'Better migration policies can help boost prosperity in all countries'
Populations across the globe are ageing at an unprecedented pace, making many countries increasingly reliant on migration to realise their long-term growth potential, according to a new report from the World Bank.
Migration can serve as a force for growth and shared prosperity in all countries, according to a new report from the World Bank. Launched in Nepal Monday, the World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies presents a powerful framework to guide policy making based on how well migrants’ skills and related attributes match the needs of destination countries and on the motive for their movement.
As South Asia reels from the impacts of unprecedented economic shocks, migration can boost its recovery and support long-term development, said the World Bank in its latest regional economic update.
ity life and the many benefits it represents, including better healthcare, reliable transport and quality education, are the main pull factors for migration. The social networks of cities continue to be one of the principal drivers of economic productivity across the globe. Yet cities can also harm. Air pollution, traffic congestion, over-crowding and noise are some […]
KABUL, Oct 25: More than 22 million Afghans will suffer "acute food insecurity" this winter, UN agencies said Monday, warning the already unstable country faces one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
"This winter, millions of Afghans will be forced to choose between migration and starvation unless we can step up our life-saving assistance," said David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme.
The migration of samosa to Nepal is still unclear. It can be believed that it came to Nepal just as it travelled to other parts of the world and was transformed as per regional flavours suiting their palate.
The post Samosas in Nepal: How did they come here and become everyone’s loved food? appeared first on OnlineKhabar English News.
WASHINGTON, April 27: Vice President Kamala Harris told Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei Monday that the U.S. is planning to increase relief to the Northern Triangle region and “strengthen our cooperation” to better manage the steep increase in migration at the U.S. southern border.
Harris made the comments during a virtual meeting with the president that marked a ramping up of her diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration from the region, a role she was given by President Joe Biden last month. Harris will also meet with Guatemalan community-based organizations Tuesday, and she has plans to hold a similar virtual meeting with the Mexican president next month, before heading to visit Mexico and Guatemala in June.
The new role has offered Harris both a high-profile challenge to take on and sparked increased criticism from Republicans, who have questioned why neither she nor the president have made a trip down to the border to review the situation there. The Border Patrol picked up a record number of unaccompanied children attempting to cross the border in March, and the influx of migrants has put a strain on the federal departments tasked with detaining, housing and processing those migrants.
In her new role, Harris has thus far called both Giammattei and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on the phone, and held a number of listening sessions with experts and advocates from the region.
In her opening remarks during the Monday meeting, she spoke about what she described as the “acute causes” of the spike in migration - hurricanes that battered the region last fall, a persistent drought and the COVID-19 pandemic - as well as “root causes,” like the lack of economic opportunity in the region, extreme weather conditions and government corruption.
“We want to work with you to address both the acute causes as well as the root causes, in a way that will bring hope to the people of Guatemala that there will be an opportunity for them if they stay at home,” Harris said.
She promised an increase in aid to countries in the region and efforts to better cooperate to “manage migration in an effective, secure and humane manner.”
Her comments come the same day the Biden administration announced sanctions against one current and one former Guatemalan government official for corruption. In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “these sanctions support efforts by the people of Guatemala to end the scourge of corruption, as part of the US government’s commitment to support improvements in governance in Guatemala.”
Neither Harris nor President Giammattei referenced the sanctions in their opening statements, however.
Giammattei told Harris that his country's government would like to be a “partner” to the U.S. to address “not only poverty, but so many evils that affect us.” Between now and their meeting in June, Giammattei said the two should create a “roadmap” between their two governments toward an agreement “to ensure peace, progress and development, and also so that we can secure the cooperation that we need from you.”
While Republicans have been quick to hammer Harris as absent on the migration issue, immigration experts and advocates say it’s too early to evaluate her work.
“We haven’t seen any concrete initiatives or efforts yet,” said Theresa Brown, managing director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “Foreign policy takes some time, and it sounds like they're just figuring out what they want from these countries that’s different than the last administration, and understanding the challenges and realities of the region down there.”
Dan Restrepo, a senior fellow and expert on immigration at the Center for American Progress, said Harris being assigned the issue is significant because it sends the message to both other high-ranking officials in the administration and key figures in the region that “this is a high priority issue for the White House.”
Restrepo, who has briefed Harris on the issue in private meetings, said he was heartened in particular by the vice president's plans to meet with Guatemalan community-based organizations.
“The deliberate engagement and lifting up of civil society is a really encouraging early sign that the vice president and her team understand what it’s going to take to move the needle on this issue,” he said.
But Brown emphasized that while Harris may be able to secure some initial agreements for greater cooperation with regional partners and aid for the region, it may take time to be able to tell whether she's achieved the goal of reducing migration to the border and addressing its root causes.
“You’re not going to change the circumstances on the ground there quickly, because they are circumstances that have been developing for years if not decades, and are exacerbated by recent events such as coronavirus,” she said.
With the increasing trends of tourism activities in the village, the people of Chitre village of Modi Rural Municipality in Parbat district, who had migrated to the nearby cities, have now returned to their place of origin.
Reverse migration for the locals is reported for setting up tourism business after the upward trend of domestic and foreign tourists visiting in Chitre in the recent days. Home stay business has lured more people to return to their own villages from the cities.
Nishan Gurung has returned to Chitre after quitting hotel business in the city of Pokhara and is planning to do business in his own village. He said he was planning to establish home stay in Chitre village.
"I have a target to make more money in the village than the city. There is a limited saving in city. Also, I can keep myself engaged in other works here," Gurung shared his motive to return to the village from Pokhara.
The local people in the village are getting excited thanks to better tourism activities of late. As high as 10 families have begun home stay service with better infrastructures
in Chitre and are offering good services to the domestic and foreign tourists.
Chairperson of Rural Chitre Home Stay Tourism Development Committee Sushila Devi Gurung said that as high as 50 tourists arrive in the village on daily basis. But, the number could go up sometimes as the students from schools and colleges arrive in weekends from other districts.
Harka Man Gurung, who returned home from Kathmandu, said the tourism activities have created jovial environment in the village. "The climatic situation in the village is very good here. We can make sufficient income here even from normal jobs," Gurung added.
The village looks like a city due to arrival of tourists lately, he observed.
Min Bahadur Gurung, a Saudi Arabia returnee migrant, said he arrived home for tourism business and added that he has made good income from running home stay.
Situated at the height of 1,500 metres from the sea level, Chitre village popular is for Gurung cultures and warm hospitality and is rich in natural beauties and bio-diversity.
The village has a number of tourism products including folk cultures including Sorathi, Ghantu, folk songs, Rodhi and other traditional dances.
The concept of home stay has become instrumental both for income generation by bringing in tourists and promotion of local cultures and costumes, Madhu Sudan Adhikari, a local teacher said.
Peak migration period for such birds is mid-September to late October. But the migration can continue until the end of November. More than 150 species of winter migratory birds from Russia, China, Sri Lanka, India and Korea flock to the southern plains with the start of winter.
