"The immigration problem or solution"

Immigration is considered one of the biggest problems in many developed countries around the World. The United Nations estimates that approximately 4.5 percent of the world population are immigrants. The dream of many people who live in third world countries is to move to a developed country, believing that the moment they set foot in this new land their lives will change. Many think it will be like stepping into a wonderland. Unfortunately, many realize that this fantasy, which is sold to them, is not true and when they reach their final destination, and they have to face many obstacles and struggle to survive.

I want to share what I have seen going on in my country and region.

I live in a very small country in Central America called Costa Rica. Our neighbors are Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the South. We are not a developed country; on the contrary, although Costa Rica is in a much better condition than many Central and South American countries, we are very far from being developed.

Our neighbor in the north, Nicaragua, is a country that has suffered for decades the oppression of dictatorships and fake democracies. According to a recent study by Indice de Percepcion de Corrupción in Berlin, Germany, Nicaragua was one of the 10 most corrupt countries in the world in 2014. Costa Rica was number 54, so we are also in a hard position. Daniel Ortega who is the current president of Nicaragua was technically chosen in a free democratic election, but those who are in the region know this is not true. He has been in power for more than 8 years and just proposed to the senate a law project to make him permanent president, until he dies. I keep asking myself “what kind of democracy is that?”

This man, President Daniel Ortega, fought in the civil war to pull down the dictatorship of Somosa during the 1970s. Unfortunately, he seems to have forgotten his ideals and what he fought for, and now he is an unconditional ally of Syria, Cuba, Venezuela and other socialist countries. Economic support for Nicaragua has been cut by the UN and USA among other countries. This chain of bad decisions has resulted in no foreign investment in the country, and developed countries have decided to cut of economic social support. People have lost their jobs, lands, homes. Families have seen how the army comes and takes away their oldest sons to join the military service. Any outsider who sees this situation would think that this country is ready to start a war any minute. The truth is that no other country in the region is interested in Nicaragua, and all these threats are just in the imagination of one man who is in power.

As a result of this unfortunate political and social situation, there are hundreds of Nicaraguans who come to Costa Rica seeking a better life. According to the last Costa Rican national census there were more than 700.000 Nicaraguan immigrants registered and many more that are illegally in the country.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Costa Rica is very far from being a developed country, and therefore we have no infrastructure to support this massive migration from our neighbors. It might seem that I am upset or against the migration of the Nicaraguans
to Costa Rica, but the truth is I am not against or in favor of it. I believe a prompt solution is needed. I also believe this is out of the hands of both governments and that world organizations such as the UN should be helping countries like mine to find solutions to this huge social, economic and political problem.

One of the things that upsets me most is to see the attitude of many of my countrymenn and women towards these immigrants. There is a lot of prejudice against them and they are discriminated against in many places. Young Costa Ricans who are graduating from high school were interviewed by La Nacion (one of the main newspaper in Costa Rica,) about their opinion of this massive migration, which is growing every day. Ninety percent of these young adults said that they would like to see these immigrants leave, and the main reason is because they are “stealing the jobs away from the Costa Ricans.”

When I read that I was shocked, and I realize how easy it is to influence the opinion of people who are not informed. Why do I say this? It is very simple. Most of the immigrants have almost no education. When they come and the only jobs they find are in construction and agriculture–mainly picking up coffee and pineapples. It is a very hard life for minimum wage and with no benefits. On the contrary, the young Costa Ricans who graduate from high school are well-educated and in their immature minds they believed that after graduation they will receive hundreds of calls from international companies offering them jobs, with fancy offices, an air conditioner, and all the benefits the reader wants to imagine. These young adults would never work in coffee plantations or construction. Therefore it is impossible to believe that they are taking away jobs. These immigrants are actually helping the economy by doing the work that the Costa Ricans would not do but are necessary.

This situation is very similar to what the USA is going through. Having explained all this and knowing there is no prompt solution to these problem around the world, I would like to ask my readers to please keep this article in mind, and the next time you meet or run into someone from another country try to help them, show them kindness, do not reject them, because they are actually necessary for our countries. Think: are they a problem or a solution? Maybe both, but I believe if we are all more tolerant they are more a solution than a problem.

Opinion by Ericka R Brealey