LIFE IN A FOREIGN LAND

In the modern world, the attitude towards immigrants is becoming more and more contradictory and inconsistent. On the one hand, European and Asian countries are increasingly tightening their immigration policy, presenting immigrants with greater demands for integration, reducing the length of stay, limiting the list of rights to work and so on. At the same time, countries in need of foreign labour force increase the quota for immigrants, facilitate employment opportunities and create structures for their integration. The Russian expert on the migration of the population of the former Soviet Union, problems of settlement and labour market, the science director of the Centre for Migration Studies, Zhanna Zayonchkovskaya, tells R+ what modern immigration is and what twists and turns are expected in this area in the future.

- So who are they, modern immigrants? Is it a threat to global security, a hotbed of terrorism, social unrest or the necessary resource for economic development and cultural enrichment?

- Immigration is definitely a positive phenomenon, especially for people who travel to other countries for earnings. Perhaps, it is for this reason that the number of immigrants is growing so rapidly, exceeding even the capacity of passenger transport. The world is becoming more contrasting demographically. We are currently seeing the peak of this contrast. Only after 2050, will the contrast of the world by the number and population growth, the level of unemployment and so on start to decrease. According to the UN, more than 200m people move from one country to another every year. And this does not include internal migration. Immigration is a publicly available way for every person to improve their life in different aspects: income, education, family reunion and favourable climate. That is to say people reduce their worries through immigration.

- Recently, immigrants in the United States and Australia staged terrorist attacks, while immigrants in European countries become militants of various international terrorist groups. Right-wing parties in Europe are talking about the growing threat of immigration to global security.

- The threat to global security by immigrants is, of course, an exaggeration, but immigrants may create problems in the country in which they live. We observed these processes in September 2001 in the United States, when terrorists blew up the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. But no one is immune to such incidents just like people are not immune to car accidents caused by drunk drivers, or any other incidents. But immigration is not a threat to the world that is becoming more secure. We know from history that when one country is captured by another, the population of the defeated country was simply destroyed and the winners freed living space for themselves. Now the world has become more civilized. Cases of mass destruction happened in the recent past during the Second World War, and it is possible that such cases may occur in the future. But relations between nations are becoming more civilized.

- The number of supporters of the selective approach to the immigration policy is growing in the world. For example, against the backdrop of the deteriorating demographic situation, developed countries attract immigrants in certain economic areas. Azerbaijan has also announced a list of professions for which immigrants do not have to obtain a work permit. How do you feel about such a selective policy?

- Each country has its own immigration policy based on its own democratic situation. There are no general rules. In particular, a lot depends on the level of youth unemployment. The thing is that the majority of immigrants are young too. And competition among young people increases on the labour market. If the youth unemployment rate is high, then, of course, the state has the right to impose certain limits on immigration. But this does not mean that it will always be the case, the situation may change. In such cases, there is no need to look on immigrants as enemies, it is just necessary to put immigration in a legal framework.

- How do you assess the immigration policy in Russia, the largest centre of gravity in the CIS?

- There are times when there is a real shortage of workers in Russia. According to the Federal Migration Service of Russia, there are more than 10m immigrants in the country. This does not include those who come for a short time and live in hotels. And at the same time, at least 2m vacancies are offered each day. In Russia, there are people who are against immigration and are afraid of immigrants. But at the same time, everyone wants to eat, receive pensions, etc. In this case, someone in this country should work, because everyone's life will only get worse from a deficit of labour.

- Some countries require immigrants to provide a certificate on HIV/AIDS. In the past, this practice was used by the United States, Iran and several other states. The controversy on this score is not subsiding between those who believe that the requirement to produce a health certificate is a violation of the rights of immigrants and those who believe that the state should be aware of the health of immigrants.

- No, the requirement for health information does not violate the rights of immigrants. Most recently, such a requirement was put forward to residents of African countries where an outbreak of Ebola was reported. When the epidemic spread throughout Africa, it was decided not to let persons with suspected Ebola into some countries. Another thing is that during mass immigration, similar to what is happening in Russia, it is very difficult to check everyone for a virus. People, if they want, can outwit the state. In order to solve their problems, they can find a loophole in any restrictive measures. And just like in our country, you can buy any medical certificate in other countries too and there are ample opportunities for corruption.

- You know the immigration situation in the CIS countries. What should be done in the immigration policy of these states in the first place?

- First of all, the state should be interested in the position of its citizens in the country they often visit. It is necessary to interact with these countries through various arrangements. On the example of some CIS countries, we know that their embassies do not even receive their immigrants, do not provide consultations and do not render legal assistance. You need to really protect your citizens in another country.

With regard to immigration, there are three main states that receive immigrants in the world: the United States, Russia and Germany. This situation will last a long time. Because of its ambitious nature, the US does not accept a decline in its population due to low birth rates and plans to receive immigrants until the middle of the 21st century. Thus, the United States seeks to prevent a decline in the rate of population growth. This can be achieved through large immigration, that is to say the United States will receive approximately one million immigrants per year. Perhaps, they have a better situation with illegal immigration due to the fact that the US mainly has maritime borders and it is not easy to get there illegally. But it is very easy to live illegally in the United States. According to some estimates, there are more illegal immigrants there than in Russia. Germany has tougher controls over the flow of immigrants, but, nevertheless, there are almost three million illegal immigrants from Eastern European countries there. Russia has strict laws concerning immigration, but very little regulation of the flow of immigrants. Immigration in the world will only grow. However, if all the countries of South-East Asia, except for China, are experiencing a significant population growth, the demographic situation in the European Union is very bad. Italy, Germany, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Japan suffered huge losses in two world wars, which greatly affected demography.

- Have you ever had to deal with problems of Azerbaijani immigrants? Is there a difference between the problems of the Azerbaijani immigrants and immigrants from other former Soviet countries?

- Of course, there is a difference. Immigrants from Central Asia have a very low level of education, knowledge of the Russian language and poor knowledge of urban life. This prevents them from advancing. Even if a Tajik or Uzbek has graduated from college, is an electrical engineer by profession and officially works in the housing department, the population does not trust him. The same applies to, say, a teacher from the Central Asian region. A teacher from Uzbekistan, who does not speak Russian, will not be hired by a Russian school. Therefore, these immigrants can do only one thing - unskilled labour. The niche for these people is labourers in the field of trade. But knowledge of the Russian language allows the Kyrgyz to qualify for better jobs. Kyrgyz women work as cashiers in supermarkets and guys as waiters in bars and restaurants.

As for the Azerbaijanis, a lot of people from Azerbaijan who fled the Armenian-occupied areas worked in Russia. Azerbaijanis worked in businesses opened by their compatriots. I do not know whether these people continue to work or have returned to their homeland. They were mostly engaged in commerce. In Russia, we won't see Uzbek or Tajik traders, while Azerbaijanis, with urban life habits, work successfully in the field of trade and construction.