9781422282847

That situation is played out every day in Europe and North America, where rich countries, such as Germany and the United States, are situated next door to poorer nations. People from Mexico and other Latin American nations, for example, often migrate north to the United States seeking jobs and better living conditions. People from Eastern Europe and Asia often move to Germany seeking a paycheck and a new home. Negative and Positive Impacts The impact of migration can be huge, not only for migrants and refugees, but for the nations taking them in. Inmost cases, due to the nature of emerging dangers, many ref- ugees move in large numbers to countries that cannot sustain the additional popula- tion. Their presence increases economic, environmental, social, and political tensions. Unless receiving countries can plan for the influx, refugees compete with local citizens for food, housing, water, land, health care, education, and other social ser- vices. The influx of new residents also strains the environment, as the demand for natural resources, including water, fuel, food, and building materials, grows.

Syrian refugee children in a makeshift refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, May 2013.

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CHAPTER 1