Is migration the only chance for good life?

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In February 2016, a little boy rests his head on his hands while waiting to board the train outside Vinojug transit center in North Macedonia.

When, a thousand years ago, a human’s ancestor took his shoes and stick and went to a different mountain, he never knew that would start gigantic migrations that we know today.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, there were four big migration waves in human history.  The first and biggest one of them was the Big Atlantic migration. It took place in the 19th and 20th century when 37 million people moved from Europe to the United States. The main reasons for the Big Atlantic migration were hunger and poverty. After World War II, 16 million Germans returned to Germany from Eastern Europe and almost as many Eastern Europeans returned from Germany to their homes. The third big migration wave happened in 1947 when Great Britain gave independence to India and separated that area to Pakistan and India. The repercussions were 14.5 million migrants in both directions, more than a million people who lost their lives, and about 12 million people who had lost their homes. The fourth migration wave happened in the 20th century when 3.6 million people Jewish people moved to Israel.

After reading about the causes of past migrations, one would think that migrations now are smaller and less risky.  However, the reality is different. People are constantly on the move caused by poverty and wars.  In many cases, whole families sell everything they have and try to move towards a better life. 

Many problems occur when millions of people change their homes.  Some people end up homeless, some people end up in criminal groups, and the whole of society changes with refugees. However, people should not assume that all refugees are terrorists. We should not fight by building walls. We should think about ourselves in their positions. Imagine living with no electricity and plumbing. Imagine living in a war area where you cannot go outside the house because you might lose your life. Imagine choosing between food for a month or new shoes because you do not have money for both. And imagine being a child in Syria where everything you hear is explosions and the only education you can get is something your mother is telling you. Wouldn’t you move?

They told me it was a shock at the beginning: learning a new language, going to a different school, finding new friends and just living in a city where you do not know anyone is not easy for kids.

My dad used to live in Germany. He was there for 35 years and came back to Croatia when he retired. However, his kids, my two stepbrothers and two stepsisters, still live there. I asked them a few questions about their experience.  They told me it was a shock at the beginning: learning a new language, going to a different school, finding new friends and just living in a city where you do not know anyone is not easy for kids. Eventually, they got used to that different life. My stepbrothers and stepsisters told me that moving from Croatia to Germany was my father’s greatest decision.  They have learned how to live with other cultures, they got the education they wanted, and now they raise their children to be open-minded and thankful for opportunities they have in life.

Who are we that we are allowed to say to another human being that he cannot live here or there?

Who are we to say that somebody’s life is less important than ours?

Unfortunately, education and job opportunities are not equal in every country.  As a society, we should fight for giving those equal chances to everyone. The beauty is in diversity.

Who are we that we are allowed to say to another human being that he cannot live here or there?

Who are we to say that somebody’s life is less important than ours?

And when we learn how to see a person without his skin colour, religion or ethnicity, then we will be a happy society.

 

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About me: A small town girl. I enjoy writing, reading and debating. Trying to find something positive in everyone.

Children and young people are one of Europe’s greatest assets. For the European Parliament elections in May 2019, Voices of Youth ran a special blogging series to ensure that the opinions and voices of children and young people were heard during the elections and by incoming European politicians.

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