Europe is a rapidly ageing continent. The birth-rates in the majority of the European countries is declining and already below the reproduction level. The Southern and Eastern European countries are comparably worst off, a slightly surprising fact when taking into consideration the stronger familiy ties especially in mediterranean societies of the EU. Of course Europe is not the only region worldwide that suffers from shrinking and ageing populations, Japan is another example for a rapidly ageing society. Nevertheless Europe definitely is a hotspot of demographic change.
The challenges of an ageing and shrinking society have been discussed abundantly. The highly developed social systems, to date a unique feature of Europe, will bear the brunt of the pressure that stems from these changes. A shrinking working population will soon meet it's limitations when trying to finance the health insurance and pension bills growing as quickly as the perecentage of elderly people in European societies.
But why is this of interest for a network blogging on (cultural) relations between Latin America and Europe? Well, Europe has but one chance to meet the rising challenges of demographic change: to become an attractive destination for qualified migrants from around the globe and to manage the challange of integrating a rising number of immigrants living in European societies. Many members of this network have made first hand experiences of living in European cities as a migrant, and I would love to read about your experiences. I can unfortnately only contribute a European 'second hand' perspective of somebody who has been following the European (and especially the German) migration and integration policies during the last years.
Unfortunately the picture of Europe as a continent for migrants is a rather gloomy one. Even within the EU you will have difficulties in getting your university degrees homologated when moving from a member state to another. Especially when you are planning on working in a public sector like, say, education. For well qualified migrants from other parts of the world this is even more complicated or close to impossible. Additionally many European countries still force the second and third generations of migrants to choose between their European citizenship and the citizenship of their ancestor's country of origin. Maintaining stable dual-state identities is a privilege for EU Member State citizens.
Additionally Europe is focusing nearly exclusively on the challenges of regulating illegal migration instead of seeing the opportunities migration and integration have to offer.With Frontex there is a whole EU institution dedicating itself to 'protecting' European borders from migrants while you won't even find the words 'integration' or 'migration' in the names of one of the 27 directorate generals of the EU.
I would like to share a little story of what happened to an aunt of mine from Finland to clarify what I think is going wrong in Europe. My aunt started to fill in an application form for a Green Card to the US. She was just doing it out of curiosity, to see what kind of information they would ask for and how the process works in general. On the second page the questions started to become too detailed and she stopped filling out the form, closed the browser tab and forgot about it. Next day somebody from the US authorities called and asked her if she had had any problems while filling in the forms and why she had stopped. They told her she would have good chances to get a Green Card and should send the application in.
I am well aware that the USA are not a model state for a good migration and integration policy. But this little story shows all the difference between the old and the new continent. While the US realize the opportunities of migration (after all, their melting pot history was one of the factors that led to it's strength today), Europe is ageing in isolation. I for my part am sure that there is nobody in the EU picking up a phone in order to convince somebody to come to Europe. And if we are not even caring to make use of the abilities of highly qualified migrants, how will we ever be able to confront the challenges of integrating refugees or 'illegal' migrants from disadvantaged parts of the world?
Hey Patrick, I was just writing about demographics in Guatemala (we have one of the highest birth rates in Latin America) when I got the notice about your new post. How timely! I much appreciate your perspective on this issue. I suggest you check out http://www.citizenorange.com/orange/
AntwortenLöschena great site about immigration issues.
I've never worked in Europe but did work for a year in the States after completing my master's. I loved the work experience (had the chance to work with awesome anthropologists doing applied urban work)but missed Guatemala too much!! The only time I considered staying was after I became quite involved with immigrant groups and organizations. I felt that there was a place for me there, particularly helping youth navigate the system when their legal options were very scarce. I didn't stay in the end because I felt (like I felt after almost 4 years in Africa) that I much rather work in my country and region, sort of a national responsibility :) Guatemala still needs so much that I thought migrating for work was not for me.
I think you've struck a great topic. There's so much to discuss! how about making immigration this month's topic for our blogs?
That's really a coincidence. Thanks for the link, I will have a look at it when I leave work. I got the idea to write on migration while being on a conference for my foundation. The figures for Europe where really frightening but the migration part of the issue is often overlooked.
AntwortenLöschenIn terms of working abroad: I think I would prefer working abroad. The main reason I'm in Germany is that my girlfriend came here from Spain. But I can perfectly understand that people miss their homecountry when working abroad or even feel a responsibility towards it. Migration is always a double-edged sword. I mean when highly qualified people migrate and do not come back there is also a 'brain-drain' for the countries of origin. Migration has a slightly competitive edge here.
If the others are also interested in the topic I would find it a good idea to take it as a topic of the month. Especially since many of us can contribute from personal experience.