Immigrants, Migrants, and Refugees Audio: Recent Episodes
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
From illegal immigration in the United States to the recent of influx of Muslims into secular Western Europe, migration is a hallmark of the 21st century and one of the most divisive issues in international affairs. Why is this topic so controversial? What does ethics have to do with immigration?
What happens when Sweden, one of the most welcoming countries on Earth for migrants, simply runs out of beds? What are the unpleasant (and politically incorrect) truths about the difficulties of assimilation in Europe? How can we have honest policy discussions about this? Author James Traub has been spending time in Sweden, France, and Germany and has given these sensitive issues much thought. Don't miss his unflinching analysis.
In the run-up to the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants, Joanne Myers talks with Peter Sutherland about the challenges of implementing the 1951 Refugee Convention, which states that the obligation to provide for refugees is not simply an obligation for countries in proximity to the refugees. It's a global responsibility that should be shared.
Underlying people's economic fears about migrants taking their jobs are much deeper anxieties about nationality, culture, and race, says Bridget Anderson, professor of migration and citizenship at Oxford. The nation-state is simply not working for a lot of humanity, and we need to come up with new ways of thinking about political communities.
Kilian Kleinschmidt describes how he, together with the refugees themselves, transformed the Zaatari refugee camp from what the media called a "hellhole of humanitarian aid" into a lively living space with shops and even fountains. Indeed, the entire aid paradigm needs to be transformed, says Kleinschmidt, and he offers innovative ways to do it.
Over 4.8 million Syrians have become refugees, mostly in neighboring countries, and this is not the only displacement crisis around the globe, says Kirişci, an expert in Turkish foreign policy and migration studies. This troubling and informative talk raises both practical and ethical issues, not only for Turkey and its neighbors but for the entire world.
The migrant/refugee crisis is a defining moral issue for our generation, declares Peter Sutherland, UN special representative on international migration. And proximity should not define responsibility. It's a global responsibility.
The co-founder of the Resettlement Legal Aid Project in Cairo during the Iraq War, Suchitra Vijayan discusses the refugee crisis from a legal, political, and humanitarian point of view. She details the remarkable empathy needed to work in the field and why the United States and Europe have an ethical responsibility to respond to the situation.
Any attempts to tackle the problems of long-term refugees will have to address occupancy rights. Why do we have the right to live in a particular place, and what are we owed when those rights are violated? For example, if the Palestinians have a right of return, what's the basis of that right? Does it hold the same for second-generation refugees as for first?
As the U.S. moves toward a major overhaul of its immigration system, many of those most significantly affected are being left out of the debate--not just illegal immigrants already in the U.S., but also anyone who might ever want to come. The same is true everywhere immigration is being debated. Arash Abizadeh thinks all those outsiders deserve a say.
The great wave of illegal immigration to the United States is over, says Edward Schumacher-Matos. Our real challenge now is what to do with those 11–12 million people who are here illegally but who are part of our communities--and this is not only a legal issue but an ethical one.
Victims of trafficking are both young and old, male and female. They can be found working in factories, fields, brothels, private homes, and innumerable other settings. They may be hidden behind walls or seen in plain view. How can trafficking be stopped?
The headlines are full of stories of deep-simmering hatreds and ethnic strife. How about some good news for a change? Historians Meyer and Brysac explore places where diversity is actually working, from Kerala to Queens. What can we learn from these "oases of civility"?
Global migration is a key part of our economic future and one that is often overlooked. Three experts offer very different takes on migration, spanning Europe, the USA, and lastly the Gulf States, where migrants make up the majority of the population and citizens are in the minority.
Now that the population has reached seven billion, most of the focus is on the numbers. In this report, however, Crossette explores individual stories around the world to shed light on such issues as aging populations, migration, and the desire of women for family planning.
Angela Maria Kelley, of the Center for American Progress, talks frankly about the difficult practical and ethical questions surrounding U.S. immigration, and the inconsistent approaches in different states because of the deadlock at the federal level.
Immigration is both a challenge and an opportunity for Germany. So say Green Party leader Cem Ozdemir, the first immigrant member of Germany's parliament, and Michael Goering, CEO of the Hamburg-based Bucerius Foundation, which funds programs on integration.
Philosopher Mathias Risse discusses his concept of common ownership of the earth--the equal claim of each person to the planet and its resources--and what this means for worldwide immigration policies and for climate change refugees, for example.
How will the enormous projected growth of the U.S. population in the next four decades change the face of America? Will it make the U.S. weaker, or even more diverse and competitive?
From education and health care, to access to credit and the rule of law, a host of factors that influence quality of life depend simply on which side of a border a person is born on. Yet what could be more arbitrary, morally speaking, than where a person happens to be born?
Do immigrants help or hurt America? Closed borders cut off the world's best and brightest, while open borders may invite the world's desperate, criminal, and crazy. Should we err on the side of opening doors or building walls?
The Carnegie Council and the International Labour Organization (ILO) present a unique look at modern slavery from the personal, policy, and enforcement perspectives, to shed light on an insidious practice that has become part of today's labor markets.
Dutch Minister for European Affairs Frans Timmermans argues that tolerance and the attitude of "live and let live" is no longer enough. He notes that our goal must be integration, which means increasing the interactiveness between communities.
How do Muslim immigrants to the West adjust to their new lives? Kavitha Rajagopalan follows three families on their journey: a Palestinian family from Jerusalem to London, a Kurdish family from Turkey to Berlin, and a Bangladeshi family to New York City.
Does labor abuse and outright slavery still exist in the United States? Yes, says author and journalist John Bowe, who travels from Florida to U.S.-owned Saipan to investigate modern global slave labor.
It's inevitable that more and more people will move across borders, says Philippe Legrain, and rather than put obstacles in their way, we should welcome them. They do the jobs we can't or won't do and their diversity enriches us all.