“This is not the refugee wave we have been used to, people we were not sure about their identity, people with unclear pasts, who could have been even terrorists. In other words, there is not a single European country now which is afraid of the current wave of refugees.”

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov’s quote lays bare one of the essential truths of human mobility:  Some people see certain groups of people as worthy of protection, while others are dismissed or viewed as threats. The wave of people fleeing Ukraine has exposed the double standard of human mobility—not all migrants are perceived equal.

These differences in how people are viewed don’t just impact individual resettlement options; the way migrants are characterized frame larger threat perceptions, reinforcing a certain ‘call to arms’ in response. Speaking in March 2020, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán doubled down on his administration’s xenophobic policies, which increased in popularity as anti-migrant sentiment spread across Europe. “We are fighting a two-front war, one front is called migration and the other one belongs to the coronavirus, there is a logical connection between the two as both spread with movement.”

Leaders across Europe and the United States have seized on these connections between migration and the spread of the novel coronavirus, reinforcing narratives that frame human mobility as a threat, typically with blame falling on those groups already facing discrimination. Such rhetoric often depicts migrants as responsible for increased levels of violence, threats to certain ‘ways of life,’ and economic declines. Orbán’s recent landslide re-election as Prime Minister highlights how this framing can be fodder for political leaders who want to emphasize the divides within society.

Sadly, this language persists despite research demonstrating that the integration of migrants has made cities more resilient and peaceful in the long term, and that human mobility has been a force for human development throughout history. The implications are not to be underestimated.

Narratives of violence and threats

In 1989, there were six border walls worldwide. Today, that number has risen to sixty-three. The Transnational Institute suggests the increased investment in border infrastructure is due to the spread of narratives that reinforce fear—including the claim that “migrants are a threat to a way of life” in particular countries—which perpetuate security-based solutions that actually cause more harm than good.

Dominant stories in Western media tend to focus on a small slice of the global migration pie. These stories predominantly fit one of two narratives: those migrants/refugees who are deemed responsible for social ills, such as violence or unrest, and those migrants/refugees who suffer catastrophic consequences as a result of their movement. The former shapes public opinion through a distorted lens that is not factual, doing grave injustice to the vast majority of peaceful migration that takes place every day. The latter triggers an emotional, pity-type response, removing individual agency and negating the positive benefits of human mobility.

This rhetoric is exceptionally harmful, resulting not only in discriminatory policies, but also instigating physical attacks. In 2019 alone, Germany reported more than 1,600 attacks on refugees and asylum-seekers. In South Africa in 2021, attacks against migrants increased following community meetings blaming migrants for stealing local jobs and increasing crime rates.

The negative light in which migrants are cast does not come from nowhere. All too often they are manufactured by certain individuals to reinforce their own power by manipulating people’s fears. This fear mongering doesn’t only disrupt individual migration outcomes, it also sets the stage for populist leaders to consolidate their power.

Human migration will increase in coming years, in large part as a result of climate change. Without a concerted effort to push back on such fear mongering, we are likely to see increased abuses perpetrated towards migrants, a further increase in populist leaders, and a decrease in human empathy. Thankfully, many are stepping up to the plate.

Taking Action

The vast majority of migrants head towards urban centers. And cities around the world have been effectively absorbing and harnessing the power of human mobility to strengthen communities. In doing so, they also provide laboratories of learning, developing a knowledge base in real time.

At a recent PeaceCon conference, Palermo Mayor Leoluca Orlando said it clearly: “International human mobility is a human right.” Within Palermo, the government promotes a positive narrative, focusing on the social and economic benefits of human mobility to ultimately achieve a safe and resilient city. Beyond Palermo, the Mayor staunchly advocates that cities must have a vocal seat at the table in national and global dialogue regarding migration; city leaders are often the best equipped to find solutions.

In Mechelen, Belgium, home to 87,000 people and more than 70 languages, the city government prides itself on being a leader in Europe’s integration of migrants, placing a specific focus on connecting migrants with city government. In 2014, Mechelen initiated The People Make the City campaign that revealed the faces and stories of residents in a variety of mediums throughout the city. Through podcasts, murals, exhibitions, and street art, residents and visitors can see the faces and learn stories about the people of Mechelen in the public spaces where they are already actively engaged.

The work of the city government in Freetown, Sierra Leone shines a bright spot on internal migration within the African continent. The integration of migrants is a key component of the Transform Freetown initiative, which was first launched in 2018 as part of Mayor Aki-Sawyerr’s efforts to address gaps in the city’s infrastructure related to climate change and increased migration. Through the Mayors Migration Council’s Global Cities Fund for Inclusive Pandemic Response, the city is working on a project that simultaneously integrates migrant youth in informal settlements into city processes, and promotes public health more broadly. In Mayor Aki-Sawyerr’s own words, “urban migration is an opportunity to be realized rather than a challenge to be overcome.”

Beyond individual locales, cities are working together, aligning on crucial collaborations, often more effectively than their respective nation states. City leaders are building global alliances, including Peace in Our Cities, The Global Parliament of Mayors, and C40. These networks are launching joined-up efforts, such as the joint GPM and Peace in Our Cities resolution on reducing violence in cities, to further investments in safe, resilient, and prosperous urban communities.

Why should we care?

According to the United Nations (UN), more people are migrating now than ever before. The World Bank estimates an additional 216 million internal migrants by 2050, unless significant action is taken to curb climate change. This presents an enormous challenge and opportunity for city leaders to build resiliency and adopt more progressive and effective approaches to increased human mobility. Many countries, including the United States, have articulated commitments to climate action, to reduce inequality and violence, and to migrant protections.

We cannot meet these ambitious goals if we don’t address safe and resilient human mobility. The strains on our collective humanity are real—climate change, insecurity, pandemics, economic contraction, and more. Addressing these strains requires a commitment to humanity, to honest discourse, and to rejecting those seeking to consolidate their own power through the misery of others. As we have seen with recent developments from Ukraine, the human spirit is both awe inspiring and vulnerable to bias and fear. Let’s reinforce the former while reforming the latter.