Slavery of undocumented migrants
The world of laymen seems to be in a state of shock in the face of news that tell the realities of life of migrants who are candidates for Western exile, in the concentration camps in Libya. A feigned indignation for some, when one knows that all journalists and politicians worthy of the name knew since 2011 what was happening in Libya especially many know that Benghazi even at the time of the regime of the Libyan Jamahiriya was already the epicenter of some of the most odious traffics and it is with these dissident mercenary traffickers of the established order, that the West has seen fit to deal with, to bring down the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. If it is necessary to vehemently condemn the traffic of human beings, it must not be forgotten either that the critical situation in which Africa is plunged, does have an origin that should not be found only in inept regents, imposed by western powers that seem to proclaim themselves as moral watchdogs. While thousands of lives are being destroyed in the search for this elsewhere which always seems more attractive, because of the propaganda and misery that is rocking the tropics, it must be stated that these gruesome situations have been favored by the laws that authorize infamy, and the injustice in the North-South relations. Life in the West for those who succeed in reaching the promising land, is often the logical continuation of a life of servitude, that grant them their illegal status . The illegality of migrants in exile in the West is a windfall for the underground economy of the Western countries. from Paris, to New York, there is a slavery that does not say his name. Driven by the desire to succeed in their lives, to help their families back home, immigrants are often ready for any possible compromise to get by in these rugged climates where winter temperatures flirt with minus the infinite .
Far from living the famous Western charity, at the expenses of the white taxpayers, as the nationalists like to claim while speaking with contempt of these damned of the earth from another era, that they are eager to label parasites, who nevertheless are less harmful than the nationalistic euphemism which is in fact a current feed by xenophobic hatred. Excessive capitalism, as created monsters who always desperately seek victims. In the United States for example it is curious to note that those who condone lethal interventions in foreign countries are also those who refuse to understand that the direct consequences of the wars of their warlike empire is the misery of the peoples. When today they very humanely refuse refugees the right to live in their country, the day before they were ready to tell them how to live very democratically in their own countries, including using gun noises to make themselves heard better.
Economic refugees or victims of conflict, migrating, are attracted by the same reason. A better life. A paradigm specific to every human being. Far from wanting to benefit from government support from host countries, the majority of illegal immigrants understand better than anyone that they have to work to earn their living. The sacrifices often made to find themselves in Western countries prove in general that they are ambitious women and men. The perilous voyages through desserts, seas and forests are unfortunately not often the end of their Calvary, since in the West they almost always end up in the caste of the new slaves, namely, those millions of poor, needy people who are often afraid to complain about unpaid wages and inferior working conditions, because the employers can fight back. Taking measures that may lead to their expulsion. This gives employers tremendous power to exploit and underpay them.
Far from being parasites , illegal workers enrich the West. Surveys and figures speak for themselves.
The black labor market accounts for more than 10 per cent of French GDP and 16 per cent of the European Union's GDP, or about $ 2.812 billion per year in the European Union,
In the United States 10 million workers are undocumented and constitute more than 5 per cent of GDP, translated to about 840 billion dollars a year.
These figures give a different view of these faceless women, and men, who work to survive while the countries that benefit from their labor often tend to hunt them down, by publicized policies that often serve to glean xenophobic voices to politicians who make an odious speculation on the misery of others breeding hatred of their countrymen towards immigrants . At the same time by cynicism the radical laws towards the undocumented reinforce rather the precariousness of their condition of work which benefit to the lobby of bosses who often contribute Millions of dollars in the elections of politicians they support.
The draconian laws against undocumented migrants are a kind of torture that reinforces the slavery of these wretched whose countries that benefit from their labor cannot logically take them all out without accusing economic underperformance. Apart from the billions that a widespread expulsion campaign could cost to these states, in the same way countries like the United States cannot afford to lose more than 840 billion dollars nor the European Union, 2,812 billion Euro per year. The united states were built by slave labor and continue to enjoy handsomely the slaves brought to them by illegal immigrants every year. It is illusory to think that Americans can do without this cheap labor. This is why the various administrations, both Democrats and Republicans, have always refused to find appropriate solutions to this phenomenon, which is very important to the lobby of the big bosses who prefer to pay low wages to undocumented migrants who cannot complain about their rights or better social coverage, that would reduce the profits of states and bosses. Meanwhile nationalist peoples (xenophobic) remain in the illusion that illegal immigrants are not legalized because they are thieves who deserve nothing, and that in addition they have a prevalence over them as a citizen of developed countries but not as a human beings unique in their kind by intrinsic values. It’s relevant to mention the fact that no country has ever developed without resorting to others, whose hapless migrants come from, and can logically aspire to their share of the global pie, by going to the countries that have benefited most from the effort of humanity for centuries. The naive who give their votes to racist nationalism claim to be better only because they belong to this or that country, and master little or nothing of the history of the world. However, on a case-by-case basis, the majority of illegal immigrants are not always criminals, they are often ambitious people with diplomas and skills, they have lived through human tragedies that have made them better and more experienced women and men who can deal accurately with the hardship of life. In general immigrants, illegal or not, have often brought an added value to their host country.
In the United States, According to the analysis of national and local tax data published by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), undocumented immigrants contribute annually $ 11.6 billion to the US economy, including nearly $ 7 billion in sales and excise taxes. They are, in economic terms, productive citizens, and pay a higher effective tax rate than the super rich who make up the 1 percent of the US.
If unauthorized migrant workers add to the supply of labor they also consume goods and services, generating economic activity and creating jobs. Many illegal immigrants in the United States create small businesses because they cannot be legally employed but must pay taxes. As a reminder, the labor force is growing all the time because of immigration and the growth of the native-born population. For example, when a new graduate enters the workforce, he buys food, cars, clothes and pays rent. Likewise, unauthorized immigrants are not just workers, they are also consumers. Removing them would actually reduce the number of workers, but it would also reduce the jobs created by the economic activity they generate.
In the slave caste there are also legal foreign workers commonly referred to as "guest workers". They do not have the legal right to change employers, which significantly reduces their bargaining power; If their employer treats them badly, their only recourse is to leave the country, and many have incurred a lot of debt to travel and are trapped. Wage rules in guest worker programs often allow employers of guest workers, to pay them a lower wage than the market, which generally matches what they would have earned in their home countries, which have a lower level of life. An Indian worker who is in the United States and is paid $ 2 an hour as in Bombay while living in New York undoubtedly finds himself in a serious distress, for the logical reason that he cannot live in the United States with this kind of salary.
Hubert Marlin
Journalist