Over the past 50 years Norway has had an increase in immigrant population. After the economy boomed in the 1960’s, more people began moving to the country in hopes of a better life. This then increased immigration because more people were migrating to be with their families. When immigration levels hit a high in 1975, the government enforced an “immigration stop” restricting people from being able to move into the country. In 1988 an Immigration Act was passed which then allowed immigrants to enter but under certain conditions. (Cooper, 2005). Although immigration levels remained constantly high throughout the years, recently Norway has seen a decline in asylum-seeking applications. Just within this past month of March, application levels declined 39% and 40% in February (Asylum applications take a dive, 2010). Lately, the more recent asylum seekers have been people persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs from far less developed countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Eritrea (Norway, 2009).
Upon arrival, one is required to register their Application for Asy...
Historically, Canada has held a world renowned reputation as nation with a magnanimous ideological approach to providing asylum to those individuals subjected to marginalization and persecution in their homeland – regardless of their nation of origin (Ismaili, 2011, p.89 & 92). Indeed, providing sanctuary to refugees who would otherwise experience significant hardships ranging from blatant discrimination and racism to torture and genocide, has very much become an institutionalized aspect of Canadian society. However, recent changes to Canada’s immigration policy delineated in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Bill C-31 may have perhaps put this ideology in peril (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, 2001).
Phillips, J. (2011), ‘Asylum seekers and refugees: What are the facts?’, Background note, Parliamentry library, Canberra.
I ask you now to imagine such a life. It is impossible for us to imagine having to flee our homes and family simply because our beliefs or lifestyle are not deemed suitable. Furthermore, paying thousands of dollars to travel across treacherous oceans in shabby boats. The fact that asylum seekers are prepared to remain locked up in detention centres and be deprived of their freedom must surely tell us of the horrific circumstances from which they have fled. ******** PUT IN CLOSING PARAGRAPH.
Sweden is largest country out of the three Scandinavian countries with a population of well over nine million. Sweden has for a long time been recognized by Europe, and the entire world, for having warm and inviting borders and excellent integration policies for immigrants, especially when it comes to its neighboring Scandinavian countries. Sweden’s open immigration policy today makes it one of the mot diverse nations on the planet. However in recent times due to an influx of asylum seekers, Sweden is in a position where the country may have to clamp down of some policies that it was once praised for to keep the balance.
Firstly to justify why countries limit their immigrations, there should be knowledge of the different types of immigrants as there are different reasons to leave from one country and move into another. In the last 30 years, the number of international immigrants has been estimated 191 million worldwide, two times as before. As ...
Article 14 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” An unfortunate truth that remains in the 21st century is that some do not feel protected or safe in their country. In such situations, one seeks asylum in foreign nations. While some welcome asylum seekers with open arms, others are view the concept as a violation of sovereignty.
“Moore, Harald F. "Immigration In Denmark And Norway." Scandinavian Studies 82.3 (2010): 355-364. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.”
According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, refugee is a term applied to anyone who is outside his/her own country and cannot return due to the fear of being persecuted on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership of a group or political opinion. Many “refugees” that the media and the general public refer to today are known as internally displaced persons, which are people forced to flee their homes to avoid things such as armed conflict, generalized violations of human rights or natural and non-natural disasters. These two groups are distinctly different but fall ...
Australia has constantly subsisted to be supposed by others as possessing a welcoming outlook to asylum seekers; despite this, the with the arrival of the first wave of boats carrying people seeking asylum in the 1990’s enforced the government to create essential alterations to its policies. The Labour Party has generally been perceived as liberal within its methodology to asylum seekers, contradicting this, with the cultivating distressing challenges being positioned on asylum seekers, their policies instigated to redirect the positions of the greater public and they developed far less accepting. The initial effect towards this issue was the modification in the current law to place asylum seekers in mandatory detentions. Subsequently after
Many people in the UK coupled with media stories, tend to portray asylum seekers as bogus individuals who are here purely for economic gains (Teater 2014). This has led organisations such as Refugee councils and Refugee Action
Asylum seekers, in particular “boat people” have proven to be a significant social issue, one that has prompted many intense debates in Australia over last twelve months. Australia has a long history of providing refuges a safe haven. However, in recent times, attitudes towards asylum seekers have become increasingly negative and at times hostile as asylum seekers are constantly portrayed as a threat to culture and society (Lynn & Lea 2003). This essay will provide a brief history of asylum seekers in Australia and examine the social structures that have contributed to the attitudes and treatment of asylum seekers in Australia today. The structures that will be explored are groups and the social institutions of mass media, government and law. A comparison of media reports, government rhetoric and facts around asylum seekers will be discussed and this paper will argue that the government, through media and policy (law) have heightened the threat of asylum seekers in Australia leading to negative attitudes and prejudice by the Australia public toward “boat people”. In addition, a range of sociological concepts and theories will be presented throughout the paper to support the argument.
My essay focuses on discrimination as one of the main challenges that refugees face. I discuss some instances of discrimination that occurred in the book, whether based on race or culture,
Being threatened, beaten, jailed, tortured – these are just some of the refugee cases that asylum officers hear and face each day. Being able to watch the movie Well-founded Fear by Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson, which tackled the asylum process in the United States of America, was a great eye-opener for me. Before watching the film, I have no idea what an asylum means and that my perception of refugees were only those people who escape from their country to keep themselves safe during the time of war. But through this movie, I realized that it was much more than that. There were a lot of things that I learned and a lot of emotions that I felt. This docudrama also presented the struggles of both the refugees and the asylum officers.
Immigrants leave their countries in search for a better life and improvement of their situation. There is no singular reason for immigration; motivations range from better economic prospects to political safety. As of late, the number of immigrants living in the United States is an estimated 11 million. Those who immigrate are expected to contribute to the United States culturally, politically, and economically. Yet, full assimilation becomes difficult to achieve when the immigrant is made into “the other” by the country of reception.
...highly dynamic and rapidly changing nature of globalization, which is redefining traditional political, economic, and social arrangements and fostering greater interdependence between states in the international stage. They dismiss the notion that economic underdevelopment is a major determinant of refugee flows; instead showing that political ideology is more significant simply because of the political nature of their displacement. This book provides a highly comprehensive and informative analysis of the modern refugee crisis and helps clarify the origins of the problem and provide useful prescriptions of institutional reforms that would better deal with the situation.