Apparently, Belarusians have never suffered from the sin of deep nationalism and hardened xenophobia. It was all the more unexpected that the topic of migration policy suddenly aroused so many emotions among people. And, to put it bluntly, often not the best and most productive, to put it mildly. I would like to hope that it is not our worldview, but the traumatizing impact of the information space, which is full of extreme right-wing views. Sometimes in its populism it crosses the boundary of civilizational decency. The topic of migration is very tightly saddled with political groups in a number of countries. Primarily in Europe.

First of all, because of the failed migration concept, which is causing huge problems in Germany. Secondly, because of the economic crisis, which the European Union states are entering (or rather, have already entered) at different speeds. And the simplest explanation for the deterioration of the quality of life is the corrupting influence of outsiders. For all objective destructive phenomena, the migration problem seems to be largely inflated by various speculations.

Secondly, the root of the evil lies not in foreigners who come to work or temporarily reside in other countries, but in the illegal resettlement of peoples. If we look at things sensibly and objectively, illegal migration is not only a consequence of the desire of the inhabitants of poorer countries to move to richer ones. Such a desire is understandable and rational. But the fact is that a whole big and criminal business has developed, which allows these people to get to European countries. And they find a use for them there: in addition to clandestine migration, the illegal labor market is also growing. An illegal immigrant is, in fact, a person with reduced rights. Or with no rights at all. And he can be exploited very harshly and mercilessly. A factor that is becoming increasingly important for the economies of some states. Naturally, the new age slave trade (let us call things by their proper names) has a downside: the criminalization of society as a whole. And the indignation of ordinary people is quite understandable and understandable. Although in fact it would not hurt to closely and in detail analyze both the work of the law enforcement system and the political authorities, who have created a legislative system, which is like a sieve — leaves numerous openings for illegal business with multi-billion dollar turnovers. However, there are also enough openly corrupt scandals, when top officials in Europe were caught by the hand while implementing various schemes of illegal access to the country for citizens from other countries. 

Thirdly, in many countries today there is a crisis of power. And the migration issue is being used as a powerful trump card in the struggle for power. Consequently, the topic is being discussed extensively, vividly and juicily. But not with the purpose of including pragmatic approaches to solve the problem, but for the sake of playing on the nerves of voters. Many statesmen have made their careers on the migration issue in recent years. But the illegal segment has flourished and continues to do well. A stable system has already developed: with its own schemes and a wide network of beneficiaries. And no one has the political will to break this highly profitable sphere. And there is no deep desire to do so. 

That is why many people are understandably wary of the topic of migration. Another question is that the negative experience of our neighbors (far and near) should not be taken as an alternative algorithm for the development of history. After all, of the nearly three hundred million migrants, only 30 percent come from Europe and 26 percent from North and South America. The UN Population Division estimates that 31 percent of migrants live in Asia. This may come as a surprise to many, but not all migratory paths follow a Western vector. The exchange of labor and competencies within the same Asian region is quite successful. In Saudi Arabia, migrants make up 38 percent of the population, and in the United Arab Emirates, 88 percent. In South Korea, about 10 percent of the population comes from other countries. But we don’t hear of any significant crises.

So, the problem is not the movement of people as a phenomenon, but the internal politics of the host country. Therefore, to fear newcomers because they are representatives of a different culture, nationality and religion is, to put it mildly, incorrect and immoral. If not to put it more harshly. Moreover, Belarusians are quite open to cultural exchange. I have repeatedly heard from foreign experts on tourism that the distinctive feature of Belarus is its hospitality to visitors. And it is not about the hospitality industry — after all, this is their professional duty — but about society as a whole. The reaction to foreigners is very positive: unfamiliar passers-by try to help them, give them some advice, explain how to get to the right address...

Reasonable openness of the country is one of the factors of the civilized way of development. Closer contact with other countries, which migration provides, broadens the horizons of society. They allow to cognize the world more fully. That is essentially necessary for sustainable and dynamic development. Ultimately, in the history of mankind, the most prosperous nations have been those that were willing to cooperate on a broad geographical front.

Tatiana Vasilevskaya