Migrants and refugees in today’s world

Moderator: Elena Llorente

Speakers: Guadalupe Zárate Miguel (Mexico), Carolina Rosas (Argentina), Asmae Dachan (Italy-Syria), Alessandra Eschiavo (Italy).

Elena Llorente, sociologist and journalist, introduced the topic by presenting the numbers of migrants and refugees in 2021 (89 million), which increased after the war in Ukraine began, reaching 100 million according to UNHCR (UN Organization for Refugees). 48-49% of them are women. This reality will endure, she explained, due to growing poverty, climate change and conflicts and wars, and it is necessary to act to change the situation, not only politicians and international organizations but also journalists. And she mentioned the “Carta di Roma”, an existing code of conduct for the press in Italy, which indicates how to present immigrant and refugees realities more honestly and transparently, so that people better understand what it is about.

The speakers reported about the situation of migrants in different countries.

Guadalupe Zárate Miguel, doctor in History, is a researcher at the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico and president of the Querétaro chapter of AMMPE Mexico. Guadalupe Zárate told how her country, from being a country of immigrants in the 20th century (from Guatemala, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia) has been transformed into a country of immigrants, emigrants and transmigrants (who come from other countries above all to try to enter the United States). The reaction of the population to this phenomenon has been varied, from solidarity to discriminatory attitudes, especially towards Afro-descendants (who are few in the country), but not towards whites and Europeans. White skin is seen with greater curiosity and sympathy for that colonial heritage that favors the European phenotype, she explained.

Carolina Rosas, sociologist, doctor in Population Studies and CONICET researcher in Argentina, spoke about migrations in South America (18 million in 2020), intra- and extra-regionally. The country with the most emigrants is Venezuela (5 million). Argentina, Chile and Brazil are the countries that receive the most. But there are new and stricter control rules that limit entry into national territories. Women have played a fundamental role in migrations from South America. They work in other countries as maid or caregivers and are not always legally recognized. But they send money to their families and with these remittances, they even help the economy of the nations of origin.

Asmae Dachan, daughter of Syrian migrants born in Italy, is a freelance journalist, photographer and writer, and adjunct professor of Multimedia Arabic at the University of Macerata (Central Italy). Asmae Dachán focused on the migration situation in the Middle East, especially Syria and Afghanistan, from where – as now in Ukraine – people go through all kinds of risks to escape: debts to human traffickers, prostitution, exploitation and sometimes they lose their lives during the crossing. Safe migration should be a right, Dachan said, calling on the international community to work hard on it.

Alessandra Schiavo, with a degree in Political Science she started her diplomatique carrer and was the Italian ambassador in Myanmar (2018-2022) and consul in Hong Kong. She is currently Director of Asia department at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The former ambassador described how the situation of migrants in Asia is seriously affected by the pandemic and its social and economic consequences, in addition to the natural disasters caused by climate change. Myanmar (i.e. Burma) is the third country in Asia for number of migrants after Syria and Afghanistan. One of the triggers was the 2021 coup and the tremendous military repression, in addition to the great humanitarian crisis, she said. In addition to this, there is the persecution of the Rohingya people, a poor Muslim minority living in Myanmar. Throughout the country, women are the most mistreated, but many have organized themselves to bring aid to those who arrive in refugee camps in other countries. Others escape or are sent to China for forced marriages or forced labor.