1

Metropolis

Session: Integration Policies in Times of Economic Crisis: New challenges for intercultural

societies

Economic Crisis and Migrants: the right time to “invest” in integration

Christine Aghazarm, IOM Geneva

2

Impacts of the Economic Crisis on Migrants and Migration

3

• Migrants most vulnerable to layoffs, higher unemployment rates

• Return not as expected at the start - more “wait and see” approach

• Remittances overall resilient and in some cases even a reverse

• Policies in countries of destination tended toward greater admissions restrictions, return programmes

3

To summarize...

4

• Integration remains one of the biggest challenge in migration management and even more so in times of crisis:– climate of economic insecurity– job loss– scapegoating of migrants– increased politicization of migration for political

gain– greater onus placed on migrants for “failing” to

integrate– risk of further marginalization of irregular

populations 4

Importance of integration

5

Intersection with Public Opinion,Media and Politics

• Few areas of public policy subject to greater misrepresentation in public and political discourse than migration

• Misinformation and misperception can trigger a viscous cycle of influence

• Higher negative opinion of migration tends to correlate with periods higher levels of unemployment

• However, as an issue migration does not surpass issues such as the economy, employment, crime among others even during times of economic crisis

6

Intersection with Public Opinion,Media and Politics

• What does a closer look at public opinion reveal?

– deeper rooted fears not linked per se to migration– yet, politicization and negative discourse persist– where is the migrant? or the employer?– what does this mean for investing in integration

and the way forward?

7

The Right Time to “Invest”: reconsidering investment

– Investment does not always mean money; other forms can be more powerful with longer term impacts (Oxford English Dictionary)

• the action or process of investing money for profit

• a thing that is worth buying because it may be profitable or useful in the future

• an act of devoting time , effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result

8

What does no cost “investing” in integration look like?

• IOM WMR 2011:

• Building an open balanced and comprehensive migration discourse

• Prioritizing migration, not politicizing it• depoliticize the debate and address the actual

issues of concern

• Working with the media to support balanced media reporting

• Involve all relevant stakeholders