“And while I have yet to come across previous evidence of it, immigration has proven to be helpful in poverty reduction and hence presents an opportunity to ensure human security.”

deepti has already hinted at the problems. I can provide some more:

Considering tourism, e.g., in countries like Egypt, immigration has not proven to be a source of poverty reduction or any beneficial, it’s more or less the other way round. As, for example, higher qualification jobs are basically “occupied” by foreigners, living in different areas than the locals and there’s hardly any mix-up or educational effect.

I don’t know the case of Afghanistan in detail, but I can imagine similar tendencies, though tourism might be somewhat underdeveloped there. High foreign exchange proceeds might be established first and then really fair redestribution has to be ensured ….

Thus enough to be dreamed for today!

– Perhaps. But there’s another side to the story.

On a recent trip to Kerala, which is home to the biggest immigrant community in the Gulf, I noticed a rather disconcerting trend. Almost every family has kin in the Gulf. Yes, they send home money. But no, life there is not a dream. As I’m sure you are aware, labour rights across the Gulf are abysmal, and blue collared workers are often no better than bonded slaves.

And yet, migration to the Gulf continues and is glorified. There are hundreds of ‘Coaching Institutes’ that prepare migrants for life in the gulf (for a price) – most of the adverts are adorned with skyscrapers and palm trees. Kerala’s youth are so enamoured by the riches to be had in these foreign lands, that they are abandoning their farms enmasse. For a largely agricultural economy, this is awfully tragic.

Traveling through Kerala, the occasional BMW with the Saudi license plate will zip past you, but the glamour aside, immigration comes with strings attached, and is far from an ideal solution to development. The EWI’s suggestion to promote immigration from Afghanistan to the Gulf seems to me, naive and misinformed.