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Migration Information Source - Articles by 'Middle East & North Africa' Term
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Articles - Middle East & North Africa

IMG_9985 AmineGhrabi Flickr
Profile
May 28, 2015
Revolution and Political Transition in Tunisia: A Migration Game Changer?

With a history of encouraging workers to emigrate to relieve unemployment at home, Tunisia now has 11 percent of its population living abroad. The factors underlying the 2011 revolution that sparked the Arab Spring have also fueled emigration desires for many Tunisians. This country profile explores historical and current trends in Tunisia from colonial settlement to the aftermath of the Arab Spring, and the new focus on migrant rights at home and abroad.

Cover Top10 1Refugees UNHCR
Top Ten
December 18, 2014
World Confronts Largest Humanitarian Crisis since WWII

The number of people around the world forcibly displaced by conflict or persecution reached its highest total since World War II, with more than 51.2 million fleeing their country or displaced within it, the UN refugee agency reported in 2014. An estimated 13.6 million people have been displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq alone, constituting what the UN High Commissioner for Refugees dubbed a mega-crisis.

The ruins of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul’s Old Town
Top Ten
December 11, 2014
Governments Fear Return and Intentions of Radicalized Citizens Fighting Abroad

Increasing numbers of Westerners heading to Syria and Iraq to join jihadist organizations like ISIS have governments concerned about possible attacks at home by returning fighters. Several thousand fighters from Europe and other Western countries are believed among the foreign nationals involved in conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Lawmakers scrambled in 2014 to respond with new policies, including seizing passports, stripping citizenship, and criminalizing travel to "no go" zones.

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Top Ten
December 11, 2014
Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Asia

Mass cases of exploitation and abuse of migrant workers have drawn international scrutiny and criticism of the kafala system in Gulf Cooperation Council countries and private recruitment practices in Southeast Asia. With Qatar under scrutiny amid a frenzied construction boom in advance of the 2022 World Cup, international organizations and human-rights groups in 2014 stepped up their campaign for worker protection reforms.

Ankara
Feature
July 24, 2014
Turkey’s Evolving Migration Identity

Turkey’s migration identity has shifted from being principally a country of emigration and transit to becoming a destination for immigrants and people fleeing conflict. In response, Turkish policymakers recently enacted a comprehensive migration and asylum law that took effect in April 2014. This article examines the new law, which is intended as a significant step toward managing both legal and irregular migration to Turkey, including humanitarian migration.

FE TPS July2014 Haiti
Feature
July 2, 2014
Temporary Protected Status in the United States: A Grant of Humanitarian Relief that Is Less than Permanent
From a massive typhoon in the Philippines last November to the ongoing civil war in Syria, recent global events demonstrate that natural disasters and political strife occur suddenly and often without warning. This article examines the U.S. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program that grants humanitarian relief to nationals of certain countries embroiled in violent conflict or recovering from natural disaster.
ilo_gcc construction workers
Feature
April 9, 2014
Global Civil Society in Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council: Emerging Dilemmas and Opportunities

As Qatar races to build its infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, international civil-society actors increasingly are highlighting the harsh conditions under which temporary labor migrants often work in Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This article examines the emerging roles, challenges, and opportunities that civil-society groups face in the region; it also analyzes the prevailing legal and political structures where civil society operates in the Gulf.

CP Morocco 2014
Profile
April 8, 2014
Maroc: Préparer le Terrain pour Devenir un Pays de Transition Migratoire?

Sous l’effet du nombre croissant de migrants sur son sol, la société marocaine se retrouve confrontée à un ensemble totalement nouveau de questions sociales et juridiques qui sont typiques des pays d’immigration. Face à cette évolution, les autorités marocaines ont annoncé une nouvelle politique migratoire en 2013, que ce profil pays se propose d’analyser.

The Strait of Gibraltar is a migration passage for tens of thousands of Moroccans each year. (Photo courtesy of NASA)
Profile
March 19, 2014
Morocco: Setting the Stage for Becoming a Migration Transition Country?

Morocco has evolved into one of the world’s leading emigration countries. European immigration restrictions did not stop migration, but rather pushed Moroccan migrants into permanent settlement, prompting large-scale family reunification. Morocco is also becoming a destination country, and the growing presence of immigrants confronts Moroccan society with an entirely new set of social and legal issues typical for immigration countries, as this country profile explores.

Top Ten
December 18, 2013
The Escalating Syrian Refugee Crisis Challenges the International Community's Ability to Respond

With more than 2.2 million Syrians who have already sought refuge abroad and more than 4 million others displaced internally, the challenges that the international community are facing from the Syrian humanitarian crisis continue to mount.

Top Ten
December 10, 2013
Qatar's Treatment of Migrant Workers Is Under the Spotlight Ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup

Qatar's dependence on foreign workers is expected to intensify over the coming decade as it steps up its preparations to host the World Cup in 2022. Migrant workers already dominate Qatar's labor force, comprising 94 percent of all workers and 86 percent of the country's total population of nearly 2 million — the world's highest ratio of migrants to citizens.

Feature
November 1, 2013
Responding to the Syrian Refugee Crisis: A Conversation with T. Alexander Aleinikoff, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees

United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees T. Alexander Aleinikoff talks to MPI about the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis and the role of UNHCR in assisting countries that have taken in large numbers of Syrian refugees. One looming concern: how will UNHCR and other actors change their refugee crisis-response models and mechanisms to adapt to this and future emergencies?

Feature
September 18, 2013
Labor Migration in the United Arab Emirates: Challenges and Responses

The United Arab Emirates has the fifth-largest international migrant stock in the world, with 7.8 million migrants out of a total population of 9.2 million. Heavily reliant on foreign labor to sustain economic growth, the UAE government in 1971 introduced a temporary guest worker program. This article examines the economic, social, and political challenges and implications of the program for the government, Emirati nationals, and migrant workers in the UAE.

Feature
May 30, 2013
Tuareg Migration: A Critical Component of Crisis in the Sahel

The Tuareg, a nomadic group of Berber origin located in several countries across North and West Africa, have been enmeshed in a complicated struggle against the Malian state since January 2012. This article explores the unique role that migration plays in shaping Tuareg grievances in the context of this crisis.

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Feature
January 16, 2013
Hospitals and Doctors under Attack in Syria: Q&A with the Chair of the Humanitarian Aid Committee for the Syrian Expatriates Organization
This Q&A explores the dire medical emergency and refugee health concerns resulting from the ongoing Syrian crisis. Source Editor Amber French conducts a Q&A with Dr. Fadi Al Khankan of the Syrian Expatriates Organization and MPI's Kathleen Newland, both panelists at the January 14, 2013 MPI event unveiling the International Rescue Committee's report, Syria: A Regional Crisis.
Top Ten
December 1, 2012
Forced Migration: No Resolution in Sight for Syrians, Violent Outbreaks Displace Thousands across African Continent

More than 465,800 Syrians were registered as refugees during 2012 or were awaiting assistance, and another 2 million Syrians were internally displaced as a result of the prolonged armed conflict. On the African continent, difficult humanitarian situations also were unfolding.

Top Ten
December 1, 2011
Arab Spring and Fear of Migrant Surge Expose Rift in EU Immigration Policy Circles

The Arab Spring exposed critical weaknesses and exacerbated long-held disagreements within the European Union related to asylum, immigration, and external border control policy matters that spilled over into the operation of the Schengen area.

Top Ten
December 1, 2011
The Arab Spring and Other Crises in Africa Displace More Than 1 Million People

The succession of displacement and refugee crises in the Arab Spring, Côte d'Ivoire, Somalia, and Sudan has been characterized as the most troubling in some time.

Feature
May 11, 2011
Voice after Exit: Revolution and Migration in the Arab World

Since mid-December 2010, popular uprisings have taken hold in a number of countries across North Africa and the Middle East in what has been dubbed the Arab Spring. Philippe Fargues of the European University Institute discusses the demographic trends underpinning the recent eruption of unrest in the Arab world, and the likely impact of the revolts on migration.

Top Ten
December 2, 2010
Natural Disasters in Haiti and Pakistan Highlight Diaspora Response

Haiti and Pakistan were an unlikely pair until 2010, when horrific natural disasters made it impossible for the world to ignore their devastation.

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