How Refugees Impact Crime Rates and Economy of the Country

Decision making can often times be boiled down to two different categories, Rational level minded decisions and spontaneous emotional decisions. The same can be said about the on-going problem surrounding refugee’s entry into a country. According to the UNHCR refugee agency, a refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. They have a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group, and are Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so. Here in Belize, the topic of refugee is an on-going debate that we cannot seem to find a conclusion to. We are at a standstill on opposite sides of the spectrum. At the start, Belize had a long history of guaranteeing the security of displaced persons and of responding to people fleeing oppression from the 1980s. Following the helping of evacuees with insurance and provisions, mainly resettlement in a number of communities. Belize closed down its shelter assembly at that point in the late 1990s, and was subsequently restored in 2015 (Global CRRF, para. 1). It has then been accepting refugees in small amounts, but if a large wave of refugees were to hit Belize, would we be prepared to handle it? Would we accept them into our country with welcoming arms or would we just build a wall to keep them out? It can then be stated that the purpose of this investigatory essay is to establish the pros and cons of refugee migration into host countries and determine if refugees should be allowed into Belize.

According to numerous researchers, Refugees poses several negative impacts on the social, economic, ecological and infrastructural foundations of a country. When refugees belong to the same ethnic and cultural community as the local population, their plight is often recognized and sympathised. Nevertheless, certain nationalities can be problem due to the fact that here may hostility between the groups. Even if this is not the case, there may be serious barriers to communication and failures in understanding caused by language and/or culture. In certain situations, the presence of one ethnic migrant group may affect the cultural balance of the local population and escalate conflicts (United Nations, 1997, para. 13). There can also be severe differences in religious origin. For example, there are African communities where young girls are still being circumcised on a regular basis. If someone migrated to a nation such as Germany and wanted to practice the art of circumcision then, their actions would most likely be shunned. Another common example is the issue of whether Muslim immigrants are allowed to cover their hair and face, which is banned in France. Currently multiculturalism and immigration now seem to cause more harm than help (Lawniczak, 2016, para. 6). Every culture has a different belief system and different traditions, which in the end can be detrimental for a country if the proper precautions are not taken.

There are have been numerous protest that refugees contribute to the crime rates and security issues within a country. Certain social issues, such as prostitution and alcoholism, are also alleged to have risen in the refugee areas (United Nations, 1997, para. 14). Belize’s credibility as a place of refuge is under threat amid government claims that the new generation of asylum seekers jeopardizes Belize's safety. Crooked security services, international drug cartels and feuding gangs have transformed the region – known as the Northern Triangle – the most lethal countries outside the official zone of conflict. The violence has produced an immigration crisis throughout the country, prompting the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to reopen a Belize office after nearly 20 years ' of absence (Lakhani, 2017, para. 4). Countries that accept refugees must also take into account the fact that they can also accepting the situations the refugee are running from.