CS: Forced Migration (Ukrainian refugees)

Question 1

Characteristics of migration stream

Answer 1

• initially temporary, but has become LT bc war ongoing since Feb 2014
• short distances: most to neighbouring countries bc tend to stop travelling once away from danger (e.g. Poland = host to 1.6M refugees)
• large scale: 8.2M refugees displaced + UK is host to 205,800
• 90% of refugees are women + children bc Ukrainian gov. put a ban (martial law) on all physically fit men (18-60) from leaving country, to be potentially conscripted
• counterstream to make ST visits to see family, collect important documents + check on property

Question 2

Causes

Answer 2

• since Feb 2014: escalation of Russo-Ukrainian War lead to 8.2M Ukrainian refugees across Europe
• conflict caused damage to clean water supplies, electricity, heating + telecommunications
• public services (e.g. schools + hospitals) have been shelled
• shelling of towns + cities (e.g. Kyiv) = civilian + military casualties

Question 3

Economic impacts of migration on Ukraine (Source country)

Answer 3

• loss of educated + skilled adults (brain drain) = lower productivity so dec revenue from income tax
• less eco. benefit for businesses in Ukraine bc refugees spending savings in other countries
• as more Ukrainians gain employment abroad, remittances are sent back to support family members (e.g. 2021: $16.3B sent back)

Question 4

Social impacts of migration on Ukraine (Source country)

Answer 4

• gender inbalance bc most refugees are women
• lower BR + slower pop growth in future bc many female refugees + many males die from conflict
• loss of many young skilled workers (brain drain) = shortage in key social service in future

Question 5

Economic impacts of migration on destination countries

Answer 5

• incurs eco costs from providing refugees w basic services + resources like food, housing, healthcare + education (e.g. Poland spent £6.97B on supporting Ukrainian refugees)
• strain on education services as in 2022, large proportion of refugees were children
• over time + space, if martial law is lifted, more eco active males leaving Ukraine can help benefit labour force (may be hard due to language issues + qualifications in diff education system)

Question 6

Social impacts of migration on destination countries

Answer 6

• refugees may suffer psychological stress from traumatic experiences from conflict = harder to integrate into new community
• in recent yrs, migration streams to Europe have caused tension in local communities (e.g. 2022: 121 attacks on Ukrainian refugee centres in Germany)

Question 7

Evaluation

Answer 7

• mostly neg. impacts in Ukraine + in host countries
• over time + space, refugees may help benefit labour force + economy in host country + neg. social impacts may be reduced/overcome