Not all migrants are refugees; the distinction lies in the varied motivations behind their journeys. Refugees flee persecution, while migrants may seek opportunities, reflecting the diversity of human movement.

Migration is a concept that has a history of millions of years. It is believed that Homo Sapiens who lived in the African continent were the first-ever migrants who stepped out of their boundaries and spread across Eurasia. Migration can be defined as moving from one place to another for permanent or temporary settlement. After the Renaissance and the development of navigation and transport, Europeans were keen on settling on distant lands for many reasons such as for resources, religious freedom, and expansion of power. The concept of migration is still a very much debated topic in the world UN recorded that over 281 million people had migrated from their homelands in 2020 and by 2021, almost 60 million of them had been reported to be internally displaced. 

Migration in the modern world occurs due to several reasons. When war plagues nations, civilians take refuge in neighboring countries due to their fear of life. Moreover, when there is a lack of resources in the country such as when the country is facing economic and other crises, people tend to migrate to live in better conditions. The migration occurs primarily from developing countries to developed countries. Additionally, when there is a lack of opportunities in their home countries in terms of educational and professional opportunities, people tend to migrate to countries that offer them better opportunities. Migration can lead the home country to lose people who provide manpower and intellectual contributions to the country. Social problems could arise from a lack of citizens children and other vulnerable populations who are left behind.  Most of the time, while the home country loses the number of citizens through migration, the host country receives the crowd under its wings. 

Yet, the host country also becomes a place that suffers disadvantages through migration, by both local and migrant citizens. Resources of the country must be shared with the migraters and the demand for resources may increase. And though the job opportunities will be filled with the migrants, there can be a loss of jobs for local citizens. And when crowds move to countries due to war situations, security needs to be monitored due to the risk of crimes. The migrants who migrate to a different country could initially have a hard time adjusting to the new environment and learning about the social and cultural practices of the host country. Moreover, the migrants usually get exploited due to their powerless and helpless situation which occurs in terms of labour and payment. Also depending on their job, they often get maltreated by the higher-ups which they may not be able to stand up to. Hence migrating to a different country and receiving migrants appears to be a difficult situation, though this may secure the safety of migrants who flee from unsafe situations in their own country.

Annually, UN celebrates the World Migrant Day on December 18^th, to appreciate the contribution of migrants as well as to emphasize the hardships they go through due to migration.

Written by: Rtr. Venuri Wedage

Graphic design by: Rtr. Sathmi Dinanja