Wars and conflicts with countries and even between two or more of them could bring a lot of death, strife and hunger and many families suffer the least ideal consequences imaginable from the resulting outcomes. Apart from the obvious and the greatest loss, there is one more predicament, the impacts of which last over longer time periods and that is the problem of the people who have become displaced. We can call them refugees when they flee their country, and the same group of people becomes Internally Displaced Persons if they do not cross the borders of their country. For the refugees who have to flee their own country, mostly for political reasons, matters become complex not just for them rather also for the people of the country in which they have to seek refuge in the end. America has recently opened up its own borders to accommodate the Syrian refugees that have in a similar fashion been forced to flee their country as a consequence of war, and the people of the country have been debating for quite some time the consequences of letting them in.
There have so far been recorded some seven million Syrian refugees who had left their homes in consequences of the civil war, and there have already been more than a few countries very small in size compared to the United States that have given shelter to well over ten thousand refugees. Close to 1.9 million of these refugees have been requested to be accommodated by the European Union’s, and in the estimates of the United Nations, Turkey has let in about 2.2 million, Lebanon 1.1 million, and Jordan had taken responsibility for the settlements of six hundred thirty thousand refugees.
All of these counties have had to make certain accommodations for the people who had to arrive, and large sums had to be spent so that the extra people could also be provided with the basic necessities essential for survival. The country is however where the impact of refugees has been the most pronounced, however is Jordan for the reason that it was quite a small country to begin with the after having accepted more refugees than the country was capable of accommodating, the country took quite a toll from this sudden influx. This is the reason why when discussing the impact of the Syrian refugees on the economy of any country; Jordan could be considered the ideal example to evaluate.
In this particular country, the ratio of the natives to the refugees is the lowest there might be in any other country in the world at 3 natives of the country and 1 refugee amongst its population. Because of the sudden increase in the population of the country by 630,000 people during the year 2013, the government had to spare costs amounting to $81.4 million so that 78,531 Syrian children could go to school. An addition $168 million was spent by the country’s government for the provision of the health services to those who had come, and the cost of the improvement in the infrastructure which had become essential from the population increasing in the country. Jordan is just an example of the economic measures that are required for any country to accommodate an additional number of people and it is therefore definitely an economic struggle to accept the refugees for any of the countries.
The widely discussed negative impacts
Apart from the greatest economic costs that we have looked into earlier, there are also other consequences which are less than favorable which resulted from the influx of Syrian refugees into many of the countries. The United Nations said that in the year 2014, Turkey had become the world’s greatest recipient of refugees through the year and because of that, Turkey has its own problems to face in this regard. The resources that are being collected from the Turkish public is all being diverted to be used to aid and assist the arriving refugees in their process of resettlement in the country. With all of the help that has been provided to the Syrians so far, the people and the government have consistently been struggling to help those who had arrived, but it still seems like the refugees are there to stay, and it is hard to say how much longer the people and the government could keep extending aid to these people. Because of the same challenges, the country has felt that it can no longer accommodate the sheer number of people who have arrived and is now in search of help from the international community on the matter.
There are also a few other concerns that come just when the Syrian refugees enter a country’s border to get resettled and amongst these concerns is also that of unemployment. There are a number of people who believe that along with the provision of education, food, health and other basic services the country that adjust these refugees would also have to arrange for their jobs and with the increase in the labor force in the market as a whole, there would arise dearth of employment opportunities for the locals and because of that, many expect to suffer from unemployment especially in countries where the opportunities were not very convincing to begin with.
There is another concern because of which, the host countries expect to face increased security issues due to the arrival of people who are in unrest and from a different cultural and traditional background. Since these people arrive in big groups, the host country does not always have time for background checks and preparation against the security risks that may result from the influx of these Syrian Refugees. The terrorist attack which transpired in France not very long ago is the greatest representation of the security concern that these Syrian refugees may be hauling alongside, and these are the events this is the type of political unrest that many countries wish to keep at bay whether or not they welcome the displaced Syrians into their homelands.
The much overlooked positive effects of Syrian refugees
Impacts on the economy
There may be a number of concerns and reservations that we hold from the arrival of Syrian refugees, but this in no way means that these extra people would solely be burdensome for their host countries and that they would not be doing much better. First and foremost, our fears of the Syrian refugees taking over the labor market in the United States and in all other host countries including Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. During the year 2013, a survey of the Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon carried through by the International Labor Organization revealed that many of the Syrian refugees have a wide variety of skill sets. So while some of them are skilled or semi-skilled, there were nearly half who were very low skilled, and they could seek opportunities in the basic areas of employment like the agriculture and house work. There were very few amongst these refugees who had a good command over the English language.
In the United States and in the European Union, these workers are more likely to take over the low skilled jobs with their lack of skill in the language of the region. This means that they could take the jobs that require lower skill for us. And also, because once they enter their host country, they are going to consume a number of goods and services, the demand for many of these goods and services is likely to shoot up, and this may create an opportunity for new business and consequently more jobs. So while these refugees would take care of the work that requires little skills, the rest of us would be freed to work on the jobs that are created due to the increase in population. Furthermore, since these Syrians come from a very different lifestyle and culture, their skill set is likely to differ quite a bit from that of the workers in the US and the Europe and also from the skill set of any other host country for that matter. This means that these refugees would be supplementing the labor force that is already available rather than competing with it for the same limited opportunities.
There was a reported effort on which was made by a Paris-based organization and this report revealed that all the countries that had been generous enough to extend shelter to the displaced refugees have undergone economic growth ever since the influx of these refugees. The report further predicts more growth in the future, just due to the fact that these countries have policies that favor the refugees.
Cultural outcomes
There are also many cultural benefits that could be brought around by the refugees that arrive in the countries of their hosts. We have appreciated very frequently, especially as of later, the importance of ethnic diversity in any country, in the country’s workforce and also in a number of other aspects. Every new person who becomes part of the host country brings along a fresh insight and perspective into how to get things done more efficiently and effectively. Not only that but these people could also bring with them the cultures and the traditional practices of their own country and that could make the cultures and values of the host countries richer and more historical. There is a dire need for customs and the values to come from Europe and into the United States and this is one more reason why we would be better off accepting these Syrian refugees and providing them with shelter rather than creating immigration policies which restrict them from entering the country. We also need a fresh perspective and increased ethnic diversity in our workforce and also in our lives.
The impacts on the Infrastructure
It seems quite overwhelming when a host country has to invest billions in improving the infrastructure of the country to make it more adapted to welcome the significant addition to its population. This is a task which may seem quite daunting at its kick off, but this step could also bring along benefits that could last the country better in the long run. These steps of not just improving the country’s infrastructure but also of changing the labor policies could create room for growth for the host country, and it could create a number of prospects which could lead the country towards a brighter future altogether. So in the end, when the refugees do start moving back towards their homes, the host countries would already have developed infrastructure which could help them plan for the future of the country in a better manner.
Concluding the research: where the scale tips
We have discussed many of the concerns that arise upon the migration of a large number of people in another country and the major amongst them is the concern for the employment opportunities. The labor market is quite tricky, and many countries have already been suffering the impacts of unemployment. Those fears seem to take further flight when locals see people from other countries joining their ranks in competition. We did, however, evaluate the economic change than occurs following the process of refugee resettlement and not only theory, but the practice also suggests overall economic growth and consequently, the creation of further opportunities in the labor market. In addition to that, these people also add to the cultural and traditional practices and bring along their own charms to the table which could ultimately also become a part of the people of the host country. This way, the people of the host country could learn new languages, skill and the traditions from those who come to their homeland.
A very good example of this is the French inquisition of the North African countries. The people living there had very little exposure to the international world and the practice that prevailed there. The French rulers that made way to North African countries not only focused on improving the infrastructure of the country, they also taught the people their language. The French had come and then gone, but the people of today are more aware of the international community and the practices that prevail there compared to the people that lived prior to the inquisition.
In conclusion, there are troubles for the host country once the refugees start entering in large groups and many of these problems for the purpose of resolution require hefty sums of money. A country which ultimately gets past these challenges, however, is always likely to benefit a great deal from the arrival of the Syrian refugees in the long run. This means that despite the challenges which make the process of resettlement tricky for the host country, the benefits far outweigh the magnitude of these challenges and these benefits are consideration enough for the host country to try and welcome these Syrian refugees. Ultimately, the country that could benefit most from these opportunities is the one which has the most favorable policies for immigration.
Works Cited
Cassidy, John. The Economics of Syrian Refugees. 18 November 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/the-economics-of-syrian-refugees>.
D'Amore, Joe. The benefits of Accepting Syrian Refugees. 26 February 2016. <http://www.borgenmagazine.com/the-benefits-of-accepting-syrian-refugees/>.
Ferris, Kemal Kirisci, and Elizabeth. Not Likely to Go home: Syrian Refugees and the Challenges to Turkey- and the International Community. Strategic Report. Brookings: Center of the United States and Europe at Brookings, 2015.
Marrouch, Ali Fakih, and Walid. The Economic Impacts of Syrian Refugees: Challenges and Opportunities in Host Countries. 10 November 2015. <http://journal.georgetown.edu/the-economic-impacts-of-syrian-refugees-challenges-and-opportunities-in-host-countries/>.
Nowrasteh, Alex. Syrian refugees could help America. We should welcome them. 09 September 2015. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/09/09/syrian-refugees-could-help-america-we-should-welcome-them/>.
