The Global Emerging Market in Transition: Articles, Forecasts, and Studies

Balkan Refugees in the European Union and the United States: Strategic Economic Solutions for Migration

BALKAN REFUGEES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED STATES: STRATEGIC ECONOMIC SOLUTIONS FOR MIGRATION Migrants and refugees suffer from a number of social ills that compromise their human rights no matter where they live. They have limited access to social and health services and their plight is hardly the primary concern of governments and public administrations. This is despite the fact that migration is more of a symptom than a causal condition. Academic studies on the topic view migrants as the source of many problems. Chronic unemployment, low standards of living, and indifferent governments are the reasons that these people become refugees in the first place. Consequently, the view of the refugee as the root of the problem is flawed. Instead, the solution lies in seeking ways to bolster the quality of life in the countries from where these migrants came. Let us focus on the refugee situation in the Balkans, a region that was ripped apart by ethnic bloodshed and civil strife during the 1990s. The turmoil in the Balkans prompted an exodus of its many talented professionals. As a result, future economic development in this region is sure to be slow. In addition, the disruptive effects of massive illegal migration present a real threat to European integration . Thirdly, the deplorable conditions faced by Balkan refugees in emerging markets and those of other illegal migrants present a fertile breeding ground for terrorist activities. In the end, an anemic economy in the region will always threaten to undo the fragile peace that has taken root in the last several years. Destabilization is still a very real possibility. Given that migration is a social and economic phenomenon, this study looks at demography, sociology, and economic boundaries through statistical methods of direct and indirect accounts of migra- migration in the balkans 183 tion; sociological methods of factor analysis; economic fact-finding missions; representative analysis of migrants; surveys of different migrant groups; economic analysis of transportation; unemployment and poverty statistics; and questionnaires, whose construction will differ from country to country to account for differences in culture and religion. The goal here is to show the correlation between the variables of unemployment and poor standards of living. These then culminate seemingly intractable poverty and, ultimately, migration from the Balkans. To understand the trend of Balkan migration, we have to: • Analyze the impact of Balkan migration on the European Union and the United States • Assess the effects of globalization on migration • Accumulate data and develop improved methods for its collection (currently, there are no data for half the Balkan nations on numbers of people living below the poverty line, even in UN and CIA population statistics) • Recommend new programs for public administration, as well as develop strategic economic recommendations and incentives to decrease emigration from the region, and a system to motivate refugees to return • Prepare recommendations for multilateral institutions in regard to issues surrounding migration • Build foundations for a new Theory of Economic and Strategic Management of Migration The idea here is to erect a structure where necessary economic resources and social protection produce a better standard of living and decrease unemployment among potential migrants in the Balkans . The goal is also to decrease the number of legal, but particularly illegal, immigrants and refugees in Western Europe and the United States. This is a situation that would not only lead to better relations between Balkan countries and the Western world, but would also remove some of the reasons that young, disaffected refugees join terrorist organizations. There is a popular albeit specious notion popular in Western intellectual circles that migrants in large numbers destabilize economies and provide cover for drug smugglers and terrorists. But why look at the migrant this way? These are human beings who are desperate to feed their children, but are often unable to find work on which they 184 the top emerging markets can survive. The ‘‘pyramid of concerns’’ upon which the Balkan governments and international institutions build their policies must be changed. The migrants, and not the problems that they generate, must be the concern of the international aid community. After years of war and ethnic conflict, stability and peace in the Balkans have finally been achieved. Characteristics of a fledgling democratic government structure have taken hold and there is a positive atmosphere in the Balkan political sphere. However, the emigration rates in the region still rank among the highest in the world. This illustrates better than...