Transcript Migration Ethical challenges

Migration
Ethical challenges
Maciej St. Zięba
School of Polish Language and Culture, 2009
Migrest
Migralink
Migravalue
International projects in migration management
implemented i.a. in Lublin
MigrEst
• Migrest – Pilot
Programme on the
Impact of Enlargement for
the Regions Bordering
the Candidate Countries
• 2004-2005
• http://www.migrest.net
MigraLink
• Migralink – Integration of
Migrants in the Enlarged
Europe and the Policies
for the Return of
Productive Intellect
• 2005-2007
• http://www.migralink.org
MigraValue
• Migravalue – Steering
Economic and Social Cohesion
in the Cadses Space: Valuing
Migration as a Development
Tool
• 2006-2008
• http://www.migravalue.net
What is migration?
• Changing place of residence from one
country (region) to another country
(region)
• Types of migration phenomena:
– Emigration + Immigration
– Remigration (return migration)
– Circular migration (Shuttle migration)
– Gradual (multiple-steps) migration
Three distinctive features of the
21st century’s migration
1. Related to quick exchange of information
2. Growing number of countries with norms
and standards to civilise migration
3. Growing multiculturalism of migration
Growing difficulty in studying the
phenomenon of migration
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An ubiquitious phenomenon
Disappearance of points of control
Multi-dimensionality of the phenomenon
New types of migration emerging
Several aspects of migration never studied
Dealing with migration
• Traditional normative-reprehensive approach:
– legal
– economical
• Modern descriptive-explanatory approach:
– sociological
– psychological
• New humanistic value-oriented approach –
understanding and problem solving = Ethical
approach = Integrated approach
– an individual (a person) seen in all his/her dimensions
within all his social and cultural contexts
Ethics as the superior
social science
• „In order to effectively solve practical problems
all sciences of man should be directed and
governed by a philosophy of values – i.e. ethics”
(Florian Znaniecki)
• It is necessary to adopt the strong ethical thesis:
”Absolute (unchanging, universally valid) moral
values are inherent in the all-human objective
moral order”; therefore – ”ethics is not
subjective”
The bases of the applied ethics
1. Ethical theory
a) basic values and principles
b) both obligations and rights
2. Case studies
a) no quick generalisations
b) without false analogies
Man in all dimensions
• Human beings should never be an
instrument but always the goal
• Human dignity has to be above socially
valuable goals
• Human beings should be able to develop
all their dimensions
• „We wanted work force and we have
obtained human beings”
False or inappropriate
ethical approaches
• Business ethics
– employers’ responsibilities, migrant reduced to the
context of job
• Political ethics
– only hosting country, discrimination-fighting,
paternalism
• Administrative ethics
– only hosting country, corruption-fighting, paternalism,
• Global ethics
– politically correct, cultural relativism
The situation of a migrant
• Migration is a situation of social change –
between the past roles and new (often
unsatisfactory) roles
• Migration is a border-crossing situation –
between the sending country and the
hosting country
• Migration is a multidimensionally difficult
situation – it is a liminal situation where the
human endurance is being tested
Migration as anomie-generating
situation
• Push situation – social discomfort = social
anomie (impossibility to achieve social goals
with socially accepted rules of conduct)
• Response situation – innovative response to
fulfill one’s ambitions (hasardous: does not
necessarily lead to success) = deepening
individual anomie (social norms exist but are not
observed)
• Situation abroad – difficult situation of
deprivation (in physical, emotional and cognitive
areas) but most often in a group of peers –
anomie-generating
Sectoral anomie’s definition
• Disorder of the system of norms and values
(values declared as important are considered
suspended „here” and „now”)
• Peculiar sectoral subculture of jointly agreed
justifications for transgression of certain norms
(type and degree)
• Agreed justifications treated as excuses ‘‘in
advance”
• Betrayal of important values: towards oneself,
family, country, culture, religion
Anomie’s elements in migrants (1)
– sudden decrease of spiritual density (reduced number,
intensity, stability and depth of social relations)
– limiting one’s contacts to peers of the same origin
– avoidance of deepening of the relations with local population
– feeling of alienation and loneliness;
– stereotypes of the „other” and false own identity as anti-identity
of the „other”
– myth of two worlds: „here” and „back there” with different
standards
– cognitive dissonance: regarding the conditions „here”
and „there”;
– lack of understanding of the local conditions (laws, customs,
culture, language etc.)
– disbelief in reality – stereotype-oriented life
Anomie’s elements in migrants (2)
– dignity dissonance: humiliation (leading up to despair)
combined with avarice
– contradictory feelings about the conditions of life and
success
– necessity of self-dependency related to total dependency on
others
– generalised lack of trust in institutions of the society combined
with the necessity to trust complete strangers
– constant feeling of temporariness (myth of return)
– feeling of homelessness
– „temporary” suspension of observance of norms
Anomie’s elements in migrants (3)
– loss (abandoning) of one’s own culture connected with
failure to assimilate to local culture,
– limiting one’s life to work, subordinating all other
elements to gainful employment
– insufficient support from the community of origin which
would give a tool to verification and falsification of
beliefs; to practical application of moral standards
– replaced by a subculture of migrants
– lack of previous deep internalisation of moral norms
(lower moral development)
– external excuses instead of internal justification of actions
Family – the foremost price-payer
of migration anomie
• The family is sending its most enterprising
representative avroad
• The family is counting on the benefits from
migration
• The family bears the greatest cost of
migration
• Betrayal of the family – the worst betrayal
the anomic migrant can commit
Migrant between two countries
• Debt of gratitude
– a state has an ethical obligation to educate its citizens to prepare
them to life
– a citizen grows up with a moral obligation due to his society for
the education
– a migrant incurs such a debt to two countries, two communities
• Relocation of capital
– „who milks the cow and who gets the cream?”
– one country has invested in the original education of the
migrants and another one is using the fruit thereof
– the other country has an obligation to „repay” at least by taking
care for the other country’s citizen attrated to it, who is
contributing to this society’s wealth
Both countries are losing if:
• migrants and the hosting society do not
know each other and do not co-operate
• migrants live in ghettoes or subcultures
and do not get socially assimilated
• only the people of weak character get
assimilated (both socially and culturally)
• migrants become anomic in big masses
The ethical role of the state
The foremost task encompasses the educational actions
and the awareness campaigns for migrants, their
families and local (hosting) societies:
– about the actual significance of migration for both countries,
– about the actual conditions in the hosting country and in the
country of origin (while on emigration),
– about the cultural differences and the dangers of the clash of the
two cultures,
– about the factors that might cause negative attitudes in migrants
(anomie) and surrounding societies and about the factors that
help prevent them.
The other tasks include support to social assimilation of
migrants (while preserving cultural identity) –
engagement in social activity on local level, support to
diaspora ssociations,
as well as granting equal access to social services.
Education
– The country of origin has to educate its citizens
before they go abroad (the prospective emigrants)
and their families staying at home,
• otherwise the migrants give bad testimony of their original
country and culture.
– The destination country has to educate both its
receiving society and the incoming immigrants,
• otherwise the social unrest is granted;
• this is a kind of „cost of profitable investment” since the host
country benefits from the work (taxes, payments to social
security, direct consumption) of the immigrants.
Basic areas of education (1)
a) Awareness of the factors and situations
leading to anomie (social demoralisation) esp.
of the subculture of excuses
b) Value of preserving normal relations with the
community of origin to prevent it
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for prospective and actual migrants
for their families staying at home
for the hosting societies
The education on anomie
– This comprises theoretical knowledge and practical
abilities to deal with the dangers that may (and
eventually will) encounter migrant in another society:
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dangers related to dignity dissonance
dangers related to cognitive dissonance
dangers related to lack of social relations
dangers related to restricting life to work
dangers related to value betrayal
dangers related to failure of the migration projects
conflicting interests
the values of the hosting society and the sendding one
differences in lifestyles, attitudes, cultures
otherwise all become subject to stereotypes or unknowing.
Basic areas of education (2)
a) Importance of upholding tradition as protection
against endemic anomie
- for migrants
b) Importance of preservation of immigrants’
tradition for the maintenance of social order in
the hosting society
c) Value added of the true cultural identity of
immigrants, if not based on the negative
stereotypes of the „other”
- for the hosting societies
Basic areas of education (3)
a) Falsity of the myth of return and harmfulness
of living on temporary basis
b) Benefits of social assimilation into local society,
even if not for the whole life; difference
between social and cultural assimilation
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for migrants
Basic areas of education (4)
a) One can better fulfil oneself if one co-operates
with one’s local neighbours and has active role
in daily life beyond work
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for migrants
b) Local communities usually profit from the
presence of immigrants more than the
immigrants themselves
- for the hosting communities
Other actions of the hosting country
that have ethical significance
• Supporting the local communities in engaging
immigrants in various forms of social activity.
Supporting diaspora associations in the reciprocal
activities (cultural exchange, dialogue, prevention of
alienation, boredom, neutralisation of ghetto
subcultures’ impact and of the myths of „other”, and
of „here” and „back there”).
• Building the migrants’ trust in local community and
its institutions by granting equal access and by
educating the officials who might have contact with
migrants.
Thank you
dr Maciej St. Zięba
[email protected]
http://www.kul.pl/maciej.st.zieba/
books on migration downloadable at:
http://www.kul.pl/migravalue
section: Publikacje o migracji