| 18 January 2016 |
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Integration: The Next Migration Crisis? Migration was the defining story of 2015, as an unprecedented number of people sought to escape war, poverty and persecution. Faced with a crisis on a scale not seen since the Second World War, policy-makers struggled to know how to respond. As winter approached, the flows of migrants slowed down. But as one crisis ends, another one could yet begin: a crisis of integration, writes IOM Director General William Lacy Swing in a blog for the World Economic Forum. When migrants are successfully integrated into their new communities and instilled with a sense of belonging, everyone reaps the benefits. Unfortunately, the tendency of some to focus on the negative aspects of migration – mainly in the hope of political gains – could complicate the integration process. This could pave the way for a second crisis. “So how can we prevent a second crisis and instead maximize all the potential benefits?” asks Swing, who will take part in the WEF’s Annual Meeting in Davos later this week.
UN Panel: $40 billion Needed Annually to Help People Caught in Conflict and Natural Disasters DUBAI - An estimated $40 billion is needed annually to help the rapidly growing number of people needing humanitarian aid as a result of conflicts and natural disasters, write Aya Batrawy and Edith Lederer for the Associated Press. One possibility to help fill the $15 billion funding gap is a small voluntary tax on tickets for soccer games and other sports, concerts and entertainment events, airline travel, and gasoline, a U.N.-appointed panel said. The panel's report on humanitarian financing, launched Sunday by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, says the world is spending around $25 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 125 million people devastated by wars and natural disasters — more than 12 times the $2 billion that was spent in 2000. The nine-member panel calculated that an additional $15 billion is needed annually to reduce suffering and save lives. It warned that if current trends continue, the cost of humanitarian assistance will rise to $50 billion by 2030. Quote of the day
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  Julio: "When I came here, I felt alone in this country, and now my life is made here." Share on Twitter | Facebook Visit http://iamamigrant.org/
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Migration in the News
- AP interviewed IOM Director General William Lacy Swing who said that Europe must avoid viewing migrants as a "security threat" following the New Year's Eve assaults in Cologne and November's attacks in Paris.
- Express UK reported that Europe’s borders crisis showed no signs of easing up as figures revealed that the number of migrants arriving daily by boat has trebled in one year.
- Xinhua reported that 23,664 refugees and migrants reached Europe by sea in the first 14 days of 2016, according to IOM.
- Al Jazeera reported that female refugees coming into Europe face violence and sexual harassment at every stage of their journey, according to a new report from Amnesty International.
- Voice of America reported that European Commissioner and head of ECHO Christos Stylianides called for “political solutions” in dealing with “the root causes” of the migrant crisis: war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
- Sputnik reported comments by Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec who said that EU leaders need to provide more support to countries receiving the most refugees and to make sure the borders of the Schengen Zone are protected
- Newsweek reported that Ukraine remains one of Europe's most notorious sources of human trafficking, citing figures from a mid-2015 IOM report.
- AFP reported that the first trickle of a group of thousands of Cubans trying to reach the United States from Costa Rica crossed the Mexican border into Texas on Friday.
- Washington Post reported that Iraqi troops pushed Islamic State fighters out of Ramadi after seven months, but the scale of the destruction in Ramadi has many worried about when and if the city will be rebuilt.
Trending on the Internet
- Foreign Policy reported that the best way to achieve a more orderly entry process would be to create safe, legal channels for refugees and other migrants to reach Europe, instead of tougher borders.
- AFP reported that Europe's migrant crisis and terror attacks will dominate the get-together of the elite of the political and business worlds in Davos this week.
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