Why should we care about Migration? - by Guraaj Kaur and Beth Sprakes

Migration. When someone says this word to you, what do you think about? What do you feel? Maybe you hear this word and feel hatred or maybe you feel guilt. Many might visualise people of different ethnicity sneaking across borders, jumping over gates or even crawling under barbed wire. But is this really what we should believe? Is this the definition of migration? Can we really judge a migrant based upon the things that have been said about them? Is it all true? Or should we instead be thinking about why they are here, what they bring to this country, their stories or simply who they really are? Migrants are people too.

At XP and XP East our latest expedition in Year 8 focused around the guiding question - why should we care about migration? We have explored the concept of migration and the pros and cons of migrating to other countries. We have also analysed various reasons as to why individuals migrate. The title of this expedition was ‘Should I stay? Or should I go?’

For the first part of the expedition, our teachers organised an informal meeting with some of the people from Doncaster Conversation Club, a place where asylum seekers and refugees can visit to socialise and learn english while they build their lives here in the UK. It was devastating to hear that some of these people had been physically injured, mentally scarred or even held at gunpoint.

We were all stunned to hear their stories as not one of us could have even imagined what it would have been like to be in those situations. The many examples of things that some asylum seekers and migrants have gone through just to be here with us today, is why we have to respect them. It is despicable how some people can say that they steal jobs or take money from our government when really, this is the only safe place where that can actually survive.

According to the UN Migration Agency, so far this year, more than 3,000 people have died or gone missing on migratory routes. The journey across international borders exposes migrants to many dangers such as physical and sexual violence, exploitation, abduction, and extortion. Unfortunately children are particularly vulnerable to these risks. The number of international migrants has risen by 49% since 2000, going from 2.6 to 3.4 of the world's population. Migration is predicted to rise and increase in the coming years for several reasons, including large demographic changes, climate change, conflict and much more. These statistics may be hard to believe for some but this is the devastating reality of migration.

During this expedition, we have learned that if we change our views about migrants, we can help them in this country. If just an incredibly small minority adjusted their perspective and the way they see these vulnerable migrants, they might encourage others to do the same.

Additionally, many believe that it is just not fair how some judge a book by its cover and don’t delve deeper as if they are above these individuals just because migrants aren’t the same as themselves. Just because someone hasn’t had the same experiences in life or aren’t as privileged as ourselves, it doesn't mean they deserve to be treated the way that some people are. If you were in these people’s shoes, could you even think to imagine how you would feel? These lonely individuals face troubles day in day out and the least we could do is show compassion towards them, because this will make their lives worth living.

pictures from an interactive day visit at XP and XP East with members and Volunteers from Doncaster conversation Club. Photos by Ifa Abebe

We believe that migration is a hugely important issue and feel as though we should voice our opinions because some individuals are not treated right in their home countries so they try to come over to our country for a new start. Despite this, they don’t get treated equally. The behaviour towards them is unacceptable. We think that they should instead be treated how we would want to be and shouldn’t be pre-judged just because of their ethnicity.

If this was happening to people in our own country and had to move away, we would expect to be respected in our new home so why don’t we respect other people who come to us in this situation. We’re sure that if everyone just stopped and took a minute to put themselves in a migrants individual’s shoes, lots would be more sympathetic, kind and compassionate.This is a real-life issue that is growing day by day and ignoring the situation may be the easier option for us but it will not help any of the migrants that need our support. Migrants are people too. Their stories deserve to be told.

Please Click on the video below for the Documentary made by XP and XP East year 8 students.