Akid and Zdanovska speech at 28 BSPC

Sāra: Good morning ladies and gentlemen! Today we all have gathered here to cogitate and discuss a very challenging topic as it requires using not only our logical thinking and prior knowledge but also empathy towards each other. For introductory purposes my name is Sāra Zdanovska, I come from the Latvian branch of Youth Parliament of Latvia and today holds a special place in my heart as I am exceptionally honoured to stand in front of you all with the wonderful Rama Akid, a refugee from Syria that now lives in Germany and is a youth representative from parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. With that being said we will continue to introduce to you the outcome of our previous discussion about migration and integration from the BSYF in Schwerin this May, where we were able to work in our own working groups and come to a conclusion about our vision of the future for a modern Baltic Sea region.Sāra: Firstly, during our session, we understood that in some way or form we all are migrants ourselves. The process of migration is inevitable and has been happening throughout history, therefor we should realise that being accepting is the only humane path that any one of us can take. At the same time, we should take in to consideration that we can’t act on this issue without a plan nor if we don’t have recourses for these actions, as in the 21st century land is not just something you can stand on, it has historical, political and economic value.Rama: When any discussion is formed, we have to start with the reason behind it. In the case of our event, the reason is quite obviously migration.Why do people leave their own country and choose to start living in another?The answers to this question can be extraordinarily varied. It can be love, education, work. In fact, truly the reason for migrating could be anything. Furthermore, as separate cases are unique, there are different laws in action for each occurrence. Therefore, we can dissect Migration into many parts depending on the circumstances, time or on the Legal status.But as always, of course there is a time limit to our presentation, hence during this small speech I will talk about Migration in EU from my personal point of view and describe positive as well as negative aspects of it.As there are multiple types of migration, this variability gives immigrants more opportunities for staying in EU.For example, if a person is entering the EU with a student Visa and after finishing their studies they are able to find a job and change their residence permit to a work visa the migrant can indefinitely extend his stay in the country he wishes to live in. And even more important is that after a fixed duration and under certain conditions he can then apply for nationality.As a negative aspect I have to mention that local denizens await that the immigrants would be just like them, which I think is unfair and not as simple as these nationally minded people think. In addition, the immigration recognition system is very complicated, which obstructs the professional life for most of the immigrants.Sāra: After comprehending everything that we thought about previously and discussed in the world café, we are ready to express our wishes and recommendations from both of our sides, that we as young people hope will be taken in consideration by the real politicians while building our future. Here are some of the clauses we have come up with:Firstly, we concluded that there is no better way of stimulating integration than making an effort to have both sides work together, just like me and Rama are doing today. We believe that newcomers should be able to politically participate, namely, making their own councils in some of the regions that could work as advisors for the country’s politicians in the matters that concern migration as a whole.Secondly, education is crucial in order to make logical decisions, therefore, we believe that parliaments of countries could use, for example, media, to inform the society about the newcomers, spreading information about where they come from, reasons they come, etc. At the same time, we believe that asylum seekers should know about the place they are going to call their home, at least for some time. Brochures, events or other introductory means made possible by volunteers would most definitely help.Thirdly, desegregation — an action that I personally believe is very effective if understood and used correctly. I have seen it in real life. The idea is that we don’t accommodate all immigrants/migrants in the same place. That way they are forced to talk with locals and integrate in to the societyOur Fourth recommendation regards Involvement of youth councils like student councils in schools, that could help young newcomers integrate by having local “ambassadors” or mentors that voluntarily and personally could guide the immigrants through the rough stages of integrating into a completely foreign culture.Finally, I have to trace back to the beginning and once again highlight the importance of education, however, this time in the context of an education recognition system. We have high hopes to see this system working more efficiently in the future, namely, without obstructing anyone’s professional life by excluding them from working in their professional field, and in the long term reducing a person’s motivation to work, study and integrate into the society.Thank You for your attention!