In The News

Words of Concern, Walls of Deterrence: Refugees Pushed Out to Sea

Aurélie Ponthieu April 20, 2015
The numbers of grossly overloaded vessels of all types, carrying desperate migrants from Syria and other conflict zones, are on the rise. More than 20,000 have died in recent years, and more than 200,000 took the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean in 2014 alone. Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, has announced it will launch search-and-rescue operations in the sea. “The...

South Africa: Xenophobia in South Africa - a Lack of Visionary Leadership

Ozias Tungwarara April 17, 2015
Xenophobia thrives in South Africa as is the case with much of the world. Citizens, especially those experiencing hard times, blame less fortunate foreigners, often from neighboring states, for poverty, crowded conditions, and crime. “In 2000 a major scenario exercise: ‘Southern Africa in 2020’ painted a grim picture of the southern Africa region in two decades, suggesting that only a new...

Attacks in Denmark, France Stoke Fears of Rising Anti-Semitism in Europe

Beenish Ahmed March 30, 2015
Anti-Semitic crimes are on the rise in Europe for 2015. Anti-Semitism in Europe may have contributed to a rise in emigration to Israel. In 2014, 7,000 Jews left France for Israel. In the same year, immigration to Israel worldwide increased 32 percent from the previous year, reports Beenish Ahmed for ThinkProgress. In February, a Jewish guard was murdered at a Copenhagen synagogue after the murder...

Japan Can’t Close Door on Immigrants

Kwan Weng Kin March 25, 2015
Japan’s looming demographic crisis is well known and widespread prejudices against immigrants may cripple the country’s ability to address the problem. Japan’s population could decline by a third over the next 50 years, and observers view immigration as the only viable solution to labor shortages in the Japanese economy. At present, foreigners constitute 1.6 percent of Japan’s population, and...

A Disservice to the Diaspora

Nayan Chanda November 26, 2014
India’s strong diaspora, 25 million in all, contributes to economic growth in many ways. India is the world’s biggest recipient of overseas remittances, with amounts that surpass foreign direct investment. A large section of the diaspora often goes under-appreciated, comments Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor in his Businessworld column: “Remittances from the diaspora have risen from a mere $2.1...

Bangladeshi Workers Organize to Protect Their Most Valuable Export: Themselves

Tiffany Williams October 15, 2014
In Bangladesh, a densely populated country of 157 million, export of migrant workers has become a staple of the economy. Lacking viable economic opportunities at home, laborers often look abroad for a source of income. Facilitating such migration has become a business in itself, with agencies charging exorbitant fees. These middlemen, or “Dalals,” have come under intense scrutiny for failing to...

Europe's Deadly Borders: An Inside Look at EU's Shameful Immigration Policy

Maximilian Popp September 16, 2014
European nations fiercely protect their borders, and Frontex is the continent’s border agency. “But now the civil war in Syria is creating millions of new refugees, and the next exodus is beginning in Iraq, as the terrorist group Islamic State continues to make inroads into the country,” writes Maximilian Popp for Spiegel Online. Popp notes that EU policies have not changed since the tragic 2013...