Centre name: The British Schools

Centre number: UY005

Candidate name: Felipe Crosa
Candidate number: 0023
Topic: Changing communities
Question: To what extent is accepting refugees beneficial for a developing country?

To what extent is accepting refugees beneficial for a developing country?

Introduction

Migration movements is an aspect of population that has been always

present. Through history, the world has presence the displacement of
millions of individuals worldwide. In the past years the number of
displacement has increased, reaching record numbers. 65,6 millions. When
considering the immigration of individuals, we can see how the income of
individuals into a country can affect it is various ways. Many countries and
organizations have dedicated many of their resources and economy into
taking care and giving a better life to refugees. Nonetheless studies have
shown is not always something beneficial or profitable for a developing
country to receive refugees.
Key issues

Regarding the subject of displacement and migration movements, we

encounter three main issues which have a big role on this problem. ​These
migrants cause various problems when arriving to their host country. The
impacts of these individual can be categorized as social, economic and
geologic. Migrants have an effect on all this aspects of a country and
provoke a clash and problem with the local population, especially ​when
refugees are a major part of the local, if not national population. In many
cases, refugees become a danger to the development efforts of the host
country.

Economic Impact

The most important economic consequences is the competition for

resources. Once refugees arrive to a host country, a competition surges
between them and the local citizens for resources. This could be water,
land, housing, food, medical services and more. UNHCR (1997) showed
that this constant competition leads to the higher need of this resources, and
cause and inflammation on prices and depress wages. ​Despite this source

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Centre name: The British Schools
Centre number: UY005
Candidate name: Felipe Crosa
Candidate number: 0023
Topic: Changing communities
Question: To what extent is accepting refugees beneficial for a developing country?
being old the information is valuable such us the consequences have been
constant throughout the years and the source is part of a large, trusted
organization as is the United Nations. Many say that the immigration of
refugees and certain immigrants impact on the labour market is negative
and are the cause of increasing unemployment. In addition, temporary
worker programs are useful to address skill shortages, neither the less it
may decrease domestic wages and public welfare burden. The economic
effects of migration for receiving countries may also vary depending on
who is moving, specifically with respect to migrant workers skill levels.
The Levin Institute (2017), “the problem is not immigration; it is
integration, especially in the labour market. If there are no jobs, the
consequences are segregation, housing problems and divided cities” (para
1). ​The impact of refugees on host areas, however, is not precisely
negative. In some cases an economic stimulus may be generated by the
presence of refugees and can lead to the opening and development of the
host regions. In addition this immigrants may have certain skills and
attributes which can have a positive impact on the country’s economy.
UNHCR (1997) expressed “While it is recognized that there may be some
“positive” aspects to the impact of a refugee influx on the economic life of
a host country, the large-scale presence of refugees invariably constitutes a
heavy burden for receiving countries, particularly LDCs.” (para 8).
Social Impact

When analysing the impact it has in a social scale, we can face two
different scenarios. If the migrants have the same cultural beliefs and speak
the same language, probably there will not be any social issues. However if
this are not the conditions, and there is a difference is ethnicity and
language, problems start to appear. A present issue is the resentment of the
local population for the services and entitlements, which are available to
refugees, but sometimes not present for them. Furthermore, the UNHCR
(1997) has released in an article “There are commonly complaints that
refugees have added to security problems in general and crime rates, theft,
murder etc., in particular. Concomitantly, other social problems such as
prostitution and alcoholism are also claimed to rise in the refugee areas.”
(para. 14)

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Centre name: The British Schools
Centre number: UY005
Candidate name: Felipe Crosa
Candidate number: 0023
Topic: Changing communities
Question: To what extent is accepting refugees beneficial for a developing country?
In an article written by Laura Sevilla, the impact of society is thoroughly
explained. Even though it is written specifically about Jordan and the
author is a student, the article is of high quality and reviewed by her
director, making it a reliable source. In many countries public schools are
over saturated, studies show that the time devoted to the students decreases
to give more room in the classrooms.The health system is a very
concerning issue. In many developing countries, it has deteriorated because
the demands, needs and costs have increased and at the same time, the
country does not have enough power to give attention to both local and
immigrant population. In the case of Jordan, the local population have
increasingly turned to private centres and hospitals for assistance, making
health care less accessible and more expensive. Housing is a rising issue in
the society of these countries, the number of available housing units has
dropped significantly. This situation means that rent prices have increased
where refugee and migrant presence is more pronounced.
In many case the immigration of this individuals leads to the uprise of
discrimination and racism, due to the cultural diversity.
Neither the less, the refugees do provide some positive aspects to the
society, such as skills and knowledge that can be utilized for the good of
the community.

Geological Impact

The impact on the geology and its infrastructure is a very concerning issue.
The movement of these individuals is abrupt and does not allow for any
sort of planification and preparation for the habitat. Therefore, when they
arrive the environment is not able to support the demands. The United
Nations Refugee agency (1997) affirmed, “Creates a sudden and massive
demand for scarce natural resources such as land, fuel, water, food and
shelter materials, with long-term implications on their sustainable
re-generation. Other longer term problems relate to erosion, decreased soil
fertility and landslides...” (para. 10). Additionally, human waste disposal
can contaminate local groundwater and cause the spread of disease.

Global perspective

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Centre name: The British Schools
Centre number: UY005
Candidate name: Felipe Crosa
Candidate number: 0023
Topic: Changing communities
Question: To what extent is accepting refugees beneficial for a developing country?
The impact of the refugees and migrants can vary depending on the
country. When considering the consequences of this issue we have to
acknowledge if the country is developed or in the process of developing.
Developing countries host 80% of the refugees around the world. The
UNRIC stated in their website “Reports show that many of the world's
poorest countries are hosting huge refugee populations, both in absolute
terms and in relation to the size of their economies.”(para. 3). Turkey is the
largest refugee-hosting country in the world. The most important aspect is
the labour. “Regions with a high intensity of Syrian refugees are found to
have more unemployed people. Similarly, a high intensity of Syrian
refugees is found to decrease formal employment as well as informal
employment” (UNHCR, 2015, page. 34). In addition, other sectors of the
country have been affected, wages have been decreased (sometimes almost
near to minimum wage), increase in food prices and rent inflation,
deterioration in the quality and availability of health services, the level of
education is poorer than before, and more, are aspects that have been
affected. The overall conditions of this country are clearly inferior to the
ones before this high immigration. We can also analyze a developed
countries consequences from the arrival of the refugees. Germany, is host
to the highest quantity of refugees than any other country in the EU. In
2015, the country famously adopted an “​open border​” policy. Stefan Trines
(2017), research editor, has described refugees effect as “Complex, costly,
and controversial up front” The country is spending expensive resources
towards the economic and social integration of the refugees. The problem
of jobs is not an issue in Germany with an estimated ​nine percent of
refugees who arrived in 2015 were employed by 2016, creating no
competition with the local population, but a high number of unemployed
immigrants. A factor which has great importance in the integration of
refugees in Germany is the language barrier. The difference in the speaking
language generates a barrier in the search of jobs and the integration in
society. Germany's food and resources have not been so affected as
Turkeys. Overall we can see how the consequences in a developing country
are more sever. This could be due to the fact that the amount of refugees is

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Centre name: The British Schools
Centre number: UY005
Candidate name: Felipe Crosa
Candidate number: 0023
Topic: Changing communities
Question: To what extent is accepting refugees beneficial for a developing country?
higher in developing countries, and that developed countries count with a
better economy and availability of resources.
National perspective

In October 2014, the country hosted five families, with a total of 42 syrian
refugees from Lebanon. Journalist Raquel Rodríguez Camejo (2017) wrote
“For the two years of the programme, they were assigned a home and a
monthly income (depending on the number of children). The government
provided identity and travel documents in accordance with the 1951
Refugee Convention. The Syrian refugees resettled in Uruguay have
permanent residence as well as legal and physical protection and the same
civil, economic, social and cultural rights that all Uruguayan citizens hold.”
(para. 5). This income of refugees did not have any repercussion in the
country’s economic, social, or even geological structure, but this is due to
the small amount of individuals. Neither the less the highest immigration
Uruguay receives is not from refugees. During the last two decades,
Uruguay has dealt with the immigration of a high amount of individuals
from Venezuela, Peru, Dominican Republic and other countries in Central
America, searching for a better life. This immigration have various
repercussions in the Uruguayan community.

In the local community of Carrasco, a small community of the capital of

Uruguay, the immigrant impact is clearly present. This impact is greatly of
the Latin American Immigrants. These individuals, having the same
language, have an easier time blending in the culture. They introduce
certain specific culture attributes to the local culture, such as certain foods,
festivities, and language features. These immigrants commonly occupy jobs
and services such as Uber and domestic service. By being employed, they
have a positive income in the economy, yet many local citizens complain
that they take the job opportunities of unemployed local individuals. In
some cases, this individuals have a lack of education regarding the care of
the environment and leds to a higher presence of pollution.

The immigration into my country, did not affect me in a drastic way. It led
to the possibility to learn new foods, festivities, and have a vaster

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Centre name: The British Schools
Centre number: UY005
Candidate name: Felipe Crosa
Candidate number: 0023
Topic: Changing communities
Question: To what extent is accepting refugees beneficial for a developing country?
knowledge about the worldwide issues. This immigration made me reflect
deeper in these problems that are present in the world.
Possible courses of action

Globally, there should be more participations of charity and organizations,

that promote the living of this migrants, and satisfy them with basic needs.
In addition, more countries should accept refugees, this will reduce the
massive immigration to certain countries. More jobs should be created and
administered correctly, in order to avoid the conflict with the local
population. The correct planning of the reparture of natural resources, such
as water, is necessary in order to reduce the probability of any competition
between individuals, and harm to the ecosystem. Following this idea, there
should be a proper preparation for refugees, so the impact in the geology is
less severe. The organization in educational and health services needs
improvement, and in some cases new structures are required.The UNHCR
(1997) stated “A genuinely durable solution means integration of the
refugees into a society” But if this wants to be accomplished certain
conditions have to be applied, such that refugees support and help with the
advance of the counties social and economic life. The United Nations
refugee agency (1997) also declared that refugees should prevent a
dependence of what the country provides, so they can work and take care
on themselves. Furthermore, the implementation of new legislation is vital
for the solving of these issues.
In Uruguay, the country needs to create more jobs, in order to satisfy the
unemployed local population. In addition, in regards to the refugees, there
should be a better integration with society. The local community of
Carrasco, should try their best in including all immigrants, help them, teach
them about our culture and learn about theirs. In addition, high penalty
fines should be set due to discrimination and racism.
Overall this course of action may be expensive and long taking, but
considering the importance and magnitude of the problem in hands, it is
necessary.

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Centre name: The British Schools
Centre number: UY005
Candidate name: Felipe Crosa
Candidate number: 0023
Topic: Changing communities
Question: To what extent is accepting refugees beneficial for a developing country?
Conclusion

Through this research report we have seen that the high movement of
individuals into a developing country without any preparation leads to
drastic consequences in its economic, social community and its ecology.
Neither the less it does has some positive offerings, such as cultural
diversity, new skills and knowledge, occupations of jobs that contribute
with the economy, and more. This positive aspects are more clear in
developed countries or countries with low immigration. It is clear that the
displacement of refugees is a growing issue, that has to be taken care of
before it causes any more harm.
Word count

2033 words not counting headlines or bibliography

Bibliography

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(accsesed 05/05/2018)
Stefan Trines. (2017, May 2) ​Lessons From Germany’s Refugee Crisis:
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https://wenr.wes.org/2017/05/lessons-germanys-refugee-crisis-integration-c
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Centre name: The British Schools
Centre number: UY005
Candidate name: Felipe Crosa
Candidate number: 0023
Topic: Changing communities
Question: To what extent is accepting refugees beneficial for a developing country?
ct-large-refugee-populations-host-developing-countries.html​ (accessed
06/05/2018)
United Nations Refugee Agency. (1997, January 6) Social and economic
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