in the history of the Czech lands, for instance, the immigration of the Slavs to today’s Czech territory).

Emigration: Going in the outward direction, to emigrate = to go somewhere (the emigration following the Battle of White Mountain, Jewish emigration after World War II, etc.), above all through being forced to do so.

Exile: Banishment for reason of political, religious, or nationalistic persecution.

Asylum: A refuge, or protection against persecution.

Foreigner: A general designation for someone who is not “from here”, who is different. The word ‘foreigner’ often has negative connotations. According to the Act on the Residence of Foreigners, it is a citizen of another country. The popular perception, unfortunately, is of someone who, while having Czech citizenship, is perceived as someone different – someone who is not us because they are simply not Czech.

Target country: A country which is the object of migration.

Transit country: A country which a migrant simply passes through.

• Topic

Migration in general
Migration, or the movement of people, is an age-old, still current, and ubiquitous phenomenon. Migration takes place without our even being significantly aware of it, and often we ourselves migrate from place to place, for work, study, on holiday, etc. Migration is something which is subject to much discussion at present. People from third-world countries (Africa, Asia, South America, Eastern Europe) naturally try to find better work, lifestyles and a future outside their home countries. They seek a better life above all in the developed countries of the EU, North America and Australia.

At present, there are some 175 million people living outside of their native country, the country where they were born or of which they are citizens (which is some 3% of the world’s population). Over the last 25 years, the number of migrants has more than doubled. According to UN statistics, every year there are around 2 to 5 million more people living outside of their own country. The distribution of migrants in the world is very varied. More than half (around 60%) leave for advanced countries, the rest remain in countries with developing economies. The seven richest countries of the world (Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Canada and the USA) have about a third of the world’s migrant population within their territories. Even though more than half of migrants head for the advanced countries of Europe and the United States, reports by the European Commission show that the number of refugees in individual countries of Europe is significantly lower than in many developing countries which neighbour crisis regions. For instance, Great Britain accepts around 80 thousand applicants for asylum annually, while Pakistan took in around 2 million as a result of the war in Afghanistan in 2002.

One of the most burning issues linked with migration is illegal migration. The result of “high demand” on the part of the populations of less advanced countries for life in advanced countries results in more and more restrictive measures or, at the very least, measures regulating the entry of foreign nationals into a country. However, if another otherwise attractive country becomes less accessible (e.g. because of strict visa requirements, financial demands or restrictive legislation), the number of illegal migrants, i.e. people who want to get into the country in question or live within its territory without valid documents or without a residency permit, increases swiftly. Illegal migration also means a broad network of human trafficking and Mafiosi, in short illegal practices which become manifest where there is a great desire or life necessity on one side and a practically insurmountable barrier on the other. The total number of illegal migrants within the European Union is at present estimated to be 3-6 million people. The risks of illegal migration are above all the illegal profits of its organisers, the inhumane conditions of those being transported, and the economic and social impacts of these activities on the society of the guest country.

Migration within the Czech Republic
Given that Czechoslovakia and subsequently the Czech Republic was only opened to the world in 1989 after a long period of isolation, the phenomenon of migration and refugees is something new, sometimes provoking fear. Moreover, Czech society, as a result of its historical development (the Holocaust, the expulsion of the Sudeten Germans, 40 years of communist isolation, the division of Czechoslovakia), is still very homogenous, and anything new is perceived with a certain mistrust (minorities form only 4% of the population).

The demographic situation, however, clearly shows that the Czech Republic needs and will continue to need migration, simply in order to ensure that there is a sufficient economically-active population here. The attempt to reinforce the jobs market and the structure of the population is clear everywhere in Europe. For instance, every year the Czech Republic loses 20,000 citizens. Almost 90% of foreigners living legally in the CR are of a productive age (15-59 years old), which is a significantly higher proportion than the Czech population as a whole. However, there is an attempt being made to regulate immigration as much as possible, and the trend is for the active selection of “desirable” migrants, e.g. qualified specialists, ideally of a “promising” age and with a family.

Statistics
As of 31.12.2005, there were 278,312 foreigners living in the Czech Republic, of which 110,598 had permanent residence and 167,714 had some type of long-term residence over 90 days (i.e. temporary residence of citizens of the EU and their families, or a visa for over 90 days and a long-term residency permit for non-EU citizens). The largest group of these long-term legally-settled citizens is comprised of Ukrainians (approximately 90,000), Slovaks (approximately 50,000), as well as Vietnamese (37,000), Poles and Russians (both around 18,000), followed by people from Germany, Bulgaria, Moldavia, the United States and China.

Information on illegal migration is available only for 2004, when it was estimated that approximately 27,000 people were living in or had entered the CR illegally.

In comparison with the countries of Western Europe or North America, the number of immigrants in the CR is still below average. There the proportion of migrants to the total population is something between 5-10% (in the CR it is around 2.8%). Moreover, most immigrants in the CR come from regions which are close in respect to the language and culture, and are relatively highly qualified – a significant number of immigrants come from the countries of the former USSR or southeast Europe. The largest non-European enclave in the CR comprises the Vietnamese, who are characterised by economic independence and a relatively good knowledge of the Czech environment. For instance, the Netherlands, France or Spain have to deal with the fact that most of their immigrants are fugitives from rural parts of Africa. For them, life in urbanised society of the Western type is a genuine cultural shock since they are characterised by a high level of illiteracy.

Reasons for and prevention of migration
Several of the basic reasons for migration have been outlined above. As well as the most frequent economic reasons (poverty, the economic collapse of the “source” country, a low level of wages, a poor lifestyle, etc.), and the reasons we know so well from the past, i.e. political or religious, and the well-known reasons such as war or natural catastrophe, illness or handicap (so-called humanitarian reasons), more and more people are on the move for ecological reasons, or, more precisely, environmental reasons.

There exists a theory which says that as a consequence of global warming, climate change and the ensuing loss of agricultural land and livelihood, within a horizon of several decades hundreds of millions of people, even billions, may be on the move. We have to bear in mind that the majority of the world’s population lives in so-called developing countries usually situated in unstable regions, not only in terms of their political and economic situation, but also in terms of the environment. It is clear that the rich countries of the North cannot absorb such a number of migrants, and in the interests of their stability most of them must protect themselves against a large and sudden flood of migrants. It is clear that simple repression will not suffice, and in the source countries of migration there are more and more programmes being initiated which are financed by the governments of the target countries and aimed at supporting the local economy, providing an information service on the conditions of legal residence and risks of illegal migration, etc. For instance, at present the CR is financing similar programmes in Armenia and Gruzia.

A somewhat controversial practice is that of managed migration programmes (including the CR, where it relates to citizens of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldavia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro). On the one hand, these programmes are aimed at specialists of the countries in question, to whom a simpler route is offered to work and residence and a better job in a richer country, which understandably benefits from such immigration. On the other hand, there is talk of a brain drain which will increasingly afflict their country of origin, and will logically lead to greater economic deprivation and thus to more and more uncontrolled migration.

It is clear that the sphere of migration will continue to be a burning issue requiring more and more coordination and jointly recognised and enforced rules, effective methods of prevention, etc. of all those countries to which immigration relates.

• Stories and examples

In the examples of the families of our heroes, we have seen how difficult it is to evaluate the level of willingness to leave the country of origin for an unknown country with a perceived better life, greater security, etc. To what extent is departure forced by the loss of land, the resources for ensuring a livelihood, or the threat of persecution, voluntary, and to what extent is it forced? In the following example, we shall see that sometimes the main problem is not the departure itself, but the impossibility of returning.

Mrs. Nali’s husband was killed. With two young children and one on the way, she was forced to flee and to hide with her relatives in the mountains for several weeks from government soldiers who were systematically persecuting the minority to which she belonged. She gave birth to her third child, a son, in the mountains. A difficult birth under tough conditions, as well as all her experiences up until that point, meant that Mrs. Nali suffered psychological problems. Her newborn son suffered many health problems. After an armistice was concluded in the country and employees of non-governmental humanitarian organisations arrived, her relatives registered Mrs. Nali with one such organisation. This provided transport for her, her sisters and children to the Czech Republic, where she was provided healthcare which was unavailable in their country, now devastated by war. Just as it seemed that her state of health and that of her son had stabilised and that they would be able to return home, the conflict started up all over again. The family could not return, though it wanted to more than anything else. Mrs. Nali lost contact with her relatives and does not know what happened to them. Because of this, her state of health deteriorated once again. Mrs. Nali is completely dependent on help from doctors and her sisters, who look after her children. Because war is not a reason for awarding asylum, they have a survival visa which does not allow them even so much as the life minimum. They are thus supported by NGOs and individual contributions from the Ministry of the Interior. They hope that they will receive permanent residence for humanitarian reasons and that the situation will be stabilised, at least in respect of their rights and duties.

• Sources

Specialist literature:

Baršová, A. & Barša, P. (2006). Přistěhovalectví a liberální stát: imigrační a integrační politiky USA, západní Evropě a Česku. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, Mezinárodní politologický ústav.

Internet:

Centrum pro integraci cizinců – www.cicpraha.org

Člověk v tísni – projekt Varianty – www. varianty.cz – odborné texty ke stažení

www.migraceonline.cz

www.mvcr.cz