Hi, everyone! Today we are here to talk about immigration.

To begin with, immigration is the process through which individuals become residents or
citizens of another country. This is a problem that affects the whole world. In fact, there are an
estimated 272 million international migrants, which account for 3.5% of the world’s
population.

But what are the reasons that lead to immigration? Common factors can include armed
conflict, disaster exposure, gender inequality, lack of job opportunities, political corruption,
and lack of access to competent healthcare and education. Here, we can distinguish two types
of migrants: Refugees are those people who move from one country to another due to war or
persecution in their country of origin; And immigrants are those people who leave their
countries by choice in order to achieve better living conditions. For instance, in 2015 the
number of international migrants reached 244 million worldwide, which reflects a 41%
increase since 2000. The main destinations for migrants are The United States of America,
Germany and Saudi Arabia.

Therefore, immigration takes place in a safer and more planned way. Contrary to what
happens with refugees, where leaving the country is a race against time, which can cost lives.
According to the analysis of the year 2021, more than 3,000 migrants died or went missing
while trying to reach Europe by sea, the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) has said. Of this total,
1,924 people were reported dead or missing on the central and western Mediterranean
routes. Another 1,153 died or went missing on the sea route from northwest Africa to the
Canary Islands. As we can see with the analysis of these data, in addition to the terror
experienced in the country of origin, these people face dangerous routes to reach a safe place,
and unfortunately, they don’t always manage to arrive.

But what is the impact of refugees on the country in which they settle? Some complain about
them stealing local people’s jobs. This claim states that an increase in the number of people
results in more job competition and therefore, local people struggle to find or remain in
employment. However, refugees have been shown to cause employment rates of local people
to rise due to the production of new jobs in NGOs. They also bring new skills and knowledge
that can promote the host country's success in several areas. Moreover, migrants bring their
cultures with them, which promotes multiculturalism (a “socio-intellectual movement that
promotes the value of diversity”). That way, native people will be exposed to a different
perspective, which may encourage open-mindedness and empathy.

Finally, a current example here in Europe are the refugees of the war between Russia and
Ukraine. In the first five weeks, more than four million refugees from Ukraine crossed borders
into neighbouring countries, and many more have been forced to move inside the country.
These refugees and all the others are faced with a question: stay and die, or flee with the
possibility of a better life. Some refugees even leave family members behind, as with Irinia.
“We gathered some things and fled. We were suddenly... refugees,” Irinia says, still coming to
terms with the reality of their situation. “Our men stayed behind to defend our country. We
took our children to safety”.

As we can conclude from this presentation, being a refugee can be something sudden that
leaves us defenceless. That's why we encourage you to help through donations of essential
goods and money. The last one can be done by accessing The UN Refugee Agency site where
you will find a lot of donation options. One of US$ 100 which is enough to offer a displaced
child with psychosocial support, like access to a daycare centre and child-friendly spaces, one
of US$ 26 which is enough to give a displaced person legal counselling support, and one of US$
13 which can provide a simple plastic tarpaulin to help a displaced family protect their home
from the harsh winter weather. In addition, you can choose to donate an amount of your
choice.

And remember, today it's them. Tomorrow it can be us.