Forced Migration

Around the world, millions of people are forced to leave their homes due to threats from governments, gangs, terrorist groups, or environmental disasters. The tragedy and complexity of this experience are difficult to encapsulate in an explanation. However, it can help to understand the cause and effects in order to gain perspective on the difficulties of forced migration.

Definition of Forced Migration

Forced migration is the involuntary movement of people who fear harm or even death. These threats can be either conflict- or disaster-driven. Conflict-driven threats arise from violence, wars, and religious or ethnic persecution. Disaster-driven threats derive from natural causes such as droughts, famines, or natural disasters.

Fig. 1 - Syrians and Iraqi refugees arriving in Greece. People who are forced to migrate may take dangerous routes and means out of desperation

People who have to migrate under these conditions are looking for safer conditions for survival. Forced migration can occur locally, regionally, or internationally. There are different statuses people can obtain depending on whether have crossed international borders or remained in the country experiencing conflict.

Causes of Forced Migration

There are many complex causes of forced migration. A range of interconnected economic, political, environmental, social, and cultural factors can create tragic situations and events that displace people. Despite the complexity, causes can be put in two categories:

Conflict-Driven Causes

Conflict-driven causes arise from human conflicts that can escalate to violence, war, or persecution based on religion or ethnicity. These conflicts can stem from political institutions or criminal organizations. For instance, cartels in Central America use kidnapping, physical violence, and murder to establish control and dominance. This has bred fear and concern for safety, leading to the displacement and forced migration of people in countries like Honduras.

Political conflicts such as wars between countries, civil wars, and coups can cause hazardous conditions for people. For instance, since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a massive refugee crisis has ensued in Europe. Transportation, shipping, and economic sectors have been targeted for bombing and shelling, creating hazardous conditions to live day-to-day or conduct business. Millions of Ukrainians have fled or are internally displaced within the country.

Disaster-Driven Causes

Disaster-driven causes arise from natural events such as droughts, famines, or natural disasters. For instance, major flooding can destroy homes and communities, forcing people to move away. In some cases, these events can also be human-made. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 hurricane, hit southeast Louisiana and Mississippi, flooding the majority of New Orleans for weeks.

Fig. 2 - Flooding after Hurricane Katrina; failure of flood-control systems made New Orleans inhospitable after the hurricane

Later it was found that the US Army Corps of Engineers, which designed the flood-control systems, was responsible for the failed design. In addition, the local, regional, and federal governments failed in emergency management responses, with tens of thousands of displaced people as a result, particularly low-income minority residents.

Difference Between Voluntary and Forced Migration

The difference between voluntary and forced migration is that forced migration is migration compelled by violence, force, or threat to safety. Voluntary migration is based on the free will to choose where to live, usually for economic or educational opportunities.

Types of Forced Migration

With different types of forced migration, there are also different statuses people can have when they experience forced migration. These statuses depend on where someone is experiencing forced migration, whether they have crossed international borders, or their status level in the eyes of the countries they want to enter.

Slavery

Slavery is the forced capture, trade, and sale of people as property. Slaves cannot exercise free will, and residence and location are imposed by the enslaver. In the case of forced migration, chattel slavery involved the historical enslavement and transport of people and in many countries it was legal. Though slavery of this type is now outlawed everywhere, human trafficking still occurs. In fact, some 40 million people are enslaved worldwide through this process.

Slavery and human trafficking are types of forced migration where people don't have free will or choice in their movement. They are forced to move or remain in a place through coercion.

Refugees

Refugees are people who cross an international border to flee war, violence, conflict, or persecution. Refugees are unable or unwilling to return home due to fear for their safety and well-being. Though they are protected by international law, they must receive "refugee status" first.

Most countries require refugees to formally apply for asylum and each country has its own process for granting asylum depending on the severity of the conflict from which they are fleeing. Asylum seekers are explained in more detail below.

Fig. 3 - Refugee camp for Rwandans in Kimbumba after the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Asylum seekers may need to live in refugee camps until they receive refugee status

Recently, the term "climate refugees" has been applied to people forced to abandon their homes due to natural disasters. Usually, these natural disasters are occurring in areas that are experiencing extreme environmental changes and that lack resources and management to adapt.

Internally Displaced Persons

Internally displaced persons have fled their homes due to war, violence, conflict, or persecution but have still remained inside their native country and have not crossed an international border. The United Nations has designated these people as the most vulnerable, as they relocate to areas where humanitarian assistance can be difficult to deliver.¹

Asylum Seekers

Asylum seekers are displaced people who have fled their homes due to war, violence, conflict, or persecution, crossed international border, and are applying for asylum, sanctuary-based protection granted by a political entity. A displaced person becomes an asylum seeker when they begin a formal application for asylum, and through that formal application, an asylum seeker may be legally recognized as a refugee in need of help. Depending on the country they have applied to, asylum seekers may be accepted or rejected as a refugee. In the cases where asylum seekers are rejected, they are regarded as illegally living in the country and could be deported back to their original countries.

Effects of Forced Migration

The effects of forced migration range from major disruptions caused by a population decrease, to an influx of people into new places. Countries affected by a major conflict are likely to already be experiencing a population decrease due to war-related violence, but any post-war reconstruction could be even more difficult if most of the original residents are scattered throughout the world as refugees.

In the short term, countries receiving refugees or asylum seekers face the challenge of accommodating a large, unintegrated population. Countries that take in refugees are tasked with investing in the integration, education, and safety of the people as they settle in. Conflicts often arise when "nativist sentiment" of local people who resent the cultural, economic, and demographic changes refugees bring results in political tension and even violence.

Fig. 4 - Syrian refugee students attending school in Lebanon; children are especially vulnerable to forced migration

Forced migration is psychologically and physically stressful and harmful to people. Aside from possible physical ailments such as wounds or diseases, people may have witnessed harm or death around them. Refugees are more likely to develop symptoms like depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can cripple a person's ability to perform day-to-day activities or adjust to new places and situations.

Forced Migration Examples

There are several historical and modern-day examples of forced migration. Forced migration usually occurs due to historically complicated reasons, especially when it leads to major conflicts such as civil wars.

Syrian Civil War and Syrian Refugee Crisis

The Syrian Civil War began in the spring of 2011 as a civil uprising against the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Civil War included intervention from Iran, Turkey, Russia, the US, and other countries that both funded and armed groups involved in the conflict. The escalation of the war and heightened internal conflicts resulted in the majority of the Syrian population having to forcefully migrate. While many are internally displaced within Syria, millions more have sought refugee status and asylum in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, across Europe, and elsewhere.

The Syrian refugee crisis (otherwise known as the 2015 European migrant crisis) was a period of increased refugee claims in 2015, with over a million people crossing borders to get to Europe. Although the majority of people who made it were Syrians, there were also asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Iraq. The majority of migrants settled in Germany, with over a million refugee requests granted.

Climate Refugees

Many people in the world live along coasts and are at risk of losing their homes and livelihoods due to sea level rise. Bangladesh is considered the most vulnerable country to climate change effects as it experiences frequent and extreme flooding.² Despite a small population and area, it has one of the highest displaced populations from natural disasters. For instance, many parts of Bangladeshi's Bhola Island are completely inundated due to sea level rise, displacing half a million people in the process.