Migrant Barriers, Xenophobia, Ancient Migration, and More
News
Thousands in limbo in Mexico border towns as US Title 42 holds
Thousands of refugees fleeing violence and instability in South America are seeking comfort in low-key Christmas celebrations as they brave sub-zero temperatures, overcrowded shelters and migrant-targeted violence in Mexican border towns, while awaiting the lifting of US asylum restrictions termed ‘Title 42’.
Protests over hate killings turn violent in Paris
Kurdish migrants protesting the gunning down of three community members in a suspected racist crime resorted to violence, overturning vehicles, damaging property, setting fires and launching projectiles at Paris police. Police personnel responded with teargas before protestors eventually dispersed.
Majority of Greeks support plans to extend border wall with Turkey
As migrant influx into the EU surges via the Turkish-Greek border, the Greek authorities’ plan to extend a forbidding steel-and-barbed-wire fence along the border by 100 kilometres is supported by over two-thirds of Greeks. Border villages have faced increasing pressure and insecurity in recent years as migrant footfall sky-rocketed.
UK repatriates 42 Albanian migrants, more to follow
Britain’s Home Office confirmed the forcible return of 42 Albanian nationals to their country for having committed “serious crimes in the UK” according to officials. Per PM Rishi Sunak’s recent announcement, several thousand Albanians hitherto granted asylum will similarly be repatriated in the coming months.
Boat adrift with 150 Burmese refugees for 3 weeks in Indian Ocean
A small boat carrying over 150 Burmese Rohingya fleeing overcrowded camps in Bangladesh has been adrift for 3 weeks in the Indian Ocean, with its estimated current position near India’s Nicobar islands. As casualties mount, the UN has appealed to neighbouring nations to rescue stranded survivors.
Tesco’s Thai partner exploited migrant workers; Tesco faces lawsuit
An exposé by The Guardian reveals that one of UK retail giant Tesco’s Thai manufacturing partners, VKG, routinely exploited migrant Burmese workers by paying below-minimum wages, forcing overtime labour and providing appalling living conditions. A group of former employees is suing Tesco in English courts.
Opinion and analysis
How Asian migrants to the US face and tackle the language barrier
In this research report from the Pew Research Center, focus group interviews reveal challenges faced by migrants from 17 Asian countries to the US, as well as detailing coping strategies in situations ranging from handling phone calls to seeking health-care to dealing with vehicle accidents.
From origin to destination: Oil changes Guyana’s migrant story
This Migration Policy Institute (MPI) review traces the evolution of Guyana from a point of origin for migrants to a desirable destination for migrants from neighbouring South American states, particularly Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba, following a Guyanese economic boom led by discoveries of oil reserves.
Human ancestors were seafaring nearly 1 million years ago
Emerging evidence shows that ancient hominins (ancestors of modern humans) had to rely on sea-routes to reach the Aegean islands, crossing hundreds of kilometres of sea from African shores. The research sets the clock on the peopling of Europe back by several hundred thousand years.
