2016 IDSA01H3 Essay

Democratic States’ Moral Duty to Refugees

Eugene Yiu Chun Chung

With 60 million displaced refugees in the world today, it was partly due to the Syrian civil war crisis putting pressure on neighboring states such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey (Betts, 2015). The panic now in Europe is to question how to traditionally distribute the refugees across the European Union and how to prevent asylum seekers from crossing the Mediterranean or western Balkans. The locals have a fear that the refugee population will push them out of their low paying jobs and destabilize the country. Of the refugees that left Syria, many went to refugee camps or work illegally for low pay. Many children grow up without education and families deplete their savings. The UN has urged governments of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to integrate Syrian refugees into their societies. According to the article by the World Bank Group, when refugees are supported in becoming socially and economically self-reliant, given freedom of movement and protection, they are more likely to contribute to their host country. We should follow the example of Carens in helping refugees finding a new home as a moral obligation for democratic states and dismiss the approaches of Betts and Wellman.

Both Betts and Carens want people to accept the duty to admit refugees. Betts’ argument is based on an economic rationale in which refugees are better off in special economic zones (SEZs). His solution is to give jobs to these refugees, so they can be self-sustaining and accept the fact that there maybe societal differences between the citizens and refugees who are getting the same type of jobs. The refugee and citizen are left behind by Betts idea that jobs for the refugees will solve the problems of the western world. The refugees will not have to move to the European states if they are self-sustaining with jobs available. Places in Europe such as the United Kingdom has funded the aid of refugees, so the money can come from these areas and companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Ikea will provide jobs to the refugees. The fact that Betts allow refugees to be isolated from the rest of the community of citizens adds to the struggle between refugees and citizens. The us versus them idea is prevalent and it makes it hard for refugees to integrate with society on other aspects other than monetary needs. It allows the SEZs to be ghettoized and other businesses and services to be isolated from this area. Therefore, Betts does not address the idea of long term impact on social cohesion.

By building sources of opportunity for refugees, a more stable postwar Syria may be established. It is important to improve refugee capacities for self-reliance in order for them to be able to return to their country of origin. The current international approach to refugees is to welcome them as long as they receive funding and commitment from wealthy nations. This approach has failed with the large number of refugees seeking refuge worldwide with 54 percent living in exile for more than five years. Betts argue that giving refugees jobs and proper funding in isolated areas will help the crisis. As an example to the SEZs, Jordan is a country that needs to transition to a manufacturing economy because it cannot compete with low-income countries for cheap labor nor can it competes with advanced economies on technology and innovation. Betts’ policy will allow additional international assistance to help with the refugees in Jordan. Betts assumes the Syrians will return to their country after a post-conflict recovery following Mexico’s example after the Cold War. The leaders of governments of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey are resistant to the idea to integrate Syrian refugees into their societies.

Wellman and Carens define refugees differently than the 1951 convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Wellman takes a middle stance in which you have to take in refugees but not treat them as family citizens and limited to what the state is allowed to admit into their society. It remains as an option from Wellman’s perspective that wealthy states should take in as much refugees as morally possible. According to Wellman, “as Andrew Shacknove observes, ‘state reason in reverse from their fear that they will be forced to shoulder the burden of assisting refugees unilaterally to a narrow conception of refugee-hood which limits the number of claimants.’” The definition should include anyone whose human rights are in jeopardy should qualify as a refugee. A refugee’s plight appears morally equivalent to that of a baby who has been left on one’s doorstep in the dead of winter. Both Wellman and Carens talk about moral duty to bring this child home as a refugee, but differ in terms of execution. Wellman believes it is possible to help refugees without admitting them to their states while Carens believes it is the moral duty of wealth states to admit refugees. Legitimate states are entitled to exclude all outsiders, even those who desperately seek to gain admission.

No state may legitimately exclude potential immigrants on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion. One may argue that a security screening to prevent threats to national security as an excuse to prevent immigration from occurring. This category is so easily abused. For instance, after 9/11 Muslims find it harder to gain entry into Europe and North America, the United States used national security as a justification for excluding people. This does not mean we can get rid of categories such as this. The vast majority of immigrants cannot be construed as threats to national security under any plausible definition of that term.

Caren mentions the binding duty of rich states to incorporate refugees and integrate them into society as a member of the citizen. He mentions that they need to find a new home not just a place to rest and work in low wages. The reason to admit refugees is causal connection, humanitarian concern and normative presuppositions (Carens, 2013). In causal connection, refugees are no longer safe in their home country and it is a moral duty for the state that partly to blame for environmental issues or refugee crisis. Refugees have an urgent need and various states have the resources and space to admit them. According to humanitarian concern, there is a need to admit these refugees. Sovereign state works well for non-refugees, but is clearly flawed and solutions must be built to support it. Carens view that rich states have obligations to poor states as well as terms of policies such as environmental, monetary and trade.

No one should be forced by the state to choose between home and family, but the right to family reunification cannot be conceived as absolute. For instance, “Netherlands have begun to require applicants for family reunification to pass tests of their knowledge of the official language and history and culture of the state they are seeking to enter as a condition for admission.” These parameters should not prevent refugees from taking refuge in a foreign country as their home. In deciding whom to admit on a discretionary basis, states are morally obliged not to discriminate for or against applicants on the basis of such criteria as race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation or use of exclusion like ideological views. Caren believes that giving a job to refugees is not enough to morally support them, even though granting asylum is one way for the state to handle the refugee crisis. This is the most costly and difficult to implement solution out of the three authors, but it is worth the effort to admit more refugees. What is owed to refugees is to provide them with a new home, not necessary in a neighbor state.

In Turkey, 6858 Syrians have been granted work permits (World Bank Group, 2015). The influx of Syrians into the labour market has apparently driven down wages for both Syrians and Turks. Turkey is trying to integrate Syrian children into Turkish education system and allowing community based education. Up to 250,000 Syrian children are enrolled in school and an additional 137,650 will be enrolled by the end of 2016. Syrians were able to locate their own housing and some remained inside camps and with family host households. Even with these great results, many feel the tension in Turkey as they try to integrate Syrian refugees within society. It is important to understand socio economic pressures on host communities. All rich countries have responsibilities for refugee flows that we can foresee. The rich Industrial States has a majority of the responsibility for the changes that are taking place in the world and Syrian refugees. The UNHCR encourages all states to exercise the refugee protection and assistance through its advocacy efforts (UNHCR). The wealthy states should not only give financial support to affected areas with large refugee intake, but also find a solution to place refugees in suitable homes. Betts’ temporary solution to provide jobs to refugees is not enough and Wellman does not provide an adequate solution to the refugee crisis.

Works Cited

Betts, A., & Collier, P. (2015). Help refugees help themselves: Let displaced Syrians join the labor market. Foreign Affairs

Carens, J. H. (2013). The ethics of immigration. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press

Carens, J. H. (2014). An overview of the ethics of immigration. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 17(5), 538-559. doi:10.1080/13698230.2014.919057

UNHCR policy on refugee protection and solutions in urban areas. (2009). International Journal of Refugee Law, 21(4), 823-850. doi:10.1093/ijrl/eep028

Wellman, C.H., & Cole, P. (2011). Debating the ethics of immigration: Is there a right to exclude? (pp. 117- 124).

World Bank Group. 2015. Turkey’s Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis and the Road Ahead. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge-worldbank-org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/handle/10986/23548 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.