Job opportunities are the motivator of people nowadays to move from one place to another, and temporary visa cards and other restrictive policies are the main catalyzes; this facilitates access to the labor market. This has motivated many people to become refugees, asylum seekers to sustain their livelihoods. This has increased inequality, high unemployment, and corruption in many countries. In 2020 South Africa experienced xenophobia attacks where more than 200 foreign truck drivers were killed in March 2018. South Africans felt frustrated because they were an increase in inequality, high unemployment, and corruption. ( Roth, k.,2019), The attacking foreigners in their country were killed, others were injured, and more than 600 people were arrested on several charges linked to public disturbance and looting, malicious property damage, and grievous bodily harm (Theo,2018).

Fig 1: xenophobia attack in South Africa against Africans 2020 ( free Uganda,2019)

When we talk about migration, many people use south African examples to reflect on the negative impact that comes with it. Let us take time and reflect on the positive impact of migration. One of the positives of migration is economic growth in the region where investors or skilled workers migrate. The report shows that 9 out of 10 migrants moved for economic reasons in 2017(UNDESA,2017).1Almost three-quarters of the 258 million migrants around the world come from low- and middle-income nations, with the rest being from high-income nations (UNDESA, 2017). A few 160 million are medium- and low-skilled laborers (McKinsey Global Institute, 2016)). the secondary is this helps to increase social life because people get to learn from each other it can be culture practice like family planning, conservation practices, it also creates job opportunities one example will be if someone from Kenya decides to start an organization in Rwanda today that person will need workers they might not be many. However, those few will get jobs; migration creates opportunities for children, young people, for higher education and helps the country develop in terms of skilled workers.

Fig 2: represent the number of people who migrants around the world (UNDESA, 2017)

 This has also impacted conservation, which has been developing due to human migration for a long time now, but no one cares because migration comes with a decrease in job opportunities, increase in competition, and corruption. Countries like Uganda have been able to get conservation benefits from the migrants.

The migration has had an impact on the protected area edges of Kibale National Park in western Uganda. Around 1945 in the western part of Uganda, it has increased up to 398% (Enni Kallio,2016). This is because people were moving from southern Uganda to the western. This has increased pressure on the landscape near the Kibale national park, and it has also transformed the area in many ways they use it. However, mainly their change of land conversion to agriculture, this has created direct damage to the migrants who were settling in this area which was turned into agriculture and this has created an indirect impact on Kibale national park. Because people around it were less dependent on the park resources, which was good in terms of using the park resources sustainably, it minimised the rate of deforestation than the land-use practices of the native communities. This was considered a good practice the migrants brought, considering how they were using the resources before. Hence, whereas the coordinate impacts of relocation close to the park are negative due to arrival change, the indirect impacts are positive due to way better land-use practices and more appropriate crops for biodiversity. (Hartter et al., 2015).

This foundation note highlights the presence and potential impacts of the wide run of labor movement activities all inclusive. Given the weak evidence base, it is outlandish to generalize their impacts on migrants and have root nations. This consideration gives a case that relocation may be useful for preservation endeavors indeed in spite of the fact that the beginning coordinate impacts may be inconvenient for the arriving individuals. This appears how human movement impacts preservation and can permit us to upgrade preservation through relocation.

Human migration should not be seen as a problem, but we should start seeing an opportunity that comes with migration. Yes, migration can cause inequality, high unemployment, and corruption, but there is a positive impact like the rise in economy, job opportunity, quality of lives, increased knowledge sharing, increased school opportunity, and sustainability (TOPPR, 2020). As individuals relocate to modern zones, the coordinate negative suggestions for preservation are inescapable as arrival is cleared to suit the expanding population in a localized region, but this comes with different opportunities as well. You have first to identify that migration has caused an impact on the area that you are working on; there are different steps that you need to take. The first step is to recognize what are the migration and preservation issues within the range of concern; is there in-migration or out-migration? Is the environment and biodiversity within the range by one means or another undermined? The moment step is to analyze the existing and potential impacts of human movement on conservation efforts and to recognize what are the need preservation issues that have to be tended to. The ultimate step is to recognize and prioritize intercessions, to actualize and follow-up in advance.

All in all, migration comes with a lot of opportunities that are tangible for our countries economy, ourselves, our environment. We should start embarrassing it instead of seeing migration as a threat. There is a proverb that says if I win, you win. This is supposed to mean if someone is blessed, you are also blessed, but you cannot see it because you are focusing on others first. Focus on yourself. There is no need to fight for other people’s opportunities. Maybe you did not get the opportunity cause it did not suit you. We should start to question ourselves: does other people’s success affect me positively or negatively?

Or does it affect me in any way?

 After changing our minds on how we think about other people’s success, we will start embracing how they can positively affect our lives.

Infographic

Reference

  • Roth, k. (2019, September). World report. South Africa event of 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2021, from https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/south-africa#
  • IUCN. (2016). The Social Science for Conservation Fellowship Programme Working Paper Series. https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/pdf_final_human_migration.pdf, 4(10), 28. https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/pdf_final_human_migration.pdf
  • UNDESA (2017) International Migration Report 2017. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (www.un.org/en/ development/desa/population/migration/publications/migration report/docs/MigrationReport2017_Highlights.pdf)
  • Mahlakoana, T. (2019, September 9). POLICE CONFIRM 12 PEOPLE DEAD AS RESULT OF XENOPHOBIA ATTACKS. Eye witness. Retrieved march 26, 2021, from https://ewn.co.za/2019/09/09/police-confirm-12-people-dead-as-result-of-xenophobia-attacks
  • TOPPR. (2020, January 03). Migration and Its Effects. Retrieved 2021, from https://www.toppr.com/guides/evs/no-place-for-us/migration-and-its-effects/#:~:text=Positive%20Impact&text=Migration%20helps%20in%20improving%20the%20quality%20of%20life%20of%20people.&text=Migration%20of%20skilled%20workers%20leads,and%20the%20birth%20rat
  •  
  • South Africa Xenophobia attracts against African. (2019, September 5). Free Uganda. Retrieved March, 2021, from http://freeuganda.net/category/human-rights/
  • McKinsey Global Institute (2016) People on the move: Global Migration’s Impact and Opportunity (www.mckinsey.com/ featured-insights/employment-and-growth/global-migrations-impact-and-opportunity)