Round table discussion on “The Difficult Search for Truth in Migration”
In the framework of the annual Athens Democracy Forum, on October 2nd, SolidarityNow organized a discussion on the challenging search for truth in migration.
The discussion was moderated by journalist Yannis Palaiologos, who facilitated a dynamic and thought-provoking dialogue among the panelists, focusing on how migration can be better understood and communicated in today’s polarized world.
The Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SolidarityNow, Mr. Stelios Zavvos highlighted how migration is frequently exploited as a political tool by far-right parties to polarize societies, fueling fear and spreading misinformation: “Migration in Europe, and particularly in Greece, can address several issues such as labor shortages. From a demographic standpoint the management of migration can help sustain demographic balance. Migrants contribute to the economy and the social security system, and the data indicates that they can bring significant economic benefits to the country. Migration is not a crisis, it is an opportunity. At SolidarityNow, we focus on integrating migrants and refugees as productive members of society.”
Afterwards, Mr. Dimitris Kairidis, Member of the Hellenic Parliament and Professor of International Politics, criticized the harmful portrayal of migration as an “invasion” highlighting how such narratives fuel far-right ideologies. “We need realistic solutions and not promises and extreme rhetoric that only raises expectations and, thus, the despair of the citizen when these expectations are not met. This is especially important for a country like Greece, where, in contrast to what is happening in Sweden or Austria, the migrant population has gone down, not up. The problem in Greece is not that we have a rise of migrants; the problem is, to some extent, the exact opposite.”
Ms. Angeliki Dimitriadi, Head of the Migration Programme of ELIAMEP, criticized the narrative that smugglers decide who enters Europe, emphasizing that it is the lack of legal pathways that forces migrants and refugees to turn to smuggling. “People resort to smugglers because we don’t offer legal paths for those in need of protection. And we don’t have a lot of legal entry paths for low and medium skilled laborers who could otherwise be very useful for our economies. …this pushes people to smugglers and of course it produces further exploitation. We are overly focused on the regular component and far less focused on the legal component on which we should be really prioritize in the years to come, especially as we’re moving into a world that will face competition for labor.”
In addition, Ms. Stella Nanou, Head of Communications for UNHCR Greece highlighted the importance of using accurate and respectful terminology when discussing migration. She pointed out that the use of terms like “illegal arrivals” or metaphors such as “waves” and “tsunamis”, to describe human migration, dehumanizes people and fuels fear. “Words matter, they shape realities and mindsets. Especially in the migration debate, language isn’t just a tool, it’s a huge responsibility that affects human life. There are other ways to speak about migration in a very humane manner without giving to the public the notion that it’s something to be afraid of, a tactic that does not lead to solutions. This kind of language does not leave any space for workable solutions and that’s the real problem.”
Mr. Alexander Rhodes, Partner and Head of Mishcon Purpose, Mishcon de Reya, addressed the issue of climate migration, stating “When one talks about people being forced to move because they have no choice through the lens of human rights, we are talking about the human rights of the communities from which they are moving, through which they are moving, and of course to which they are moving. And the challenge for our politicians in host countries is to respond to the human rights of our constituents and the needs of our constituents. And their job is to explain that countries to which migrants move benefit in net, as opposed to the communities from which these people are forced to move, who certainly don’t.”
The discussion was honored by the presence of the internationally renowned filmmaker and director, Michael P. Nash who reflected on his experiences making the documentary Climate Refugees in 2010: “There were so many questions that I asked back in 2008 and 2009, when we were traveling around documenting, but found no answers. And so, I think it’s incredibly important to participate in healthy discussions, in forums like this, about migration, because there’s so much data that needs to be analyzed to give a voice to all voiceless victims that are being forced to relocate for survival.”