A note on an interesting study of which is the most 'migrant friendly' country
Do we know what it really feels like to ba migrant in a foreign country far away from home? A group of scholars got together to form an essential guide to migration and where's the best to go to. This study included about 25 EU countries and it ranked them according to their migrant friendly policies. They used data from the MiPEX (Migration Intergration Policy Index). Sounds a very complex and scary sort of document. However what they found was very interesting.
Sweden was the best with people being able to move freely between jobs and have as many rights as the natives in the country. Suprisingly Latvia was ranked the lowest as their Russian 'migrants' left over from the break-up of the USSR are, in comparison, treated very badly. However this was just one interpretation.
The UK ranked pretty high in this study. They gained points for their well developed anti-discrimination laws. Yet if we look around, just in our daily lives, how many times do we see individuals or even ourselves having a tendency to discriminate against a foreigner. It could just be the Polish driver on the bus who doesn't understand what you're saying that you end up, embarassingly, yelling ( idiotically thinking that raising the volume will make it any clearer).
France also was a top contender in this study. But in light of Nicolas Sarkozy's recent tightening of immigration laws doesn't that show the French attitude to migrants. I mean if you talk to any French person who has a darker skin colour they'll tell you that life in France isn't that great.
Even if we look at our supposed 'most desirable migration destination' Sweden , they scored points on government legislation that doesn't reflect the true situation. From a report the BBC compiled on a migrant youth in Sweden, he had to hand in three times more the usual number of job applications to get a job than any other citizen.
When free migration is allowed within the EU, the people of the people of the country want the reassurance that the Government is letting the 'right' sort of people in. Their dissatisfaction is shown through the way they treat those who have come to their country. People are beginning to emphasise the problem of whether this level of migration is sustainable. They are worried.
People in host countries should ask themselves wheter what they are doing is right. In turn those considering migration should question whether they will be getting a bettr deal in another country or not.
