Countries across the globe are toughening their stance on migration
No country’s approach is the exact same, but a more hostile environment for migrants than during previous decades is a common theme.
The protests outside the Bell Hotel which houses migrants in Epping Forest have re-ignited the debate about the UK’s immigration and asylum policies. These are constantly smouldering and emotional issues which have occasionally burst into flames. They will continue do to so for the foreseeable future.
Similar debates are taking place around the world as mass migration gathers pace, changing societies and their politics. John Donne, and others, have written that “comparisons are odious” but they are also informative. In this case, they inform us of policies we may or may not wish to implement, they might also indicate where we are on a spectrum between hostility and hospitality towards migrants – legal or otherwise.
It's safe to say Iran is far towards the hostile end, but also that the country is dealing with numbers of migrants which dwarf those of most countries. The United Nations International Organization for Migration reports that so far this year 1.4 million Afghans have “returned or been forced to return to Afghanistan” by the Iranian authorities. Another million may be pushed across the border by the end of the year into a country once again ruled by the Taliban and suffering an economic crisis.
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