Author: Sait Eren
Dictatorship and Immigration
From past to present, one of the most important causes of migration of human being in different parts of the world is dictatorial governments.
When we differentiate regular and irregular -or illegal- human migration, it can be seen that the phenomenon of irregular migration is an international security issue. Considering the causes of illegal immigration, war and economic reasons are considered as the leading causes. When looking at the open sources regarding the issue, these two justifications are regularly seen at the top place as the basis of illegal migration.
In fact, dictator governments have more impact on migration than is taken into account. But given the news and comments in open sources about the migration issue, it will be noticed that the definition of migration of human being caused by dictator governments is tried to be changed in a strange way. In general, in the open sources, it is stated that the reason of the migration is “political pressure” instead of the emphasis on “dictatorship”. This will serve the interests of dictator governments, a root cause of illegal migration.
According to the statistics of International Organisation for Migration, the number of migrants in the world in 1990 increased by about 2.5 times till 2000, reaching a number that amounts to about four percent of the total world population [1], on the other hand, between 2000 and 2017, there was a 49 percent increase in the number of migrants in the world [2]. In the 21st century, cold wars are reduced compared to them were in the past. In addition, regional conflicts and civil wars continue to lead people to resets their lives and force them to move to thousands of miles away. Perhaps, it is acceptable that one of the other reasons of migration is economic difficulties that people are facing. When you asked about the cause of the migration to the migrants, they would say that the most prominent reason, they risk living ten thousand miles away instead of immigrating to another region within their own country, is because they needed to survive. People who are victims of immigration are aware that they will not survive in another region of the same country by leaving their city due to internal conflict or civil war. As long as unspoken dictator governments continue to maintain their political influence and hegemony, civil war/confliction will not end and people will not be able to live comfortably in their own country. The best example of this could be shown in Syria recently.
In 2011, people were terrorized by the repressive government in Syria, by making the army use weapons against the people who protested against them by using their democratic rights. The situation has become so different that even some soldiers in the army have left their professions and started to fıght alongside the people to oppose the repressive government. The internal conflict in Syria began with the insurgency of groups without leaders, disorganized and with different goals against a repressive government that holds central authority. So, if it weren’t for a repressive regime or unnamed dictator government, 13 million people wouldn’t have to leave the land where they live. On the other hand, in other part of the region, the main reason is clear why millions of people were forced to leave their homes when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
While governments in the land abandoned by people who had to migrate do not consider themselves to be repressive government/dictator government, the reality is actually known and seen by the public. In a short research, also looking at open sources, details of the world’s dictator governments and countries will be seen [3]. Especially the levels of freedom, human rights and democratic development of countries are the elements that give the clearest idea of whether there are dictatorial-prone leaders in that country [4]. Many economically developed or developing countries and governments can be considered to have adopted the form of dictatorship and repressive governance, pushing human rights and democratic principles aside. In these countries, rulers make the impression that they are based on the public and that they implement democratic institutions and rules by demonstrating free elections.
If asked sincerely to people who have been migration victims on a regional and global basis, they will be able to describe the post-modern dictators which are not mentioned in 21stcentury and the main causes of the migration being exposed in very detail. This question comes to mind here. Despite the economically and democratically developed countries around the world, and the fact that their own countries are seen as victims of migration, and the economic and social costs of nearly 2 trillion dollars to those developed 25 OECD member countries due to this irregular migration [5], what could be the reason why they don’t have the right attitude toward these dictatorships? These countries, whose economies and democracies are developed, are known to be sensitive to human rights and universal values. These societies, which prioritize people in every problem and new development, and discuss whether “toothpaste should be available in the box” [6], should not be indifferent to the emotional and physical traumas experienced by people who have to migrate to their own countries.
Therefore, people expect from these countries, which are exempted economically and politically in the world, to take more concrete and achievable steps against dictatorial governments, who cause of illegal migration. For example, individuals and groups whose cases were moved to the International Criminal Court in 2017 and who supported the supply, shipment, and use of chemical and conventional weapons in Syria are expected to be tried in a fair and transparent manner at once.. On the other hand, the European Court of Human Rights is expected to decide quickly and appropriately against cases related to human rights violations and the pursuit of justice from countries that are ruled by dictatorship and therefore their practices are known around the world. In addition, although it violates universal principles, it is a contradiction in treating dictator leaders as legitimate rulers by Western leaders. As long as post-modern dictators are considered normal country rulers, the immigration problem will not be solved.
It will serve only the purpose of those administrations to express dictator administrations as “political pressure” by making them looks fair with make-up. Keeping the economic and social costs of governments spending on migration will not solve the migration problem. What’s important is to see the causes of migration and to develop an attitude toward it. These economic and social costs will continue to grow exponentially if the main causes of the migration are not seen. The fact that the dictator governments are the main cause of the migration phenomenon and its declaration will reveal a fundamental direction toward the solution of the problem.
[1]https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/wmr-2022-interactive/
[2]https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/migrationreport/docs/MigrationReport2017_Highlights.pdf
[3] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/freedom-index-by-country
[4] https://planetrulers.com/current-dictators/
[5] https://tr.euronews.com/2021/10/28/oecd-raporu-covid-salg-n-gocmen-ak-s-n-ciddi-oranda-azaltt
[6] https://www.treehugger.com/there-any-reason-toothpaste-should-come-box-4863609
