Aliens

I think I had written about it a long time ago that this tendency of developed nations to refer to outsiders, especially the emigrants from poorer nations looking to migrate or just work, as aliens was very offensive, and at least in my mind, told me that these developed countries minced no words in letting the poor non-white immigrant know that he/she should consider himself/herself lucky to be given this opportunity to go to their developed, advanced country. In my mind, using the word 'alien' at once establishes the notion that the immigrant is different, in a negative way, from the people of the country he/she is going to. But apparently alien is an actual legal term to describe people who are not of legal status in another country, so I could be just being irrational when I say I find the term highly offensive and condescending.

With the way the economic scenario is changing around the world, and as the third world is rising, it was my sincere hope that this equation would change, as better opportunities arose at home, and basically global trade became more equitable. Having spent so many years in the United States, I suppose I can say I have seen first hand how big an issue illegal Mexican immigration is over there, and when I read about this article in the New York Times this morning about how illegal immigration to the US is trickling down due to better conditions at home in Mexico, it only reinforced my belief that these next two decades could be the decades of change that will make the developed world more irrelevant to the developing world (which constitutes most of the world population by the way).

While many Americans go to great lengths deriding the hordes of Mexicans in their country, they tend to keep quiet when it comes to all these Mexicans tending their gardens or building their homes or serving them their fast food at the drive in. Of course, some states such as Arizona have such an "inspired" leadership that they've given their police unprecedented powers to simply check anybody who they believe is an illegal immigrant. So I am not a white or black person and I happen to be walking around in Arizona, the police have every right to stop me because of the colour of my skin. Those who call it an example of ethnic and racial profiling are correct. According to the article, while strong sentiments, enforcement and border sealing is a factor, there is no denying that there are better opportunities for many Mexicans at home, and especially the younger generation which has access to better education and opportunities.

I think this theme is being repeated in many places, including India where the phrase "brain drain" now seems used so long ago. There are more opportunities here, although not as many in comparison to the size of the population chasing them, but there definitely are. India becomes different from the rest of the world, I feel, because it has a huge population, and no matter what one does, it is simply impossible to create millions of good jobs in a year, despite all the increased production and consumption. Thus while I am all for greater economic development in the third world, it does not mean they should not continue pushing for more equality in global trade, which also includes trade in labour.

Joseph Stiglitz had written in one of his books that when it comes to global trade between the developed and the developing economies, while the developed economies have their manufacturing prowess and can flood the developing nations' markets with their goods, the best export for most developing countries, such as Mexico or India, is their people, and this is where developed nations tie themselves up in knots. I think its fairly obvious for most to see that its very easy for people from developed countries to move around the world, especially if they happen to be from a white developed country, while people such as Indians, Chinese, maybe Latin Americans, are always presented difficulties in traveling, lest they immigrate to that country. Work visas for the third world are especially hard to come by in places such as the United States and western Europe, which is quite unfortunate, and just points to that attitude that you are good enough to sell our products and services to, but just not good enough to work in our country and earn in our currency.

I've always ridiculed the double standards of global trade as it stands today, but have also written about how so many third world nations are finally coming out of the economic shadows of the developed nations. There is greater south-south trade, better management of their resources (now a western oil company simply can't come in and take over an oil well after paying off the local rulers/oil companies of the developing nations are in the fray as well), and I suppose just better awareness towards economic management and development. Thus while the North Americans and the Europeans can continue debating (or pretending to debate) this immigration issue, I think the best thing is what is happening already - third world countries beginning to stand up for themselves.