Modern Mobility and Migration

• Lindsey Hilsum with Migrants & Explorers

• Greeting the Boats in Greece

• A Refugee’s Journey to Germany

• Integration, Exploitation & a Ten-Point Plan

• Scots, Poles, Gaels & Geddes

• The Role of Social Media

• Getting Wet in Myanmar

• Shackleton at RSGS

• Reader Offer: Shackleton

plus news, books, and more…

The newsletter of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society

The GeographerWINTER 2015-16

“Slowing migration is an odd goal, if the real problem is global inequality.”Aviva Chomsky

Migration has always been a natural part of life. What is perhaps unusual about modern-day migration is its global reach and complexity.

The rate of human international migration has for the most part stayed steady since WWII, at c3% of the global population. However, the population has nearly trebled since then, so migrant numbers have also increased. According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, there are currently 232 million ‘international migrants’ (c3.3% of the global population). The UN Development Programme has estimated there are additionally 740 million ‘internal migrants’, people moving within a country’s borders (c10.6% of the global population, equivalent to the total population of the EU). So, people are moving – some across borders and even across continents, but most significantly within countries.

However, it is the plight of a relatively small number of international migrants that dominates our headlines. The current migrant crisis is largely born of the desperate concentration of displaced people arriving on the edge of Europe, and in Europe’s disjointed response. According to the UN, 62% of those who reached Europe by boat in 2015 were from Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan, countries being torn apart by war, dictatorial oppression, and religious extremism. The most evident of these is currently Syria. In a country of 23 million people, some seven million are displaced internally, many moving to cities after a recent five-year drought wiped out more than half of the country’s agriculture. A further 4.3 million registered refugees (2.2 million of whom are children) have moved across borders to seek refuge, surviving in the camps that have sprung up, or moving into cities and towns across neighbouring countries. Of these, over one million are in Lebanon and over 600,000 are in Jordan (countries with populations of only four and seven million respectively). The larger neighbour, Turkey, has nearly 2.2 million.

The numbers seeking refuge in Europe reached one million in December. Their plight is being mired in wider political arguments, giving a sense that the immediacy has been overlooked and that many governments have been hesitant and only reluctantly compassionate. Syria has simply collapsed and is clearly not safe. But it is not typical, and there are many motives for people migrating.

A briefing from the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford (Who Counts as a Migrant? Definitions and their Consequences) explains that ‘migrants’ in the UK may be defined by country of birth, by nationality, by length of stay, or even by parentage. Part of the UN definition of a ‘long-term international migrant’ is “a person who moves to a country other than that of his or her usual residence for a period of at least a year”. So, for example, 50% of non-EU and 20% of EU ‘migrants’ in the UK are students.

The response to migration and the current crisis will be influenced by questions of moral responsibility, finance, diplomacy and public opinion. In the short term it is vital that we do not forget basic humanity for those in need. In the long term it is important that we understand the wider context for migration and begin to quantify it to inform our response. However, we need to be clear what the problem is too. As the author Aviva Chomsky wrote, “If our goal is to slow migration, then the best way to do so is to work for a more equitable global system. But slowing migration is an odd goal, if the real problem is global inequality.”

How we choose to respond to issues of migration will begin to answer major questions about the vision for the future world that we want to see. I hope you find this issue informative and thought-provoking. I am grateful for the help of Professor Allan Findlay of the University of St Andrews and to our many contributors.

With best wishes for the New Year ahead.

Mike Robinson, Chief Executive

Charity registered in Scotland no SC015599

The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily

those of the RSGS.

Cover image: © Nicolas Economou

Masthead image: © Nicolas Economou

RSGS, Lord John Murray House, 15-19 North Port, Perth, PH1 5LU tel: 01738 455050 email: enquiries@rsgs.org

www.rsgs.org

The Geographermigration

Mapping migrationWorldmapper uses equal-area cartograms where territories are re-sized on each map according to a particular variable. There are now nearly 700 maps available online at www.worldmapper.org.

Net EmigrationOver half the territories in the world are currently experiencing net emigration (more emigration than immigration). Territory size shows the relative quantity of net emigration from there (data from 2005).

Total PopulationPopulation is very weakly related to land area. India, China and Japan appear large here because they have large populations; some countries with small populations are barely visible. Territory size shows the relative proportion of the world’s population living there (data from 2002).

Round table on land reformRSGS, the Scottish Consortium for Rural Research, and the University of Dundee are together planning a special ‘invitation’ round table event on land use and land reform, to take place at Perth College UHI in January. The intention is to explore “How can the research community best prepare for Land Reform?” and the results will be made available publicly in the spring.

14-WINTER 2015-16

The Geographer 1news

UNHCR Survey ReportThe Mediterranean crossing is treacherous, the risk of drowning is constant. But still they come, day after day, in a fleet of dinghies spilling them onto the shores of Greek Islands near Turkey, almost 800,000 so far in 2015 alone. Most are fleeing the conflict in Syria. Educationally, they are the flower of their country: 86% say they have secondary school or university education. But they carry the wounds of war with them, with one in five still searching for a family member missing in Syria.

These are some of the results of a survey released by UNHCR in December, based on interviews carried out by UNHCR teams in Greece with 1,245 Syrians between April and September. The vast majority (78%) were under 35. Of those questioned, 16% said they were studying before they fled. That was followed by: merchants (9%); carpenters, electricians, plumbers (7%); engineers, architects (5%); doctors, pharmacists (4%). Overall, the profile is of a highly-skilled population on the move.

Almost two-thirds said they left Syria in 2015, most spending less than three months in a third country before crossing the Mediterranean. Only 13% had the necessary documents, and an overwhelming 91% had stayed in private accommodation, with just 3% lodged in camps. The main reasons offered for leaving a third country and crossing the Mediterranean were the difficulties of finding work and fears about security.

As the conflict in Syria approaches the fifth anniversary of its outbreak, most of those landing on European shores said they were hoping to obtain asylum in Germany. The next European country on the list was Sweden. The main reasons given were: family reunification, assistance for refugees, employment possibilities, and educational opportunities.

A UNHCR Winter Crisis appeal is trying to raise funds to help ensure that refugee families are equipped to survive the winter. UNHCR is preparing for the additional challenges of a winter emergency before freezing temperatures grip regions across Europe and the Middle East, exposing millions of the most vulnerable refugees. See www.unhcr.org.uk/Europe for more information and to make a donation.

migration

Holyrood Palace receptionIn October, we were delighted to hold a small reception at Holyrood Palace for a number of special guests, including geographers representing a broad swathe of Scottish public and academic life – government scientists, senior academics, policy makers, school teachers, statutory agency leaders, charity representatives, business people, and RSGS Patron Members, Fellows and volunteers.

Guest of honour was Dr Frederik Paulsen, who received the 2015 Scottish Geographical Medal from our Vice-President HRH The Princess Royal, in recognition of his continued and inspirational role as a champion of cultural and island heritage, polar exploration and environmental projects throughout the world, and as a practical supporter of science and research in a range of critical fields, in particular around the issues of health and population.

Geography AmbassadorsIn December we were happy to meet the first recruits and trainees for a new RSGS Geography Ambassadors pilot project being run in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The project aims to improve the uptake of Geography in schools and universities through interesting and interactive sessions with current Geography students.

Geography Ambassadors has been run south of the border for the past ten years by RGS-IBG, who have lent their support to the pilot project here by providing training materials along with ESRI UK. Rachel Hay (ex RSGS Education Officer) and Addy Pope (ESRI) are the volunteer co-ordinators for the pilot project, and are matching our trainee ambassadors with schools around Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Please contact ambassadors@rsgs.org if you are a Geography teacher in or around Edinburgh or Glasgow and would like to arrange a visit.

mig

ratio

n Technology and migrationTechnology and communications are playing a crucial role in migration and the lives of refugees. According to the UNHCR, asking for wifi access and phone charging stations are often higher priorities than finding food and shelter.

Technology is also improving communications between those trying to help in a crisis. Companies like Google are developing apps that more easily allow the dissemination of information regarding what supplies are needed and where. Along with companies providing solar-powered wifi and phone stations, technology is definitely playing an increasingly substantial role in migration.

Read more about this topic in Daniel McLaughlin’s article on page 8.

Nicolas EconomouMany of the photographs in this edition were taken in Greece by Nicolas Economou, a young geologist, photographer and travel

writer who has already written stories about Greece, Iran, Turkey, Nepal, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Morocco, and Bulgaria. He got in touch with us in August, and we are very grateful to him for providing such vivid first-

hand images of the migrants travelling to and through southern Europe in search of a new life.

We hope to be able to feature more from Nicolas in the future.

2015 in the Fair Maid’s HouseOur visitor centre in the Fair Maid’s House, Perth, enjoyed a very busy 2015. During the year, we welcomed 4,500 visitors, including individuals, various interest groups such as IMCoS, school groups, student groups, and of course the inaugural Geography Day. We also hosted five photographic exhibitions: Scottish Landscapes by Euan Turner, The Tuareg by Henrietta Butler,

Mountains by Alton Byers, Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year, and Stand International’s work in Romania.

We want say a huge ‘Thank You!’ to all of our volunteers who helped us by manning the centre and welcoming visitors –

we are very grateful. Please contact us on 01738 455050 or enquiries@rsgs.org if you would be interested in volunteering for the 2016 season, which will run from early April to late October. And if you haven’t yet visited us in Perth, then please make it one of your New Year’s Resolutions!

WINTER 2015-162

Alexa’s new adventureIn December, we said a fond farewell to Alexa Martin. Having joined the staff team straight from university in June 2014, initially on a three-month contract to support the general running of the office, Alexa then made herself indispensable in several areas of our work, including promoting RSGS activities to the media, organising speakers for our talks programme, co-ordinating volunteer help in the Fair Maid’s House, running

special events, answering general enquiries, and being a friendly face for visitors. Her new adventure is in Japan, where she has gone to work (initially on a three-month contract…) at a ski resort before taking the opportunity to enjoy travelling around and exploring the country. We wish her all the very best.

newsScottish Diaspora TapestryAnne Findlay

The Scottish Diaspora Tapestry project followed in the footsteps of The Great Tapestry of Scotland. It tells of the migration of Scots all over the world, and features the expressions and emotions of those engaged in migrating: the fears, sadness and sense of nostalgia of those leaving Scotland at the time of the Clearances; the challenge and

adventure of others who set up new businesses, ventured to unknown places, and felt that migration gave their life meaning and purpose.

The tapestry features more than 300 panels, grouped geographically, and each celebrating the contribution of a different émigré Scot. An accompanying book includes pictures of each panel, with a short description of the story and people represented. Together, the collection is both a remarkable community project involving hundreds of stitchers from communities in Scotland and abroad, and a valuable insight into migration.

The tapestry is currently on tour in Europe, and will later migrate on to Australia and New Zealand. See www.scottishdiasporatapestry.org for more information.

migration

Former RSGS Director honouredIn November 2015, Professor David Munro, Director of the RSGS 1996-2008, received the insignia of Knight Officer of the Order of St-Charles, the highest honour awarded by the Principality of Monaco, in recognition of his services since 2009 as a member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and as a Director of the Foundation’s branch in the UK.

Un

iversity New

s

Degrees of concernA new fast-track RSE study has calculated that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow at current rates, with no significant action taken by society, then by 2100 global land temperatures will have increased by 7.9°C compared with 1750. This finding lies at the very uppermost range of temperature rise as calculated by the IPCC. It also breaches the United Nations’ safe limit of 2°C, beyond which the UN says dangerous climate change can be expected.

Professor Roy Thompson of the University of Edinburgh, who carried out the study, said, “what is now clear is that society needs to take firm, speedy action to minimise climate damage. With 7.9°C warming on land we would be looking at an entirely different planet.”

visit us in 2016

COP21The Paris Climate Change Conference (COP21) has managed to confirm emissions reductions from more countries, and with more ambition, than ever before. This is positive momentum, but as was widely suspected before it began, it has not been ambitious enough. Commitments on emissions reductions will almost certainly be enough to exceed the preferred maximum 1.5°C to 2°C threshold, and funding commitments fall short of those necessary to encourage developing nations onto a low-carbon trajectory, and to protect those most affected by climate change.

Dave Reay, Professor of Carbon Management & Education at the University of Edinburgh, said, “The overt inclusion of a 1.5°C target is good to see, but it puts the big shortfall in collective emissions reductions into even starker relief. A big disappointment though is the lack of a clear and robust ‘ratchet mechanism’ to ensure all nations regularly revise their targets beyond 2020, based on the best available science.”

Mike Robinson, RSGS Chief Executive, added, “There is still a great deal to do before we get to the sort of low-carbon transformation we so vitally need. Targets though, however stringent, are only that; so we still need the concerted action necessary to see them delivered, if not exceeded, and that will take renewed and continual effort.”

Climate Justice FundIn December, the Scottish Government announced that an extra £12 million would be invested over the next four years to help reduce the impact of climate change on the world’s poorest communities. The Climate Justice Fund has already invested £6 million for 11 projects in four sub-Saharan African countries.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said, “Scotland backs the case for an ambitious agreement at the Paris summit – one which is capable of limiting temperature increases to below 2°C. And we are determined to lead by example – we have some of the most ambitious statutory targets anywhere in the world. But we also know that work needs to happen now. In 2012 we became the first national government in the world to establish a climate justice fund and we have had some fantastic results.”

Welcoming the increase to the Fund, SCIAF’s Director Alistair Dutton said “Climate change is devastating the lives of millions of people in poor countries. Increasingly, unpredictable weather means that families who grow their own food no longer know when to plant. More frequent and severe flash floods and droughts also wipe out their harvests, leaving already extremely poor families hungry and even poorer.”

14-WINTER 2015-16

The Geographer 3news

BitesizeDuring 2016 we will be releasing the findings of our 2015 RSGS Bitesize Project, in which we worked with a consultant (Rachel Nunn) and the 2020 Climate Group to identify those areas in which Scotland’s businesses can play the greatest role in showing leadership in tackling national and global climate mitigation.

Those sectors within the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report which had the greatest potential and relevance to Scotland were in the areas of Agriculture, Forestry & Other Land Use (AFOLU), Transport, Cities, Buildings Performance, Energy, and Industry. Whilst there are a number of measures in each, we have identified those which most pertain to Scottish circumstance or knowledge, and would lead to the greatest potential impact. Internationally, emphasis is on identifying those actions which could be adopted by developing nations, where Scottish leadership example and expertise can make the biggest difference in order to prevent growth in future emissions.

We are planning a full-day event with ECCI in Edinburgh in early 2016 to explain the findings in more detail.

Mrs Ginette BartholomewIn November, we were touched to receive a legacy of £5,000 from one of our longest-standing members, Mrs Ginette Bartholomew, who died in May 2015. The gift, passed on by her eldest son John, was in memory of both Ginette and her late husband, Mr John C Bartholomew, who gave loyal service and support to the RSGS for many years, as Honorary Map Curator, Honorary Secretary, President, Vice-President, and Trustee.

Ginette had been an RSGS member since the 1950s, faithfully attending the Edinburgh talks as well as accompanying her husband to other RSGS events. Her son John said that his mother shared her husband’s passion for the Society, and “really got a buzz from the worldliness of the RSGS.” While we will miss her great charm and friendliness, we are glad to know that she found her RSGS membership so rewarding, and we are very pleased to receive this kind donation from one of our founding families.

If you would like to know more about leaving a legacy to the RSGS, please contact Mike or Susan on 01738 455050.

Some highlights from 2015January: wildlife cameraman Doug Allan received an RSGS Fellowship at his talk in Dunfermline.

April: Euan Turner’s friends brought a stunning exhibition of his photographs to our visitor centre.

April: we presented the Geddes Environment Medal to highly-respected conservationist Dick Balharry at an event in Glenfeshie.

April: Professor Iain Stewart ran a communications training day for young academics.

June: we ran a popular Geography Day event at our HQ in Perth.

July: research carried out with SAGT evidenced concerns about a lack of subject choice in schools.

September: Professor Charles Withers became the first Geographer Royal for Scotland in 118 years.

October: we distributed our careers and subject choice booklet A World of Opportunity at the SAGT conference.

October: HRH the Princess Royal hosted an event at Holyrood Palace at which Dr Paulsen received the Scottish Geographical Medal.

November: Coppock Research Medallist Professor Colin Ballantyne was one of 12 speakers in the first half of the Inspiring People talks programme to get “9/10” or “10/10” from RSGS audiences.

Luke Robertson in AntarcticaRSGS has been playing a small role in supporting Luke Robertson from Angus, who is bidding to become the first Scot and youngest Brit to undertake a solo, unassisted and unsupported expedition to the South Pole. Luke’s mission is even more impressive given that

he recently underwent brain surgery and is using his expedition to raise funds for Marie Curie.

We recently received a message from Luke, sent from his tent in Antarctica, thanking us for our support. Go to duesouth2015.com to follow Luke’s progress and send him a message.

WINTER 2015-164

Felicity Aston Chasing Winter: A Journey to the Pole of Cold

In November 2013, Felicity set off from London with a team of three to chase the onset of winter across Scandinavia and Siberia as far as the Pole of Cold, the coldest inhabited place in the world. Their three-month, 36,000km journey took

them across the Arctic Circle, to the northernmost point in Europe, across a continent and into temperatures of -59°C. Along the way, they collected images, sounds and stories of lives

lived at the extremes, and asked the question “what does winter mean to you?”

11Jan16 in Inverness, 12Jan16 in Perth, 13Jan16 in Stirling

David Baxendale Altai Mountains of Mongolia

Travel photographer David recorded the daily lives of the nomadic groups of the Altai Mountains. He spent three weeks amongst the Kazakhs who have been living in the region since the 18th century, and travelled to other areas where the Kazakhs told him no other foreigner had visited. The result is a stunning collection of images and a unique insight into one of the world’s last true wildernesses.

30Mar16 in Ayr, 31Mar16 in Helensburgh

Derek Casey Cities in Competition: Is Leisure the Defining Factor?

Cities around the world are in competition with each other to attract both people and inward investment. With over 50% of

the world’s population now living in cities, one of the key differentiating factors in attracting

this human and financial capital is leisure, including tourism, sport, culture, festivals and events. Derek will trace the development of leisure from Victorian times, show how it gained hold in the West, and compare with the developing world.

18Jan16 in Kirkcaldy, 20Jan16 in Edinburgh (afternoon) and Glasgow (evening)

Fred Daniels The Next Steps Along the Great Wall of China

Fred Daniels backpacked 3,500 miles across China from Beijing to the Gobi Desert, exploring the ancient history and landscapes of the Gansu province. Following the Great Wall and the Silk Road, he and his wife visited the stunning Danxia landform of the Tibetan Plateau.

17Feb16 in Glasgow (evening)

Prof Dame Anne Glover Title of talk tbc

Formerly Chief Scientific Adviser to the Scottish Government and then Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission, Anne is a distinguished geneticist. At this

event, she will receive an RSGS Honorary Fellowship in recognition of her leadership in the field of scientific advice, and her ability to communicate science to the highest political and decision-making levels.

17Feb16 in Edinburgh (afternoon)

Tim Jarvis Safe Return Doubtful: The Modern-Day Recreation of the Greatest Survival Story of All Time

In 2013, Tim led a team of six men to successfully retrace legendary polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1916 journey of survival in Antarctica. Using the same rudimentary equipment, period clothing and technology as Shackleton, the team sailed a replica James Caird lifeboat 1,500km across the Southern Ocean from Elephant Island to South Georgia, before traversing its mountainous interior. It was the first time that anybody had authentically recreated Shackleton’s ‘double’.

29Feb16 in Aberdeen, 1Mar16 in Dundee, 2Mar16 in Dunfermline, 3Mar16 in Glasgow (afternoon) and Edinburgh (evening)

James Lamb One Scotsman, One Monk, One Remarkable Year

A professional landscape photographer, James has walked and climbed all over the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Nepal. In 2014 he established a trekking agency in the Nepal Himalaya with Tashi Lama, a Buddhist monk. When the first earthquake hit Nepal in April 2015, James was in the Himalaya filming for The Adventure Show. Filming continued when the camera crew and producer accompanied James to see how people featured in the initial programme were rebuilding their lives.

9Feb16 in Perth, 10Feb16 in Stirling, 15Feb16 in Kirkcaldy

Glasgow (afternoon)

Tania Moilanen Reindeer Blood and Games on the ‘Edge of the World’

In early spring, hundreds of nomadic reindeer-herding families travel from far and wide across the tundra to Yamal, Northern Siberia, for the year’s biggest celebration. Reindeer Herders’ Day celebrates the end of winter, a traditional way of life, and the nomadic people’s main source of livelihood: reindeer. In March 2015, Tania was sent by National Geographic magazine to cover this celebration, little knowing that she would come back with tales of deadly rail tracks, forbidden fish, a Persian prince and reindeer sacrifices.

7Mar16 in Inverness, 8Mar16 in Perth, 9Mar16 in Stirling

James Ogilvie Getting High: A World at My Feet

What drives an ordinary Scottish hillwalker to embark on a 20-year odyssey to climb the seven summits? Starting in 1997 with an unlikely Kilimanjaro encounter, James describes his serendipitous mountain adventures across the globe, including Denali, Everest and, in 2015, Antarctica’s Mount Vinson. Experience the lows and highs of a reluctant adventurer, as James describes his infectious passion for high places.

27Jan16 in Ayr, 28Jan16 in Helensburgh

14-WINTER 2015-16

The Geographer 5

Keith Partridge The Adventure Game

Keith has been one of the world’s leading adventure cameramen for two decades; the BAFTA-winning Touching The Void, Beckoning Silence and Human Planet are just some of the films that have taken him to the ends of the Earth. From the caves of Papua New Guinea to the summit of Mount Everest, no location has been too dangerous, no environment too wild, for his daring and consummate artistry.

25Jan16 in Dumfries, 26Jan16 in Borders

Mike Robinson James Croll: Joiner, Janitor, Genius

Mike extols the inspirational life of James Croll, a little-known 19th-century son of a stonemason who, after stumbling upon the monthly Penny Magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, became a voracious reader and self-learner, and went on to make a fundamental contribution

to our current understanding of science and the ice ages. Mike will contextualise Croll’s life with a chronology of ice age thinking.

8Feb16 in Inverness

Prof Iain Stewart Faulty Communications: Living with Istanbul’s Earthquake Threat

Turkey’s North Anatolian Fault is primed for seismic rupture and it is likely that a future destructive earthquake will be within striking distance of Istanbul. How do we prepare a city of over 13 million people for a potential seismic calamity? Or translate our scientific understanding of the earthquake hazard into meaningful preparedness on the ground? Drawing on

examples from Turkey, Japan and Italy, Iain explores the fault lines between reason and faith in communicating to at-risk communities the myth of solid ground.

22Feb16 in Dumfries, 23Feb16 in Borders, 24Feb16 in Ayr, 25Feb16 in Helensburgh

Dale Templar The People of Human Planet

Dale and her team spent four years making Human Planet, travelling to 75 of the most remote and extreme locations on Earth to meet and film some of the most incredible people on the planet. She will show clips and reveal some of the incredible and often heart-warming behind-the-scenes stories from the making of the double BAFTA and Emmy award-winning TV series produced at the world-famous BBC Natural History Unit.

1Feb16 in Aberdeen, 2Feb16 in Dundee, 3Feb16 in Dunfermline, 4Feb16 in Glasgow (afternoon) and Edinburgh (evening)

Jasper Winn A Wintery Walk: 500 Miles from Munich to Paris

A combination of season and route created a genuine slow adventure in the heart of modern Europe, with the trip made more challenging by sleeping outdoors each night, tent-less and using bushcraft for comfort and survival. We may think we know the countries of Europe well, but Jasper found himself on a voyage of discovery and surprises.

11Jan16 in Aberdeen, 12Jan16 in Dundee, 13Jan16 in Dunfermline, 14Jan16 in Glasgow (afternoon) and Edinburgh (evening)

Grant Young New Zealand South to North

Grant cycled from the southern tip of South Island to the northern tip of North Island, and back again! Travelling west and east, he saw virtually all aspects of the country’s wonderfully varied scenery and culture: rivers and glaciers, majestic peaks and passes, rolling beaches and soaring cliffs, volcanoes and geysers, steaming mud pools, lakes and offshore islands.

14Mar16 in Kirkcaldy, 16Mar16 in Edinburgh (afternoon) and Glasgow (evening)

Inspiring People 2015-1

6

In the second half of the

2015-16 programme, we

are delighted to welcome

more inspiring speakers

with their fascinating stories

of adventure, science and

imagination.

Unfortunately, James

Ogilvie is no longer able

to speak to audiences in

Dumfries (28 March 2016)

and the Borders (29 March

2016); we will advertise

details of a replacement

speaker as soon as possible.

Mobility is ‘here to stay’Professor Allan Findlay, Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews

WINTER 2015-166

The bodies of drowned children washed on to Mediterranean beaches following the sinking of small overloaded migrant boats, the erection of new barbed wire fences along many of Europe’s southern and eastern borders, the reappearance of border guards on cross-border trains into Germany, and the heated exchanges between European leaders on the issue of immigration are all images of the ‘migrant crisis’ of 2015. Sadly the modern state has not adapted well to the population mobilities of the 21st century.

In a globalised world, population mobility is multi-causal. It demands sensitised policies differentiating economic migrants, international students, refugees, asylum seekers and many other kinds of mover. Mobility researchers have long shown that these different categories are interlinked and that the categories are far from unproblematic. Yet recognition of the different drivers of mobility seems scarcely to have entered the rhetoric of many politicians whose interests lie elsewhere. Hopefully this edition of The Geographer goes some way towards illustrating the diverse drivers producing contemporary mass migration, as well as towards understanding something of the complexities of how best to engage positively with emerging migration issues.

Most European politicians, while no doubt well-informed by the academic community, have their eye on the large proportion of their electorates who cling to the view of space and place as fixed assets, and a view of state boundaries as defendable lines which need to be re-enforced to exclude the ‘other’ from the resources of the state and to prove the legitimacy of the state in protecting citizens from threats such as international terrorism. Over most of the last century, with rising inequalities between states, it appears that many of those who are internationally mobile and seeking work or sanctuary in states other than that of their birth have faced powerful resistance from those who feel threatened by the external forces driving change.

International mobility is not new. Scotland in particular has a long and proud history of emigration, and its economy benefits richly from the return tourism arising from the Scottish diaspora. Contemporary international mobility is, however, very different from the past. The intensity of connection with many different parts of the globe is greater. Political systems have increasingly differentiated human

mobility, forcing it into diverse categories in relation to national policies on immigration and citizenship. And the people who are involved (both in moving and in hosting migrants) have different capacities and expectations of what migration and mobility mean. For example, those who are mobile have access to transnational networks empowering them to achieve their ambitions. It is not only the transnational corporations of the 21st century that have overcome the nation state’s ability to harvest taxes from economic flows, but also the smartphone-holding transnationals who have the capacity and flexibility to outwit the lumbering indecision of weakened systems of state governance. Transnational communities now have the capacity to quickly circumvent the state, simply moving to other frontiers and new entry routes, and informed minute by minute by transnational community members on both sides of the boundary line about how to re-position themselves. The effect of tighter border controls and restrictive immigration policy (which have largely proved ineffective) has often simply been to render migrants ‘illegal’ or ‘irregular’.

Mobility is ‘here to stay’. Researchers have long shown that international migration is only a small part of the much wider set of mobilities pervading contemporary society. In virtually every walk of life, global mobility has been increasing. For example, the search for world-class educational credentials has seen an ever-rising number of students moving abroad to study. And these educationally-linked movers are seldom permanent in their intention. Short-term objectives of studying in another country have been shown to be part of life-mobility aspirations, with study in one place being a trampoline to onward or return movement in order to achieve life objectives that have been mapped out against a perceived world of opportunity. In this tweeting internet age, young people from around the world are now informed of the trajectories offered by transnational living. The mobility revolution of the 21st century is here to stay, in the sense of mobility culture being an enduring feature of our increasingly diverse, globally interconnected society.

Some articles in this edition of The Geographer tackle the policy dimensions of contemporary mobility, and some of these ask important questions about the local impact of migration. The research produced by geographers on this topic is inadequately celebrated by the press, yet there is

clear evidence that some communities are better placed than others to receive migrants, and that local government has an important role to play in achieving positive outcomes, both in terms of the experience that migrants encounter during their early months and years in a new community, and in terms of the potential positive benefits that migration offers to the wider populations of places hosting new immigrant groups.

And what of the future? The future always holds many uncertainties and nowhere is this more evident than in relation to migration. International migration is renowned for being more difficult to forecast than other demographic processes such as fertility and mortality. Nevertheless, the research literature helps us to recognise short-, medium- and long-term drivers of change. In the short run we know that, during recession, residential and short-distance mobility declines. Moreover, an ageing society such as the UK or Germany will have lower residential mobility. Over the medium term, the historical record shows us that surges of asylum seekers and refugees are associated with periods of great political uncertainty, such as occurred after the break-up of the Soviet Union and the era of political adjustment that followed in a large number of states around the world. And we are caught in a new phase of international instability associated with the conflicts that have followed the war in Iraq and the turmoil that flowed from the Arab Spring. These drivers of major population displacement show no sign of weakening at present, but they will not last indefinitely. Regrettably, there are many future political uncertainties that could produce even more serious population displacements in the decade ahead. Not least of these is the prospect of nation states undermining the political certainties offered by the European Union.

In the long run, trends in international mobility seem almost certainly to be upwards. This will be driven above all by the

rising geographical inequalities between countries. In an age of global media, awareness of social, economic and political inequalities around the globe has never been so great, and transport technologies have never been so effective in enabling human mobility. These contingent circumstances seem sure to combine to produce ongoing demand for human mobility.

It is in this context that managed migration policies remain an important goal in all social democracies. Good governance

requires that states not only devise policies to manage ‘mobility’ in such a way as to allow receiving areas time and resources to adjust to the opportunities and challenges presented by immigration, but also

persuade long-term residents that population mobility is a healthy part of living in a global economy. States that succeed will prosper since mobility is here to stay. Those that fail and simply seek to close frontiers and detain illegal migrants will appear in the history books as the King Canutes of our age.

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The Geographer 7

“Awareness of social, economic and political inequalities around the globe has never been so great.”

All images © Nicolas Economou

In the fields and orchards on the border between Serbia and Hungary, groups of refugees and migrants huddle in the shade and wait for a chance to dash over the frontier into the European Union, where they hope a safe and prosperous future awaits.

Ramiz (20) from Afghanistan is not the oldest member of his group, but his smartphone and online social network make him a typical leader in this great, modern migration, in which technology and the ability to use it play key roles.

“The last group didn’t make it,” he mutters, studying and swiping the screen of his phone. They had left only a few minutes earlier for the ditch, lined with razor wire on the Hungarian side (which marks the border) and had not returned. So how did he know they had failed to make it across?

A member of that group, even while being confronted by Hungarian border police, had fired off a quick message to give Ramiz the news containing the time and GPS co-ordinates for the exact spot where he took it. “This is how we travel,” he smiled. “How do you think we got here?”

Through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, hundreds of thousands of migrants making for western Europe now rely on smartphones and social media to avoid police, find ‘safe’ people smugglers and accommodation, and follow the latest news.

“In each country they get contact numbers for people who – for a price – can help them continue their journey,” said Zsuzsanna Zsohar, a volunteer working with refugees and migrants in Hungary. “They know everything before they get here,” she said at Budapest’s Nyugati train station, where many gather to get help from volunteers and arrange onward travel – by train, bus or with people smugglers. “From social media they know where to connect to free wifi, where to sleep and eat and change or receive money. They know better than the locals.”

Facebook pages contain reams of queries about the best way to cross certain borders, where to find reliable and preferably cheap people smugglers, and advice on what, where and who to avoid on the long journey north. Despite the dangers of using people smugglers, many migrants seek out their services in a bid to reach Germany, or another country where they want to settle, without being caught, registered and fingerprinted by police in the Balkans or Hungary.

Not all migrants have smartphones and virtual, online lives, however: Syrians tend to have the most money and best kit on the Balkan route, while Afghans, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Eritreans and Somalis are among the poorest, and their journeys are usually the slowest and toughest, with little help from internet resources.

When thousands of migrants gathered last week at Budapest’s main train station, where Hungarian police barred them from trains to western Europe, dozens of television crews and satellite trucks quickly gathered. Migrants quickly hooked

up extension cords to the electricity feeds of the high-tech trucks, and scores were soon crouched and seated around the vehicles, charging their phones for free, checking social media and following the squabbles of the EU and Hungary over what best to do with them.

On Friday, tension built at three flashpoints in Hungary: Budapest’s main train station; a migrant holding camp in Röszke near the Serbian border; and at Bicske, some 35km outside Budapest, where hundreds of migrants refused to leave a train they thought would go to Austria but instead delivered them to a camp.

In mid-afternoon, hundreds packed up at the Budapest station and set off down Hungary’s main motorway towards Austria, leaving police powerless; at about the same time, migrants at Bicske left the train after 24 hours and, in defiance of police, walked westwards down the railway line. In Röszke too, migrants clashed with police and some briefly fled, before being caught and brought back.

These mass ‘break-outs’ appeared to be co-ordinated; at the very least, the actions of one group were surely influenced and emboldened by those of another – a result of their constant, high-speed, online interconnectedness.

Previous generations of police held a huge advantage over crowds they sought to control in the speed at which they could communicate and co-ordinate action; that advantage has been all but lost to these smartphone-wielding migrants with fast internet, large networks of contacts, and free, or very cheap, wifi.

Every evening now, as dusk falls across the Balkans, thousands of people, thousands of miles from home, are being guided to what they hope will be a bright future, by the glow of Google Maps on the phone-cum-computer in their hands.

Social media and migrationDaniel McLaughlin, Correspondent for Central and Eastern Europe, The Irish Times

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“His smartphone and online social network make him a typical leader.”

This article is extracted with permission from Daniel McLaughlin’s original article for The Irish Times, published on 9 September 2015.

© Nicolas Economou

The flows of people moving into Europe in recent months pose a profound challenge to our governments and our societies – even more profound than has been appreciated hitherto. The first response in humanitarian terms has to be one of making sure that we live up to our obligations to welcome genuine refugees, and treat people fleeing for their lives with basic decency. European governments have not always lived up to that so far, with a few exceptions, notably Germany. The reception arrangements in Greece, Italy and elsewhere must be adequate to deal with the numbers arriving. Those moving on have to have shelter and other fundamental needs met, not least the most vulnerable. Those arriving in their country of destination must be given what they require to survive, to start the process of applying for long-term status, and to begin the long haul of integration.

We also have to step up aid efforts to enable those still living around Syria to stay where they are if they wish, and to help countries like Lebanon and Jordan to cope with the extraordinary burden they have faced for the last four years. That will not stop many trying to leave, as they give up hope of returning to a normal life in Syria, but it can certainly help. Above all we have to increase the diplomatic momentum of the search for a political settlement in Syria, and surrounding countries.

However, I believe we know already that none of this will be enough in the short or even medium term to deter those searching for a better life in Europe (who, ironically, outnumber massively those going in the other direction to fight for Islamic State). I also believe we know, if we are honest, that whatever we try to do to sort out genuine refugees from economic migrants, even from among the Syrians, never mind others such as Afghans or Eritreans, is going to be extremely difficult. And I believe that once people have reached Europe, sending them home again will be almost impossible in many cases, because of the sheer difficulty of finding them, the inability or unwillingness of their countries of origin to take them back, and the sheer inhumanity of returning people to the miseries they have just fled.

This brings us hard up against the political reality. Germany may have to deal with one million refugees/migrants this year, with the prospect of even more next year. Chancellor Merkel has asserted that Germany can manage. Economically this may be true – there is a demographic need for more workers and the expenditure on their

integration will be compensated for by the boost to GDP and extra tax revenues. These people want to work, and are often well-qualified.

The politics is much more difficult. Populism is on the rise in many parts of Europe. Worries about integrating so many people of a different culture and religion are near the surface. Fears that the refugees may have been infiltrated by jihadists have been accentuated by the dreadful attacks in Paris on 13 November. How can we avoid a backlash which threatens our openness and our values?

The reality is that this backlash may be more dangerous if our politicians do not find some way of at least slowing down the flow and sending a message that illegal immigration cannot be tolerated indefinitely. But how exactly are we to secure the external borders of Europe without resorting to methods we would abhor and criticise if used by others? How are we to look the countries around Syria in the eye and urge them to keep their borders open if we are closing ours? How can we preserve the freedom of movement around Europe we prize so much while not allowing this to be abused? How do we prevent more millions in the Middle East and North Africa region, living in precarious and hopeless circumstances, from following the example of those already in Europe?

There are no easy answers. Humanitarians do themselves no favours if they pretend these fears do not or should not exist. Scaremongers can too easily encourage xenophobic reactions. We certainly need ways of allowing legal and controlled entry for those genuinely in fear of their lives, and much better policies in the region. But beyond that lies a terrible balancing act for our political leaders to manage this growing crisis with sense and sensitivity. They deserve our understanding and our support, as long as they do not sacrifice our values and our principles in the process.

Migration into Europe: calibrating the responseSir John Holmes, Director, The Ditchley Foundation, and formerly Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordinator at the United Nations, New York (2007-10)

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The Geographer 9

“How are we to look the countries around Syria in the eye and urge them to keep their borders open if we are closing ours?”

© Nicolas Economou

© Nicolas Economou

First steps in EuropeApril Humble

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I have spent many a night staring into that dark Aegean ocean, watching the velvety soft black waves and the shimmering lights of that distant country, Turkey. As I stand there, I know there is every chance people are dying a silent and helpless death in front of me, as the ocean and their pathetic boats defeat them.

I know death and what she can bring. But I never knew nor imagined the petrifying darkness of it happening in front of me, every day.

So, I stand quietly, waiting for the boats to come; the only thing you can do, helping those that make it across alive.

Through the darkness I hear voices by the water. I walk, and then run towards them as the adrenaline takes over. Limbs and children and bags and men and women stumbling over each other, lit up by the light from their smartphones.

Startled faces, scared and traumatised-looking; and grinning faces, unbelievably joyous and celebratory; and faces filled with relief that they are on dry land and safe.

They hold on to their families and friends, all cold, wet and shocked from the crossing, but buzzing too much with adrenaline to be tired. Even in those for whom the relief is so evident, there are scars of fear still visible in their faces. Our first priority is to make sure everyone is OK, see how many children there are, and other vulnerable people who might need attention. We then begin to make our way to the port, where hundreds of refugees are already settled.

Where have you come from? “Syria”, “Pakistan”, ”Iraq”, “Afghanistan”, “Iran”. Initial introductions are often short, as people nervously take their first steps on these infamous shores of Europe. The stories of why they are here often come later, if they do at all. These reasons that push people to make this hazardous journey are so fundamental to them, to their life-narratives; and yet so incredibly painful. “ISIS cut my cousin’s head off, so it was time to go.” “Barrel bombs were falling from the sky.” “Extremists were shooting at us.” “The American bombs were killing us.” “My village was razed to the ground.” Everyone has a story to tell.

Working with refugees, the reality hits me harder than ever of the collective injustice, pain and darkness that goes on in this world, a realisation I’m not sure will ever leave me.

We reach the port as the sun is rising. The swell of new

migrants from last night is immediately obvious. We walk past some young lads. “Sister, shoes?” one barefoot young man directs towards me bashfully as we move towards the tents. “T-shirt?” says another who is clearly soaked through. Another boy signals that the youths’ boat capsized and they swam here. I look around at the many more who arrived last night. There will be many that need dry clothes and attention.

I tell the new arrivals that food and water will come soon, and they should find a place to settle here. And so my day begins. Off to get new shoes, before helping with the morning shift of lunch preparation and water distribution.

The needs here are endless. Many people are told they must leave their bags before getting on the boat, so that the smugglers can fit more people in. What bags there are, are often the first to go overboard if the boats are too heavy. The men always need shoes, and then there are new clothes needed for all those that arrive wet (which is most), and nappies and wet wipes, and rucksacks, sleeping bags, tents and jackets… These are just the material needs. There is also work required in helping people sort tickets to Athens, telling people how to register at the police station, identifying people who need to see a doctor, and assisting those who have lost family members or friends on the way. A lot of time too can be spent helping people charge their phones here. Mobile phones are of critical importance, allowing people to call their families to say that they are safe; and that they have made the crossing to Europe alive.

Considering it all, the resilience of these people is really striking. Sitting on foreign lands, leaving all they have behind and trekking across countries and continents to then be smuggled on flimsy boats in the night… Yet they complain little. They just ask for what they need and no more. They know after all, that this is only one step in their long journey to safety, to security, to peace.

All images © Nicolas Economou

“Everyone has a story to tell.”

In June 2015, I met three explorers. Unlike the adventurers of yesteryear they had not been garlanded for bravery nor admired for being intrepid. In fact, after crossing the Sahara, they had been imprisoned in the Libyan port city of Misrata.

“The desert is the most painful journey,” said Bubakar Sanneh, a young man from Gambia. “It takes a week and anyone who crosses is between life and death. You see so many graves in the desert, marked with stones.”

“One thing that scared me was the dry bones,” said Wisdom Okeke, a Nigerian. “Are they donkeys or camels starved of water? Or something else?”

Yonatan Yohannes, from Eritrea, listed the countries through which he had journeyed: Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, back to Sudan. His voice tailed away. “If Europe is no good, maybe I’ll try America,” he said.

They, along with another 560 men, had been detained by the Libyan coastguard while trying to cross the Mediterranean in rickety boats. By October 2015 an estimated 140,000 people had made the journey to Italy or Malta by this route. Nearly 3,000 perished at sea. The three men were determined to have another go. What, after all, was the alternative now they had come this far? They said guards frequently beat prisoners, and life on the outside, in a Libya wracked by civil war, was impossible. And how should they return with no passports? Back across the Sahara? The only way was forward.

Bubakar and Wisdom would normally be categorised as economic migrants, travelling to find a better life. Yonatan might qualify as a refugee because he was fleeing indefinite military service, imposed by the Eritrean government. Few would think of them as latter-day explorers in the tradition of Mungo Park, who traced the course of the River Niger in the 1790s, or Michael Asher who travelled west to east across the Sahara by camel in 1986. Nonetheless they had comparable tenacity, adventurous spirit and thirst for knowledge. And they were travelling similar difficult, dangerous routes, albeit frequently in the opposite direction, on a journey of discovery, marked by pitfalls and potentially fatal obstacles.

What impels people to travel? “All of us have yearnings in our heart,” said Wisdom. He wanted to find a wife and a job, to settle in what he thought would be a better place. Bubakar had failed to get work in Gambia and had decided – apparently arbitrarily – to set off for Finland in the hope of being accepted at a university. Yonatan talked of freedom and becoming a doctor.

Two months later, Wisdom and Bubakar contacted me from Zuwara, further west along the Libyan coast. They had escaped and were trying to get on a smuggling boat. I did

my best to dissuade them, on the grounds that they might drown. Bubakar replied, by email: “I have no other choice but to cross to Europe for a better life. or did u got any plan to help change my life without crossing the medeterian? I got no helper Lindsey, and am the only hope of my parents.”

It is a point many young African men might make. In the 2015 summer of migration, more than a million people walked, sailed and drove into Europe. The Syrians, fleeing a seemingly never-ending conflict, could expect to be accepted as refugees. There is less sympathy

for those who leave home because education has raised their expectations beyond the possibilities of their country’s faltering economy or corrupt government. Young African men like Wisdom and Bubakar are at the bottom of the hierarchy of desperation.

In September, Yonatan’s brother emailed me to say that he had added Italy and Germany to the list of countries he had travelled through, and was now in a refugee centre in Stockholm where they had a sister. A few days later I learnt that Bubakar had made it to Sicily, while Wisdom was in a Red Cross refugee facility in Livorno.

The explorers had reached their destination – the question now was whether they would be allowed to stay, and whether any would realise the dreams they had nurtured as they looked out through bars of the Misrata Detention Centre.

Migrants and explorersLindsey Hilsum FRSGS, International Editor, Channel 4 News

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The Geographer 11

African migrants at Misrata Detention Centre. © ITN News

Yonatan Yohannes at Misrata Detention Centre. © ITN News

“’All of us have yearnings in our heart.’”

All images © Nicolas Economou

There is a crisis of immigration and refugee policy across the western world. From New Zealand with its tiny quota of resettlement, to Australia where the setting aside of the Refugee Convention and turning back of the boats has been the main pillar of the Government, to Europe where fences are being erected as bodies wash up on the shores, and finally to the US where state after state has announced it won’t take refugees in the wake of the Paris attacks. Countries made through migration over the centuries seem intent on their own unmaking.

The failure of the richest countries in the world to plan and act according to the treaties and conventions to which they have long been signatories is staggering. The size of quotas contemplated in these countries are minuscule compared to the numbers being taken in by countries who are not bound by such conventions but have millions of displaced people often living in abject poverty in their midst. The failure of the richest countries to act in accordance with the standards they purport to require of the rest of the world is breath-taking. The speed at which xenophobic policies can take hold, fanned by politicians who resolutely ignore the repeatedly desperate calls from UNHCR for action which will alleviate the humanitarian crisis, is cruel and unusual.

It is easy, however, to engage in critique and far harder to find concrete steps which could bring relief to the immediate suffering, and work longer term to enable human dignity for those who treaties say have a right to protection. The following points are some measures which could make a difference.

1) Uphold the binding obligations, signed up to by member states, of the European Union and Council of Europe: “The Purpose of the Directive is to establish minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons from third countries who are unable to return to their country of origin and to promote a balance of effort between member states in receiving and bearing the consequences of receiving such persons.”

2) Related to this, cease the practice which is dominating summits, of what Elaine Scarry calls ‘emergency thinking’. Since 9/11, governments have set aside the democratically-agreed directives designed precisely for use in times of crisis. Instead they have invented rafts of ill-thought-through, politically-motivated and oft-times dangerous ‘emergency measures’ which have not been subject to the same democratic scrutiny as existing directives and articles. The war on Iraq would be one such example. Instead, take the time to abide by the laws made most especially for times such as these, to help us when emotions run high, when many lives are in danger.

3) Put human protection and humanitarian action first, and border protection second. Flip the budgets on border protection in favour of human protection. The number of bodies washing up on the shores of Europe is in inverse proportion to funding of rescue missions. There must be co-

ordinated action. At present this is largely being undertaken by aid and humanitarian agencies which have been stretched beyond breaking point, and by volunteers, civil society organisations, local communities and individuals who cannot stand by and allow the present situation to continue. This is where the people are leading and the politicians are largely wandering aimlessly looking for anything but solutions which will protect the most vulnerable.

4) Bring women with experience of working in peace and humanitarian contexts into the leadership of the responses to the crisis. Across the world and throughout research into conflict transformational approaches which succeed, it is clear that it is women’s ways of working which bring relief and change.

5) Ensure that decisions about people’s futures are taken by people most affected, following the maxim of the Poverty Truth Commission in Scotland that ‘Nothing about us, without us, is for us’. Until refugee policy and decisions about actions are taken with refugees in the room, and with their deep understandings based on experience being embedded through their participation, then any approach will be a) partial and b) inadequate to the situation.

6) Make profiteering from border technologies, detention facilities and, of course, the arms trade, illegal. Until the profits of war are replaced by the profits of actions for peaceful co-existence and intercultural relations, there can be no solution to the immigration policy crisis in the West. Follow the money to discover where the vested interests in both the perpetuation of the human suffering and the wars in the Middle East are presently held. Seize the assets of those companies.

7) Cease the policies of diversity stagnation. This is the road to ruin. Migration is necessary for healthy, thriving, creative communities forged through difference, if this is done with equity and through mutual understanding.

8) Embed intercultural education and education for nonviolence in the curricula of all schools. Practical work from grassroots communities in post-conflict situations around the world demonstrates clearly how people who have hated each other until death can find ways of living together.

9) Don’t over-think relations between refugees and others as more complicated than they need to be. People are people the world over, with lives, and loves, and patterns of habits and likes and dislikes. There are those who err and those who contribute greatly. This is the way of the world and of work, and making it out to be hard to relate to people from our own experience is a fallacy.

10) Be changed by relationships. It is not true that people who do not look like us or speak like us are to be feared. It is true that we need to do the work of hospitality and understanding. Do this by actively going out of your way to engage in conversation and build relationships with those you meet. The Congolese refugees resettled to Scotland spoke to the Refugee Integration Forum of the attitude which is one of the roots of racism: “you are stingy with your language, you do not speak to us in the street.” Stingy indeed – the richest countries in the world need to learn again about neighbourliness, and the refugees amongst us are precisely the people to begin with.

Then see what happens next.

The crisis in policy in the rich worldProfessor Alison Phipps, Professor of Languages and Intercultural Studies, University of Glasgow, and Co-Convener of Glasgow Refugee Asylum and Migration Network

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“We need to do the work of hospitality and understanding.”

© Nicolas Economou

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The Geographer 13

We know from watching our TV screens that conflict and war often lead to migration. The early days of the Second World War were no different. In September 1939 Poland was invaded by Germany from the west and the Soviet Union from the east. After the fall of Poland, considerable numbers made their way first to France and then to Britain to continue the fight. In October 1940 the Polish Army in Scotland took over the defence of a large section of the Scottish east coast from Burntisland to Montrose. The HQ of the 1st Polish Corps was established at Moncreiffe House, Bridge of Earn, and many other country houses and properties in the area were given over to the use of the Polish Army. In Perth the Pullars’ dye works at Tulloch were requisitioned by the Secretary for War for this purpose. In the archives of Perth Town Council are a number of reminders of this period, not least the registers containing the names of the Polish soldiers buried at Jeanfield Cemetery, 1940-1948.

Lord Provost Robert Nimmo and Perth’s councillors were anxious to foster good relations with the Polish allies and very soon a number of social events were organised. Records of the administration of these survive in committee files. In the local press there was plenty of coverage of the high-profile visits to the area by President Raczkiewicz and General Sikorski, Polish commander-in-chief and prime minister of the government-in-exile, who came to award the Virtuti Militari to troops that had distinguished themselves during the German invasion of Poland. Cultural and social connections were also made by the general public, and there are references to concerts, sporting events and even to meetings between British and Polish Boy Scouts. In March 1941 the first photograph of a wedding of a Perth woman and a Polish soldier appeared in the Perthshire Advertiser. More such marriages featured over the coming months.

Although Scotland was a predominantly Protestant nation there was a certain fascination with the Catholic rituals of the Polish troops. In June 1941 an open-air mass was held on Perth’s North Inch, believed to be the first since the Reformation. The Perthshire Advertiser had a big feature on this and the procession that preceded it and the demonstration of folk dances by Polish girls that followed.

General Sikorski paid an official visit to the City Chambers in Perth on 7 August 1941, and subsequently agreed to the presentation of a set of trumpet banners to his troops featuring the Polish eagle on one side and the double-headed eagle of the city of Perth on the other as recognition of “their keenness, soldierly appearance and excellent behaviour” which had much impressed the citizens of Perth.

As the war progressed, many of the Poles left to fight in mainland Europe, but a presence was maintained at places like Taymouth Castle, Kenmore, which remained as a Polish military hospital until 1947. At the cessation of hostilities, Polish personnel were faced with the dilemma of whether to return to a Soviet-dominated homeland or try and make a new life in Britain. Their continued presence was not universally popular, as they were seen as competition for employment. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin urged them to return to Poland. Many chose to remain and join the Polish Resettlement Corps, which helped them to improve their English and acquire skills for future employment. Some then chose to return to the east of Scotland where they had received such a warm welcome in 1940. (Perhaps the most famous migrant was Private Wojtek, the bear cub picked up by Polish troops in Iran, who saw out his days at Edinburgh Zoo).

After Poland joined the EU in 2004, a number of its citizens moved to Scotland to work. In Perth & Kinross they certainly constitute a significant grouping, meriting a particular mention in the 2011 census with the 2,244 persons born in Poland constituting 1.53% of the total population of 146,652. It would be interesting to find out whether this earlier connection played any part in their choice of destination. The generation of 1940 is almost gone, but their time in the east of Scotland is marked by the many plaques on public buildings and particularly the memorial at Jeanfield Cemetery, Perth:

ETERNAL GLORY

TO THE POLISH SOLDIERS

WHO DIED IN

1939-1945

FOR OUR FREEDOM AND YOURS

Polish migration to PerthshireSteve Connelly, Archivist, Perth & Kinross Council

General Sikorski on his official visit to Perth in 1941.

“The Polish Army in Scotland took over the defence of a large section of the Scottish east coast.”

10th April 2015

The stationmaster seems used to quirky foreigners asking to ride the Circular Railway, a three-hour journey around the outskirts of the old colonial capital of Yangon. He asks our nationality and either mishears or misunderstands, and scribbles ‘Germany’ on the ticket before handing it over. The train grumbles as it ambles along, occasionally picking up some speed and aggressively bouncing on the tracks. Leaving the city, the landscape quickly fades to silt house villages culminating in a market shaded beneath parasols of primary colours, before the train curves back towards the city. Any dry ravine or abandoned rice paddy is choked in plastic trash; the result of woven baskets being replaced by layers of packaging, and the lack of any sanitation infrastructure. A monk boards the train and tries to communicate with us. As we have no common language, he uses gesture to indicate that he is on his way to pray.

14th April 2015

Inle Lake is rich in agriculture, the produce varying depending on the proximity to the lake: furthest away are potatoes, then sugar cane, rice and finally tomatoes, grown on floating gardens on the lake itself. Fish are sold flapping about on palm leaves in local markets, desperately flexing their gills for their dying breaths. Inle Lake is on the main tourist circuit including Mandalay, Bagan and Yangon, and is a well-oiled tourist machine, albeit incredibly friendly and polite. Boatmen drive tourists and Myanmars around in motorised longboats; a wave from one boat is sincerely reciprocated, a recurring theme throughout Myanmar. People easily erupt into beautiful smiles and enthusiastic waves; intimidating moody teenage boys in trendy jeans and hoodies respond with grins and shouts of “hallo!”

18th April 2015

It’s seven in the morning but the sun is already fierce. We have walked away from the main boisterous road along a white sandy path and it is not long before we reach a temple, then another and another, a valley of dusty red brick temples rising like pyramids. There are over 2,000 of them, the majority still working temples, visited by pilgrims and tourists alike.

It is the Water Festival, or the Buddhist New Year. Along the main roads, makeshift stages are loaded with speakers while gangs of cheerful (and sometimes drunk) men have an arsenal of water hoses, buckets and water guns at their disposal to drench any passer-by on foot, motorcycle, car or horse carriage. Tradition sees young girls rounded up in open trucks and driven from stage to stage to be cleansed of their ‘sins’. They don’t appear to especially enjoy it, but it seems that Myanmars display a mixture of pure enjoyment and polite endurance of the festival. It seems it is incredibly rude to refuse a drenching, although elderly people are granted respect by having cups of water dribbled down their back. Foreigners are the ultimate prize, and there is no holding back.

MyanmarRea Cris

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The Geographer 15

“People easily erupt into beautiful smiles and enthusiastic waves.”

22nd April 2015

It is day two of our three-day Chin State trek, through mountains that form the tail end of the Himalayan range. We’ve become accustomed to the thinner air, although our local guide has no idea what we’ve been complaining about. I’m following him along a little goat trail hidden by tall grass, listening to him sing. The women of these tribal villages still maintain the tradition of tattooing their faces, and the skulls of sacrificial animals are proudly displayed by every home, demonstrating the family’s contribution to the community. The villages are a mixture of Christian and animist religion. In one village an older woman hides her tattooed face as “those who attend church don’t have tattoos”. The locals are intrigued by my whale tattoo, pointing and saying “fish, fish!” We bring notebooks and crayons for the kids, and draw pigs, rainbows, hearts and trees with them.

Our local guide informs us that traditional Chin agriculture is to burn segments of the mountain and cultivate it for a few years before moving onto the next. I ask if they have noticed a change in the environment or weather. He says it feels hotter. I ask what would happen if the government told them they could no longer slash and burn, and he replies they wouldn’t be able to do that, it is their tradition. That night, drunk on locally brewed millet wine, strumming a purple guitar, he sings to us Myanmar pop songs as the sun sets rose on the mountain tops.

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Official responses to the irregular migrants living in Europe’s towns and cities increasingly challenge the notion that the only citizenship they will experience is informal: a mere taste of inclusion from sympathetic ‘street bureaucrats’ who bend the rules to provide a service they need. On the contrary, while irregular (‘undocumented’) migrants are subject to sanctions and removal on the basis of their immigration status, they are frequently also granted a minimum level of social rights and official documentation: not informal citizenship but a formal if precarious sub-citizenship, granted by national governments and bolstered by official practices of regional and local tiers.

Across the EU28, irregular migrants, whether they enter without permission or remain when their permit expires, are entitled to emergency healthcare and in some countries to a level of primary care and hospital treatment. Entitlements for children are often greater than for adults; in countries such as France, Italy and Portugal to the same level of healthcare as children who are full Citizens. An entitlement for these children to attend school is also near universal across the EU. At the local and regional level, moreover, we find a broader range of minimal services to which these residents may be given access, from night shelter to food banks, legal advice to language classes.

As we might expect, part of the explanation for this apparent contradiction at the heart of immigration policy lies in each state’s obligations under international and European human rights law; the universality of human rights challenging the exclusivity of rights based on citizenship or legal residence status. Unless specifically excluded, irregular migrants share the protection of fundamental rights those instruments provide.

Neither those obligations nor a broader humanitarian concern, however, explain the range of services to which access is sometimes given. Rather, inclusion, where it exists, is driven by more pragmatic concerns: a need to avoid the risks to individuals and the public that extreme forms of exclusion can pose. Action at municipal level is taken in response to street sleeping, tent encampments and squatting in empty properties; to address vulnerability to crime and risks to public health and public order. Birth certificates are issued to ensure no child lacks that identity but also to ensure accurate population data. Irregular migrants are required to register in the Spanish municipal padrón so that public services can be planned on the basis of accurate information on who lives where. Addressing

street prostitution has justified provision of language and skills training, without which alternative work cannot be secured. Ensuring school readiness has provided an incentive to extend access to nursery schools.

National governments recognise some of these imperatives. The UK granted irregular migrants access to free treatment for HIV AIDS in 2012, following parliamentary debate on the implications for public health of excluding this high-risk group from treatment. Spain saw the necessity of allowing victims of domestic violence to report that crime without fearing deportation.

It is at the local level, however, that the implications of exclusion are most keenly felt, but local and regional tiers regularly find they are constrained by national laws that preclude access,

leading to forms of resistance and challenge: German Länder refusing to transfer data on irregular migrant pupils to the immigration authorities (contributing to a Federal decision in 2011 to remove that requirement); Dutch municipalities challenging restrictions on providing shelter. Many municipalities, however, provide access below the radar: not checking the immigration status of service users, or funding NGOs to provide services at arm’s length, thus avoiding confrontation on this sensitive area of multi-level governance.

There were an estimated 1.9 to 3.8 million irregular migrants in 2008 (the most recent estimate

accepted by the European Commission), just 0.4% to 0.8% of the population of the then EU27. The Mediterranean crisis has since led many adults and children to enter without permission, while others whose permit is not renewed may choose nevertheless to remain. The emergency response which border cities have mounted to meet the immediate needs of new arrivals may evolve into the longer-term challenge of responding to residents without legal status; urban citizens whose inclusion the city may find it needs to foster despite any competing priorities that its national government may then have.

Our urban citizens with irregular statusDr Sarah Spencer, Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), University of Oxford

Destitute migrants in a suburb of Utrecht, 2012.

Dr Spencer, Director of the Global Exchange on Migration and Diversity at COMPAS, recently completed an Open Society Fellowship study on policy responses to irregular migrants in Europe.

“The universality of human rights [challenges] the exclusivity of rights based on citizenship or legal residence status.”

An unauthorised settlement in abandoned industrial buildings in Barcelona, which led to a programme of rehousing and training in 2013-14.

‘No one is illegal’, Oranienplatz refugee camp, Kreuzberg district, Berlin, 2013.

Much of the debate surrounding migration rightly focuses on the issue of immigration policy. Nation states continue to exert considerable influence on patterns and processes of migration by legislating on the quantities of migrants that can legitimately enter a country, their qualities, and the countries that they can come from. However, an important but often overlooked aspect of these discussions is the role of local government in shaping how immigration plays out on the ground at the local scale. Ultimately it is at this level, in schools and in local neighbourhoods, that the actions (or inactions) of local authorities act to shape local experiences of immigration in significant ways. Whilst retaining tight control over the entry of immigrants into the country, national government has tended to leave responsibility for providing services and community cohesion to local authorities. This lack of prescription means that there is a surprisingly large diversity of responses to migration at the local government scale. Local government is legally required to provide so-called mandatory services such as education and housing to local residents. Migrant communities are often especially sensitive to these services given their relative economic disadvantage. Local authorities can also choose to provide particular services to migrants on a discretionary basis, although not all do so.

These policy issues are particularly pertinent in the Scottish context. The British government retains control over immigration policy for the whole of the UK and takes a restrictive stance towards immigration. The Scottish Government on the other hand regards immigration as beneficial in demographic and economic terms but has few policy levers at their disposal to deliver their objectives. How local authorities perceive and respond to migration within the context of a challenging ‘national’ policy framework and with increasingly constrained resources could have significant implications for immigration in Scotland.

Recent research carried out at the Centre for Population Change, University of St Andrews, suggests that there is a great deal of diversity in how local authorities in Scotland plan for and respond to migration. To some extent, this diversity may arise from the uneven geography of immigration to Scotland (see map), but it also reflects variations in local politics. Scotland’s local authorities can be grouped into three roughly equally-sized groups: proactive, reactive and less active. Types of policy response are often determined by the nature of immigration, the presence of local policy ‘champions’ and the level of resource constraints in local areas. These factors result in migration being a key priority for some councils but only a marginal issue for others, with the scale of relevant planning and activity varying accordingly. Additionally, whilst the boost to population numbers, particularly those of working age, that immigration provides was universally welcomed, there were some concerns about the pressures that new migrants can place on local authority budgets, especially in relation to language issues. Some respondents alleged that the Scottish Government’s pro-migration stance, whilst fiscally logical, was at odds with the views of some local communities in Scotland. On the other hand there was also a view that, since many recent arrivals in Scotland have been East-Central Europeans and thus white and nominally Christian, local community responses to migration have been generally positive.

This research indicates that the challenge that local authorities face in translating ‘national’ directives, in this case from Edinburgh and London, into local policy is something that merits more attention than it has received to date. This issue is of significance because the inclination and ability of local governments to respond to migration will be a key determinant of whether Scotland can successfully attract and retain the immigrants that it needs to grow its population and economy. Enhanced communication and dialogue between tiers of government and greater consistency of approaches at the local level would be two useful steps in this regard.

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The Geographer 17

Engaging with immigration on the ground: local policy responses in ScotlandDr David McCollum, Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews

“There is a great deal of diversity in how local authorities in Scotland plan for and respond to migration.”

Percentage of the population born outside the UK, 2011 census. Source: data from National Records of Scotland; map produced by Graeme Sandeman.

FURTHER READING

Centre for Population Change (2014), Engaging with immigration policy on the ground: A study of Local Authorities in Scotland (www.cpc.ac.uk, Briefing 19)

COSLA Strategic Migration Partnership (2015), Migration Policy Toolkit (www.migrationscotland.org.uk)

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In the modern world, the term migration – whether used of ‘economic migrants’, or ‘refugees’, and commonly of both – is the subject of considerable political concern and media attention. Behind and ‘beneath’ aggregate statistics of populations displaced across nations’ borders lie innumerable personal experiences; stories of a family’s flight from war, the effects

of famine, the fear of religious persecution, or, simply, the desire for a better life elsewhere. However understood (which, in the current climate, is to observe that they are often not understood well at all), the terms ‘migrant’ and ‘migration’ always come freighted with political and moral baggage beyond the numbers alone.

Such issues have been no less important in the past. Because this is so, attention to historical geographies can prove instructive in the present.

The Scots have always been a nation of movers. For many, the migrant experience meant departure from Scotland altogether. For others, mobility meant not crossing national boundaries, but relocation elsewhere in Scotland, usually for reasons to do with the lure of urban jobs and the ‘push’ factors that together made up the transformation of Scottish rural society. One of the distinctive chapters of historical migration in Scotland was the movement of population born in the ‘traditional’ Highland counties (Argyll, Inverness, Ross and Cromarty, Sutherland) to the cities and towns

of the Lowlands. Many Highland migrants spoke only Gaelic or a little English only. What set them apart was not skin colour or national identity, but language. Yet, like persons of colour and, notably, the 19th-century Irish, these ‘Celts’ and ‘Gaels’ were often regarded as ethnic strangers, even in their own land. In the

minds and morals of several social commentators, these were “a people set apart and everywhere despised”.

One expression of Scotland’s Gaelic migrant culture was the place of worship. By the late 18th century, there were 11 Gaelic chapels in Lowland Scotland serving the spiritual needs of migrant Highlanders. Most were in Glasgow and urban west Scotland, although the first, in Edinburgh, opened in 1769. By the late 19th century, there were no fewer than ten Gaelic chapels and churches in Glasgow alone, together with numerous less formal spaces for meeting and worship. To cater for the large numbers of young Highland women temporarily displaced in summer employment in the east coast herring fishing, and many of them monoglot Gaels, Gaelic services were a common feature in places like Buckie, Dunbar, Lossiemouth and, farther afield, in Great Yarmouth, in the later 19th century.

Another expression of migrants’ identity yet, simultaneously, a means to their integration were the societies established to provide economic assistance for Highland migrants. Through churches, Highland clubs and regional societies, Gaelic associational culture provided for migrants’ secular needs and their spiritual welfare. Gaels also acted when, for one reason or another, the state could not or would not. During the petition for Hope Street Gaelic Chapel in Glasgow in the 1820s, the Glasgow statistician James Cleland could not verify how many Gaelic speakers there were in the city. He had, he reported, “To give up the idea from the difficulty of finding out who could and could not receive instructions in the English language.” So Glasgow’s Gaels did it for themselves.

In 1835, the three main Gaelic churches in Glasgow undertook a survey, or ‘Gaelic Census’ as it became known. The original returns to this Gaelic Census do not survive. We are told only of volumes, prepared by the ministers of the three churches in question, containing “The names of all the individuals of the adult [Highland] population in Glasgow, the parishes in the Highlands where they were born, the trade and occupation which they follow in Glasgow, the streets and lands in which they reside in Glasgow, the number of their families under and above ten years of age, the churches which they profess to attend, according to their own statements, and also the number of seats which they occupy [in the respective Gaelic chapel].” In total, there were 22,509 ‘native Highlanders’ in Glasgow in 1835-36.

If we take ‘Highland-born’ as the basis to the category ‘migrant’, there were 14,959 persons of Highland origin in Glasgow in 1851 (the first Census date at which it is possible to determine internal migration statistics). The Gaelic Census of 1835-36 enumerated all those persons in Glasgow and “resident within 3 or 4 miles of the city” who were able to speak the Gaelic language. Gaelic was preferred as the language of worship; English, when used, was the language of commerce, not of the heart or hearth.

Then, as today, the statistical enumeration of migrants obscures the experience of migration. Facts and numbers commonly disguise their own originating circumstances. Glasgow’s Gaelic Census is lost to modern scholars. But in the surviving evidence of its making and in the glimpses we are afforded of the population it enumerated, we can see something of how migrant lives are always shaped and represented beyond numbers alone.

Object lessons from historical geography? Highland-lowland migration and the ‘Gaelic Census’Professor Charles Withers, University of Edinburgh and Geographer Royal for Scotland

“Attention to historical geographies can prove instructive in the present.”

Close, No 29 Gallowgate, by Thomas Annan. © Scottish National Portrait Gallery

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The Geographer 19

On 13 January 1897, Patrick Geddes (biologist, planner, environmentalist, ‘peace warrior’) and his wife, Anna, disembarked at the Cypriot port of Larnaca. This began a fact-finding assignment centred on Armenian refugees driven from Turkey to Cyprus by the Hamidian Massacres of 1894-96 (named after the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Abdul Hamid II). While the number killed is contested (from 100,000 to 300,000), what is not in doubt is the resultant flight of thousands of Armenians. Growing awareness of the plight of the refugees encouraged Geddes to apply his ideas of the ‘valley section’ and ‘place-work-folk’ in Cyprus. His intended outcome was self-sufficient agricultural schemes for the refugees; a better alternative to food and clothing aid, which he perceived as a short-term palliative that fostered long-term over-dependency.

After initially interviewing refugees and listing potential occupations, Geddes and his party traversed the island’s

rudimentary roads and tracks on foot and mule. Throughout a three-month sojourn, farms, villages and towns were visited; village leaders and relief workers were interviewed; and discussions were conducted

at Government House (Cyprus having ceded to Britain for administrative purposes in 1878, before being formally annexed at the outbreak of WWI).

Geddes, well-versed in Cypriot geology, geography and history, continually appraised the environment, both natural and human, upland and lowland, degraded and fertile, for its agricultural and settlement potential. His operation involved more than job-finding for refugees; rather, his long-term aim was what he later dubbed geotechnics (geo meaning ‘earth’, technics meaning ‘use’) – essentially the applied science of making the Earth more habitable. Environmentally degraded Cypriot sites should benefit from improved ‘habitability’; for too long, as he put it, “man has turned the forces of nature to the destruction of his home”. Deforestation, overgrazing (not least by the island’s disproportionately large goat population), soil erosion, choked river beds after severe winter floods, and malarial swamps hindered agrarian development – a situation compounded by mismanagement of olive trees and irrigation techniques.

Two individuals further assisted: Mr J R van Milligan, silk expert and Ottoman Bank employee, advised on property acquisition; Mr C Salmaslian, an Armenian graduate from Montpellier School of Agriculture, served as interpreter and agricultural adviser. Initial capital came from British Committees for Armenian Relief, later augmented by floating a joint-stock company, the Eastern and Colonial Association, to fund practical assistance for the refugees.

Armed with this capital, the activities of Geddes and his co-workers took several forms:• a Silk School was established at Nicosia, where refugees and

locals could be instructed in modern methods of sericulture and

winding thread;• a 600 hectare farm was purchased near Nicosia, with the aims

of repairing its ruined irrigation, training in new machinery, and employing substantial numbers in fruit farming and sericulture;

• three small fruit and vegetable farms, employing from ten to 40 men, were procured around Limassol;

• 15 families established a village on a 40-hectare site at St Magar Monastery in the Kyrenia mountains; this afforded an opportunity to colonise “rough land, but of some possibilities – stretching from the forest to the sea” (ie, a Geddesian ‘valley section’); its houses, designed by an Armenian architect, were constructed by the settlers themselves.

Under Mr Salmaslian’s supervision, courses were begun in crop rotation and using improved seeds. Geddes demonstrated anti-malarial measures by “parafinning tanks and cisterns”, and validating the biblical miracle of Moses’s rod (Exodus 17:3-6) by chipping away calcareous deposits to unblock valuable spring waters, thereby emphasising Geddes’s belief in renewing ancient (ie, intermediate) technologies as appropriate.

Overall, Geddes’s mission was successful. There were difficulties: capital from the Eastern and Colonial Association ceased after a few years; Salmaslian, against Geddes’s wishes, was dismissed as supervisor by the Association; and some refugees, perhaps inevitably, drifted away. Alternatively, the village, silk manufactory, new wells, irrigation channels, and new plantations of olives and carobs became permanent landscape legacies. This venture confirmed for Geddes the worth of a geotechnic approach to the resettlement of refugees, the restoration of degraded land and, as he phrased it, “Solve the agricultural question and you solve the Eastern Question.”

Patrick Geddes and Cyprus 1897: geotechnics and Armenian refugeesKenneth Maclean

“His intended outcome was self-sufficient agricultural schemes for the refugees.”

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Questions around immigration, integration and ethnic minority settlement have long brought controversial claims about threats to community, security and identity, and public opinion on immigration and its consequences seems as divided as ever. Indeed, whilst Home Secretary Theresa May, in her speech to the Conservative party conference in October 2015, found populist support for her claim that high levels of immigration make it ‘impossible’ to build a cohesive society, others were rallying in cities from Edinburgh to Brighton in support of welcoming Syrian refugees to Britain. A long history of post-war immigration certainly points to the challenges of building mutually supportive and cohesive societies in the context of growing diversity, but the geography of integration and the experience of settlement are highly varied. It is therefore important to look at why new migrants are welcomed more readily into some cities than others, and why newcomers seem to settle more easily in some local communities than others.

Comparative studies suggest that some cities value new migrants more than others. Evidence shows that ‘top-scale’ global cities (such as London) offer the broadest range of possibilities for migrant incorporation and the development of a sense of belonging. Meanwhile, ‘down-scale’ cities, which have failed to adapt to economic change and where migrants’ skills and cultural heritages seem not to be valued, present far fewer opportunities for integration. Here, migrants are seen as a burden on resources, and unwelcome outsiders. Increasingly cities do, however, seem to be embracing and managing the arrival of new migrants in positive and productive ways. Many are using the new diversity as a selling point (eg, Birmingham), an opportunity to re-brand their image in dynamic and cosmopolitan ways (eg, Glasgow), and a means to counter negative representations associated with troubled race relations histories (eg, northern English cities like Bradford and Oldham). More inclusionary cities, defined in terms of their strong integration and support regimes, seem to open up many more pathways for migrant advancement than less inclusionary places, with positive consequences for community relations.

Nevertheless, the everyday experience of even the ‘welcoming city’ can be less than hospitable for migrants, and tensions may flare at the local scale. Studies that have charted migrant experiences and community relations over time suggest that two key factors help to explain why the outcomes of migration and settlement can be so different in different places.

The first factor relates to whether there is a tradition of openness. This will be a function of the importance of the local social, economic, political and historical

context into which newcomers arrive and attempt to integrate. New migrants typically settle in deprived neighbourhoods, often characterised by poor housing, high levels of unemployment and over-stretched amenities. This can give rise to tensions between settled and incoming groups, although research suggests that traditions of openness to newcomers and acceptance of change as an integral, ongoing process of social transformation can smooth the path to integration.

The second factor concerns whether an area is diverse or homogeneous. Local studies suggest that socially and culturally diverse places are more likely to adapt well to new migration, to be more inclusive and to foster a positive integration experience for migrants. Such neighbourhoods tend to offer resources that enable new arrivals to develop social bonds and access practical and emotional support. Opportunities for social mixing across groups also appear to increase trust and strengthen connections between strangers, if conditions are favourable. However, the outcome is not always predictable. At times of stress, contact may reinforce

fear and prejudices, exacerbating tensions.

Cities present diverse contexts for the incorporation of migrants and the playing out of migrants’

lives. Different histories of migration, policies and politics of inclusion and exclusion, opportunity structures and support systems all articulate with varied expressions of cosmopolitanism and perceived outsider status to shape newcomers’ life-chances and sense of belonging. Migrants in turn, through their presence, social practices and institutions, can help to re-fashion the cities in which they settle, bringing positive effects as well as integration challenges.

Migration, integration and communityProfessor Deborah Phillips, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford

“The geography of integration and the experience of settlement are highly varied.”

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The Geographer 21

There are many points of divergence in political and popular debate over migration, perhaps none more so than over the impacts on the realm of work and employment. For most migrants, work in the host country is their primary strategy for securing ‘a better life’ – yet should we concede to the view that migrant labour ultimately acts to constrain the employment opportunities open to nationals? Echoes of this view may be found in Prime Minister Cameron’s proposed restriction of in-work benefits, intended to dis-incentivise EU migrants, and before that in Gordon Brown’s now rather infamous 2009 phrase ‘British jobs for British workers’. On the other hand, commentators such as Jonathon Portes at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research serve up repeated reminders that migrants are less likely to draw benefits than nationals, and that most evidence points to their net positive contribution to the UK’s fiscal position.

Of course there is a good deal more complexity than this in reality, providing cues for further study in a number of areas. One such area is understanding the association between migration and worker exploitation. Previous research has shown that recent economic migration to the UK has not only affected the labour supply but also is linked to profound changes in the nature of work itself, importantly with migrants themselves often bearing the effects. Terms for these changes include ‘precarious work’, related to job insecurity, low wages, limited workplace and other entitlements, and high risks of work-related ill health, and ‘work intensification’, such as the spread of ‘piece work’, requiring more effort to achieve the minimum wage.

This research has also been taken forward by a Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) programme posing questions about the ways in which ‘precarious’ and ‘intensive’ work may lead to exploitation and ‘forced labour’, even here in the UK. Penalties for holding someone in forced labour are serious, yet frequently it is hidden from sight. However, for one JRF project, we carefully documented experiences among a range of migrants in different regions. By comparing these experiences, we were then able to highlight several practices as being indicators of worker exploitation and potential forced labour conditions.

Taken together, the findings from a number of JRF-funded studies suggest various reasons why contemporary modern-day labour exploitation can occur. The important factors include: the formation of lengthy and elaborate business and labour supply chains; a reliance on flexible and sub-contracting arrangements; increased demands for delivery of products and services within tight budgets and timescales; low chances of discovery of or prosecution for violations of labour rights; reliance on employer self-regulation of employment relations; and workers’ individual levels of vulnerability to having to accept particular work and work settings. These conditions impact on all those in low-skill, low-wage work, and not just migrants; yet recent migrants at least are also disadvantaged by their lack of ‘host country capital’, such as advanced English language skills or recognised qualifications. These variations in ‘social capital’ combine with immigration status, nationality, ethnicity, colour and gender to provide a basis for deepened divisions in working conditions and worker treatment.

Following our own cautious estimates of the scale of forced labour, it is telling that the Home Office has itself reached a higher figure, of up to 13,000 people who may be working in exploitative conditions in the UK. Such ‘official’ estimates are one sign that government now recognises the existence of a problem and is beginning to address it. Likewise, the 2015 UK Modern Slavery Act and the passing of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill through the Scottish Parliament are also encouraging developments, among other things bringing tougher sanctions for perpetrators. Having said this, the focus on punishments also risks deflecting attention from underlying causes. Effective action also depends on other changes to strengthen and link up labour inspection with greater protection and redress for most vulnerable workers.

“…up to 13,000 people who may be working in exploitative conditions in the UK.”

A better life? Migration and worker exploitation in the UKDr Alistair Geddes, Department of Geography, University of Dundee

© Nicolas Economou

WINTER 2015-1622

All eyes have been on international migration in recent years, with record numbers of immigrants arriving at our seaports and airports together with considerable numbers of refugees and asylum seekers. However, we should remember that 6.8 million people changed their permanent place of usual residence within the United Kingdom in the 12 month period before the last census of population in March 2011, and this internal migration has been the key determinant of the demographic changes taking place in many of our cities, towns and rural areas.

Censuses are a crucially important source of information about the mobility characteristics of our nation’s inhabitants, particularly for those changing residence within and between small areas within local authority districts who comprise some 60% of the total number of migrants. A recent study based on data from a large consumer survey (Acxiom’s Research Opinion Poll) in the mid-2000s suggests that the median distance of internal migration was only 3km. Censuses also provide data that allow us to study the intensities, composition and spatial patterns of migration between local authority districts, involving longer distance moves that constitute the remaining 40% of total internal migration. However, it is also possible to draw on data from other sources (such as NHS patient re-registrations) when analysing migration activity at this spatial scale, data that have the added advantage of being available on a regular annual basis and therefore allowing us to monitor changes year on year between censuses.

Rarely is temporal analysis of internal migration straightforward, regardless of the source of data used, because of the changes in the way in which migration is measured or captured, and changes in the boundaries of the geographical units that are employed by the agencies who collect and release the data. Despite local government re-organisation in 2008, local authority districts in 2001 can be aggregated into districts that are consistent with those in 2011, and this provides the opportunity for comparison over the ten-year inter-censal period.

Contrary to conventional wisdom that migration rates are increasing together with the frequency of other forms of mobility in a more fluid, hyper-mobile world, data from the census suggest that aggregate (all age) migration rates declined marginally between 2001 and 2011, both within and between local authority districts. Geographers Tony Champion and Ian Shuttleworth have shown in recent papers that over the last four decades, there has been a persistent fall in rates of shorter-distance residential mobility, whereas longer-distance migration intensities between regions and health areas have not experienced the same decline as that observed between counties in the USA since the 1980s.

What is apparent in the United Kingdom is a dampening of the net losses from the major metropolitan areas and gains in non-metropolitan areas which has been a characteristic pattern of movement for several decades. This waning of the counter-urbanisation process is particularly evident for those in older age groups; the two maps for those aged 45 to 74 provide evidence of this change, which has been corroborated

with administrative data from the NHS. The maps show a measure of migration impact known as the index of migration effectiveness (ME), which simply represents the net migration balance of each district as a percentage of the sum of the gross in-migration and out-migration components from which net migration is derived. The point to note is that although the pattern of gains (pink circles) and losses (blue circles) generally remains the same, the circles in 2011 are in general smaller than in 2001, which means that migration has become less effective in redistributing people.

The impact of migration is diminishing because moves away from metropolitan areas have been declining, particularly during the recession years in the second half of the decade (2001-2011), but also because moves into cities from rural areas have been increasing, fuelling the process referred to as reurbanisation and encouraged by the regeneration of inner parts of many of our big cities. It remains to be seen whether these trends will continue driving the demographic growth of our cities over the next decade to the same extent as they have done in the previous ten years.

Monitoring internal migration in the UKProfessor John Stillwell, Professor of Migration and Regional Development, University of Leeds

“Internal migration has been the key determinant of the demographic changes taking place.”

Source: Office for National Statistics, 2001 Census, downloaded from census.ukdataservice.ac.uk.

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The Geographer 23

Refugee flows into and within Europe are nothing new. Throughout history, war, persecution and natural disasters have caused individuals to flee their homes in search of sanctuary. The recent ‘migrant crisis’ in Europe has again raised the issue of how EU member states individually and collectively ‘share the burden’ of protecting refugees. Drawing upon research conducted in the UK, this short article explores the potential outcomes of ‘burden sharing’ policies and demonstrate the importance of states focusing upon long-term refugee integration policies rather than entry policies per se.

The results are based upon a two-year ESRC funded project that enhanced the understanding of refugee integration in the UK by focusing on refugee onward migration. Project results were based on quantitative and qualitative research data from Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester and London; the data included 83 in-depth interviews with refugees, and analysis of Refugee Integration and Employment Service client data (2008–11) and Home Office Survey of New Refugees data (2005–09).

UK dispersal policy began in 2000, a result of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, with the rationale of ‘spreading the burden’ of housing asylum seekers across the UK and discouraging long-term settlement in the South East. Asylum applicants who require housing while awaiting

their asylum decision are dispersed across the country on a ‘no-choice’ basis. The project mapped the geography of onward migration among refugees dispersed across the UK as asylum seekers, and explored the main factors that influence refugees’ decisions to move or stay in a town or city.

In the research we found that dispersal policies shape the urban landscape particularly in terms of ethnic composition, and this is a continuous and dynamic process. While cognisant of the realities of racism, the transformation of dispersal sites over time can encourage refugees to remain and integrate into society. Nevertheless, while UK dispersal policy has effectively ‘spread the burden’ and provided the impetus for multicultural cities, it has failed to halt all movement after grant of refugee status. Multiple factors influence refugees’ decisions to stay or move on from dispersal locations, including co-ethnic and local communities, employment, education, life course, housing, place of dispersal, racism and health. We found that refugees may migrate onwards or decide to stay after being dispersed, but neither of the two options can be regarded as always being the best for integration. Onward migration can be a positive step taken towards integration, such as in finding employment or accessing the support of social networks. Nevertheless, refugees also decide to leave dispersal sites due to a lack of integration support or racism. Furthermore, multiple onward moves caused by homelessness, temporary housing or moves based on minimal information can lead to instability and poor integration outcomes.

Overall, insights from the research suggest that ‘burden sharing’ policies themselves, whether at the national or EU scale, can impact upon local ethnic composition, which influences refugee migration decisions. The findings indicate that such policies do not automatically stop further refugee movement. Indeed, refugee populations are likely to migrate onwards, either within a country or to another EU member state, particularly if there is a lack of social networks or job opportunities. And while refugee onward migration may not necessarily be bad for integration, repeated movements can be detrimental to the long-term outcomes for refugees. Above all, EU member states must focus upon developing local and national refugee integration strategies and multi-agency partnerships to tackle racism to ensure the successful long-term integration of refugees.

Moving on? Dispersal policy, onward migration and integration of refugees in the UKDr Emma Stewart, Department of Geography, University of Strathclyde

“The project mapped the geography of onward migration among refugees dispersed across the UK.”

FURTHER READING

Stewart E and Shaffer M (2015), Moving on? Dispersal Policy, Onward Migration and Integration of Refugees in the UK (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow)Source: Office for National Statistics, 2011 Census

downloaded from census.ukdataservice.ac.uk.

WINTER 2015-1624

My name is Maya Hanano, I am 19 years old and a Syrian refugee in Germany.

My journey started when I was in Egypt. My friend ‘Abdullah’ spoke with a smuggler so we can go to Europe illegally by the ocean. We had tried to apply to more than one embassy for a visa in order to study – in Romania, the UK, even Turkey, but none of them were accepting ‘Syrians’. So we had no other choice! To come to Europe in a legal way is like a dream for any Syrian student in our age.

The smuggler told my friend to come to Alexandria because the boat will be launched from one of the beaches there, and he cannot speak more than that on the phone although he made sure that we put two thousand euros for each with a guy we both know. This way if we arrive safely he will take the money, but if not he won’t take the money. Funny ha! It’s like a game we are playing with our life, but what else can we do.

He told Abdullah to be ready at any time because when he calls us we should be at a specific place at a specific time. We packed our bags and he called, “you have six hours to get to this place or the boat will leave without you.” We arrived at 9am as instructed and were introduced to the captain of the boat that we would be on.

He then took us to a café to describe the journey that lay ahead. “At first you will go by bus to the point on a beach where a small boat will be waiting for you. This boat will take you to a yacht and after ten hours then onto a transport ship.” He told us there would be a maximum of 200-300 on the ship and that we did not need to bring any food or drinks, as everything was under control. We were also told it would take around three days to reach an Italian island where the Coastguards would take care of us. He then took us to a house where another family was also waiting.

We were expecting to leave the next day but he later called and said it was delayed until tomorrow. This was repeated until day four, when he finally came with the bus. Just as we got up to leave he told us we could now only take a single bag. We got on the bus which hid 20 people behind the darkened glass windows, but were afraid to speak to anyone inside. After four hours the bus stopped in the middle of nowhere, and we were transferred into one of several bigger buses with lots of people inside, not knowing where we were heading. Twelve hours later we stopped on a beach. It was really dark. Four men with weapons shouted “move move move – before anyone sees you.” We had to run into the sea and swim until the water was up to our necks, before scrambling aboard the boat. It was scary, people were crying and scared, and kids were fainting. This boat should only take ten maximum, but there were more than 20 of us.

This boat then took us to a bigger boat. We were told to jump. People were pushing each other because they were so scared. We were shocked! Where was the yacht we’d been promised? The captain said it was another 12 hours away. We jumped.

People started being sea-sick, and babies screamed until they fell asleep. We finally arrived at the yacht. We thought only our boat-load was to get on the yacht, but actually there were

others, so we joined perhaps 200 people on board. It was dark so we couldn’t see anything and we couldn’t use lights for fear the police would see us.

I could not see my friend, there were too many people and we got separated when we were jumping. It took a day before I finally saw Abdullah. We were so scared and tired. There was another yacht heading toward us. They stuck the two boats together and more people clambered on board. There was no food, they only gave us one cup of tea and one cheese sandwich. A while later we saw a smaller yacht. They made us jump onto it. It was horrible! Everyone rushed across, afraid to be left behind, so we jumped and then asked about our baggage. They told us they would throw them to us, but they didn’t.

We sailed for another three days, no one telling us what was going on or where we were. No one could use their mobile

phone because if the smugglers saw you they would take it and maybe do something to you, as they don’t want people taking pictures of them.

We finally saw a bird flying alongside us – a sign of land. We were SO happy, we all said “Now we have the hope to live again.” But unfortunately we were only beside Libya. The smugglers wanted to take more people on board, but there were already so many that we couldn’t move. We shouted and screamed until one of the smugglers conceded.

By the fifth day, we were losing hope of ever arriving in Italy. We were so tired and hungry and the bathroom was not working. It was night. The smugglers asked if anyone knew English so they could call the Italian police to come and take us. I told the captain I could speak so he gave me a phone to speak to the Red Cross and the police. They asked if everyone was okay, especially the kids, and where we were exactly. I told them our co-ordinates, but he said we were too far from the Italian coast for the police boat so we had to get closer. Our captain refused to drive the boat, so me and Abdullah drove the boat until we arrived at the point that the police told us to get to.

The police weren’t there. We waited for 24 hours but no show. The waves were getting higher and it was dark. Far away we could see a big boat and we found a laser pen to attract their attention. It took them seven hours to reach us. They offered us water, medicine and chocolates for the kids. They were Chinese ocean scientists. When they realized we were refugees, they refused to take us with them so I asked them to call the Italian police to come and take us. They did but wanted to leave before the police came. I told them I would report them for human rights so they waited with us. The Italian police had arranged for a large Turkish boat heading to Italy to pick us up. They were so nice to us and they gave us some food.

It took another day before we arrived in Italy, where the Red Cross were waiting for us. They took us to camps until we had plans in place. Abdullah and I took a bus to Rome then Milan and then a train to Munich. Here my journey finished.

I am so glad that I am safe now, with no worries of being killed or kidnapped, and with people treating us well.

A dangerous journey to a safer lifeMaya Hanano, 19-year-old Syrian refugee

“Funny ha! It’s like a game we are playing with our life, but what else can we do.”

“The smugglers wanted to take more people on board, but there were already so many that we couldn’t move.”

WINTER 2015-16

The Geographer 25

© Nicolas Economou

International students continue to be included in a wider debate about immigration to the UK. Over the last parliament, opinions varied about whether to include international students in the government’s net migration targets, and immigration reforms had a significant impact on universities and their non-EU students. Although the evidence for the academic and economic benefits of international student recruitment has been well established (contributing £4.4 billion in 2011-12 through tuition fees and accommodation alone) less attention has been given to the longer-term migration aspirations of international students themselves.

There are currently 435,000 international (EU and non-EU/overseas) students studying in UK universities, forming 18% of the total student population.

Recent work by researchers based at the University of St Andrews has investigated the forces driving student mobility and the relationship between student migration and future mobility plans. We surveyed over 3,300 international students and interviewed senior staff at ten UK universities. The findings highlight the importance of understanding international student mobility as part of longer-term mobility trajectories.

Motives for international study

Studying at a ‘world class institution’ was by far the most important factor motivating those surveyed to engage in international study (82% rated this as very important). Opportunities to pursue an international career was the second most important driver of student mobility, with influences such as accessing a particular course or fulfilment of family ambitions rated much less highly.

Lifetime mobility aspirations

A key feature of the study was to discover the plans that international students had for work and residence after their studies. Is international study the first step on a longer-term mobility trajectory? In the survey, only a small minority of international students expected to still be in the UK five years after graduating (24%). Many planned to be living in their home country and over a third planned to live in another country (not the UK or their home country). This supports the idea that students may view their experience in the UK as a springboard rather than a final destination.

There are variations in mobility aspirations

between the five key geographical groupings. Indian and EU students were most likely to wish to remain in the UK immediately after graduation (56% and 53% respectively); while students from the EU are at liberty to do so, the same does not apply to Indian nationals. Students from China and Africa were the most likely to anticipate a return home within five years of graduation (59% and 51% respectively).

Policy implications

Despite increased global competition, thousands of international students continue to choose the UK as a destination for Higher Education. This study has revealed that students are drawn to British universities for a ‘world class’ education as well as to boost their chances of pursuing an international career. The research also suggests that only a minority of students expect to remain in the UK five years after graduation. This raises policy questions about restrictive policies on international student visas and working entitlements as well as the longer-term impact such measures may have on the global reputation of Higher Education in the UK.

International students and the quest for an international careerHelen Packwood, Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews

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How important were the following factors in motivating you to study abroad?

Very important

Not very important

To study in a world class institution 82% 18%

To increase chances of pursuing an international career 61% 39%

To experience an adventure 58% 42%

To gain independence 45% 55%

To study in the English language 43% 57%

To take a specific course not available at home 37% 63%

Encouragement from family 27% 73%

Cost effective (cheaper than at home) 7% 93%Motivations for international study in the UK.

“Students may view their experience in the UK as a springboard rather than a final destination.”

The effects of flooding in Bangladesh.

Mobility aspirations after graduation by geographical groupings. Source: Packwood H, Findlay A and McCollum D (2015), International study for an international career Centre for Population Change Briefing Paper 27.

Climate change is a very real and current issue. In December 2015, world leaders and researchers met in Paris to debate what action should be taken on climate change issues. Not surprisingly the Paris Climate Change Conference led to calls for urgent and effective policies not only to deal with the causes of climate change but also to adapt to its consequences. We have already seen a 1°C rise in global temperatures from pre-industrial levels; exceeding the 2°C threshold, agreed as an acceptable limit, is not far away. Geographers, such as Richard Black who led the UK’s scientific team supporting the Government’s recent Foresight Panel on the topic, have helped highlight the reality of the impacts of climate change on human populations and the need for a response in terms of seeing migration as a possible adaptive strategy.

Environmental migration is defined as any movement of people that is either directly or indirectly caused by environmental change. According to the UK Foresight Panel report on the effect of environmental change on migration, some 40 million people were displaced by natural hazards in 2010 and this number might increase to 500 million by 2060. Research by geographers at the University

of St Andrews shows, however, that most of those displaced moved very short distances. Where longer-distance moves occurred, they were nearly always within countries. International

moves are unusual and when they do occur are nearly always to neighbouring countries, as for example between Bangladesh and India. It is also important to note that where environmental factors influence migration it is nearly always only one of a large suite of drivers.

In order to form an adequate response to environmental change, attention needs to be paid to the various mobility outcomes that it may cause. There are three main mobility issues that need consideration in relation to environmental change. The first is the movement of people to other places to achieve alternative sustainable livelihoods. Migration in response to environmental events like extreme flooding may be a disruption in the short term to people’s lives, but it does not necessarily lead to a lower standard of living in the long run if it helps populations who have been made vulnerable by climate change achieve more diverse income streams. This often occurs as a result of the migration of one member of

a household (where the other members remain immobile) to obtain an urban job. This person, through sending back remittances to the rest of their family, can not only help the rest of the household survive short-run environmental crises, but also help diversity the sources of household income, thus reducing future vulnerabilities.

The second way that migration links to climate change issues is through the existing migration system (moves not driven by environmental factors) resulting in the redistribution of people to sites at high risk of environmental hazards (for example, movement to vulnerable sites on urban flood plains or low-lying coastal locations). An estimated four million people already live in the floodplains of urban areas in South and Central Asia, with migration being a key force responsible for the projected rise in numbers to 35-59 million by 2060. In this context, strategic planning is needed to help build urban resilience to environmental risks.

The third outcome, perhaps ironically, is immobility. Due to a lack of resources and adaptive capacities, many people are not able to move even though the area where they live may have become unsuitable for habitation due to environmental change. Or they may only be able to move a very short distance, not vastly improving their situation. These are the people that are most vulnerable to severe degradation of quality of life and that most urgently require assistance.

Governments and the international community must plan how best to respond to this phenomenon. The current perception of migration needs to alter and to be more flexible. Migration is a natural and normal response to environmental change. Like the other adaptations and options discussed at the Paris Conference, policy makers need to build on the potential of migration to produce positive outcomes, as well as to increase the adaptive capacity of those who are most disempowered.

International students and the quest for an international careerHelen Packwood, Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews

Environmental change and migrationHebe Nicholson, Geography Student, University of St Andrews

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The Geographer 27

Housing relocation of some of those affected by floods in Bangladesh.

The effects of flooding in Bangladesh.

“Policy makers need to build on the potential of migration to produce positive outcomes.”

In November, Shackleton was invited to travel north to speak about Discovery at meetings of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) in Aberdeen and Dundee. Shackleton, with his new-found ability to captivate an audience, was very well received and created a strong impression. He also discovered that the post of Secretary to the RSGS had fallen vacant.

Although effectively another desk job, Shackleton was fired up by the challenge of the RSGS. It paid much the same as the Royal Magazine and necessitated moving to Edinburgh. But the role carried a lot more prestige than the magazine and Shackleton saw it as a stepping stone.

“I should think that I would do all right here [Royal Magazine], but the other job [RSGS] has the best position I think,” he told Emily on 2 December. Two days later he formally applied for the post.

The RSGS had established a fine reputation as an accomplished centre of geography in Scotland with a strong academic core in education, research and science. The prime mover in the creation of the RSGS 20 years before was John George Bartholomew, the distinguished cartographer and grandson of the founder of the well-known Bartholomew mapmaking company in Scotland. It was Bartholomew, called the ‘Prince of Cartography’, who in 1890 had first placed the name ‘Antarctica’ on maps.

Bartholomew wanted a fresh face at the Society and was keen on Shackleton who, he thought, would stir things up. He saw Shackleton as the sort of outsider who could revitalise an institution that had changed little over the years. He warmed to Shackleton’s imposing presence, driving energy and was impressed by the glowing testimonials from influential people in London. These included Markham and Vice-Admiral Pelham Aldrich, the Admiralty grandee and veteran of the Challenger expedition.

Another important sponsor was Hugh Mill, a Scot and RSGS member with a solid background in geography and a paternalistic interest in the future of Shackleton. Mill shared Bartholomew’s belief that Shackleton was the man to enliven Edinburgh.

Mill had become a key figure in Shackleton’s life at this time. The pair chatted regularly over lunch in fashionable London clubs and Mill had become Shackleton’s main confidant, offering wise words of encouragement and sound advice. He sensed that Shackleton was destined for great things and when he sounded out Shackleton, Mill detected that the restlessness and eagerness to make a mark had reached fever pitch. He, too, saw the RSGS as a stepping stone for his friend.

Mill took up Shackleton’s cause with renewed zeal and even threatened to resign from the RSGS if they did not give him the job. He went further, exaggerating Shackleton’s ability as

a scientist. Mill, who had reported Shackleton sadly lacking on Discovery, told the RSGS that he was a “painstaking scientific worker”.

Mill’s embellishment was never exposed and in January 1904, Shackleton was appointed Secretary at the RSGS on a salary of around £200 a year (about £11,000 today). On 10 January, a day before his official appointment, Shackleton delivered one of the Society’s Christmas lectures and found that the audience “quite fell in with all the jokes”. It was, he admitted, “better than going to sea”.

Shackleton arrived like a hurricane into the sombre, sleepy atmosphere of the RSGS. “Grave and ceremonial” Mill called the Society’s two rooms on the ground floor of the imposing neo-Gothic red sandstone edifice of the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh’s Queen Street. It was, Mill said,

“impossible to represent the RSGS Council in 1904 as smart and up to date”.

Society members, mostly dressed in traditional black coats, were astonished to see Shackleton stride into the offices wearing a light

tweed suit and smoking a cigarette. Jokes were soon flying around a building more accustomed to the quiet hum of hushed reverential tones. “There is a certain lack of humour,” Shackleton reported back to Mill. Ralph Richardson, who held the title of Honorary Secretary at the RSGS for 39 years, was typical of the Edinburgh elite who made up the society’s membership. He was, said Mill, a man of “slow humour”.

The RSGS in 1904 was functioning on much same the lines and with much the same membership as when it was founded by Bartholomew and Agnes Bruce, the eldest daughter of Dr David Livingstone. With his customary boundless energy, Shackleton set about the tasks of modernisation, increasing the membership, generating new sources of advertising revenue for the Society’s Scottish Geographical Journal and stretching the horizons beyond the familiar territory of Africa where it was embedded. He amazed members by installing a telephone and buying a typewriter, and gleefully told Mill: “You would have laughed had you seen their faces when the jangle of the telephone disturbed them.”

Shackleton revelled in the novelty of the role and the unfamiliar surroundings of Edinburgh. While things remained fresh, he was fully occupied and fully motivated. He became so involved that he asked Emily if they could postpone their honeymoon.

…

After seven years of fluctuating courtship, Ernest Shackleton married Emily Dorman in London on Saturday 9 April 1904.

…

Shackleton was back at work in Edinburgh within two days of the wedding, driving the RSGS forward with familiar fervour and discovering that the Society opened the doors to more fashionable and influential circles. He found himself rubbing shoulders with Edinburgh society and an array of politicians, industrialists and academics. Among those he

Shackleton at the RSGSMichael Smith

“Shackleton arrived like a hurricane into the sombre, sleepy atmosphere of the RSGS.”

WINTER 2015-1628

This article is extracted with permission from Michael Smith’s book, Shackleton: By Endurance We Conquer. In 1903, Ernest Shackleton was working for the Royal Magazine, but quickly became bored with the desk-bound routine nature of the job…

met were former prime minister and statesman Lord Rosebery and William Beardmore, one of Scotland’s most powerful businessmen. In the words of Mill, his newfound acquaintances were people who “held the keys to many locks”.

Shackleton, perhaps for the first time in his life, was truly content, having made the remarkable transition from junior officer on a passenger steamer to explorer and finally marrying the woman he loved. Marriage, he found, was everything he hoped for and the RSGS provided the exciting new challenge his restive temperament demanded.

The most significant event of the summer came in late July 1904 when Shackleton was at the centre of activities to welcome William Speirs Bruce back from a two-year spell on an RSGS-sponsored expedition to the Antarctic. Bruce’s achievements were impressive and Shackleton saw the expedition as a model for his own ambitions.

…

It was no surprise when Shackleton began to get increasingly restless in the months after Bruce’s return from the ice. The enthusiasm of his early weeks at the RSGS had already begun to wane and his mind was elsewhere, partly dwelling on vague thoughts of finding a new expedition.

Money was an issue. The RSGS earnings were respectable but unexciting and Shackleton was also interested in exploring ways of following Bruce by unlocking the wealth of private benefactors to fund expeditions.

…

Shackleton remained a restless, indecisive figure who was uneasy about his work but unsure what to do next. His mood fluctuated and he told Scott that all ambitions of going back to the ice had been abandoned. “I am married and settled down,” he told his old commander. “I had thought of going on another expedition sometime but have given up the idea now as there seems to be no money about. It would only break up my life if I could stand it which Wilson says I could not.”

How much weight Shackleton’s declaration carried is hard to tell. At around the time of writing to Scott, Shackleton had quietly drawn up an outline plan for a new expedition. He circulated the four-page prospectus among a few potential investors but no one was prepared to put up any money.

Around this time some strange impulse persuaded Shackleton to try his hand at politics. On a flying visit to London in October, he was

approached by the Liberal Unionist Party. Someone had witnessed his popular appeal in Edinburgh and natural ability to hold an audience, and Shackleton was flattered. After meeting Sir John Boraston, the influential party agent, he agreed to stand as an MP for the seat of Dundee at the next general election.

…

Complications over Shackleton’s candidature arose from

the start. The Party’s committee in Dundee let slip that Shackleton had been adopted as their candidate before it was ratified by the ruling General Committee. In addition, he was mistakenly called ‘Lieutenant Shackleton’ or

a ‘Noted Naval Officer’. In fact, Shackleton had resigned from the Royal Naval Reserve months

earlier and held no rank. For the moment Shackleton was happy to play along with the fiction.

Nor had Shackleton explained his decision to his employers at the RSGS. He naively believed he could stand as an MP while continuing to run the Society and struggled to understand why some members felt uneasy about the possible conflict of interests. Despite Shackleton’s new broom, the RSGS remained an unashamedly conventional institution which cherished its independence from political influences. So far, the membership had only tolerated the change in style ushered in by Shackleton. It did not mean it was universally popular.

Others at the RSGS, like Bartholomew, were prepared to tolerate the maverick in Shackleton in return for a modernised Society. He instinctively knew that Shackleton was no ordinary pen pusher or committee man. “I certainly do not sit in the office if there is nothing to do,” Shackleton wrote. To Bartholomew this was perfectly acceptable. As he explained: “He [Shackleton] cannot settle to sedentary work but is splendid at bustling around.”

However, the most sensitive intervention came from Mill, his closest ally, who understood the inner workings of the RSGS. Mill felt Shackleton was putting his personal interests before the Society’s and was not convinced he was serious about a career in Parliament. Mill also recognised that the controversy played into the hands of those opposed to Shackleton’s reforms.

…

Matters came to a head in January 1905 when the Liberal Unionists formally approved Shackleton as their candidate for the Dundee seat. Soon after, Shackleton tendered his resignation from the RSGS, though it would take fully six months for his departure to be settled.

Michael Smith, a former journalist, is an established authority on polar exploration. He spoke to RSGS audiences in March 2015, and he has written a number of books including Shackleton: By Endurance We Conquer (see back page for details, and for our reader offer).

“Around this time some strange impulse persuaded Shackleton to try his hand at politics.”

14-WINTER 2015-16

The Geographer 29

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International Migration A Very Short IntroductionKhalid Koser (OUP Oxford, February 2007)

Why has international migration become an issue of such intense public and political concern? How closely linked are migrants with terrorist organizations? What factors lie behind the dramatic increase in the number of women migrating?

This book looks at the phenomenon of international human migration to reveal that migration presents opportunities that must be taken advantage of in light of the current economic climate. Koser debunks myths such as the claim that migrants take jobs away from local workers, and that they take advantage of the health care system and western living conditions without returning any benefits of their own, and reveals that society as we now know it cannot function without them. Using interviews with migrants from around the world, he presents the human side of topics such as asylum and refugees, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, development, and the international labour force.

An updated second edition will be published in June 2016.

Ernest Shackleton is one of history’s great explorers, an extraordinary character who pioneered the path to the South Pole over 100 years ago and became a dominant figure in Antarctic discovery. A charismatic personality, his incredible adventures on four expeditions have captivated generations and inspired a dynamic, modern following in business leadership. None more so than the Endurance mission, where Shackleton’s commanding presence saved the lives of his crew when their ship was crushed by ice and they were turned out on to the savage frozen landscape. But Shackleton was a flawed character whose chaotic private life, marked by romantic affairs, unfulfilled ambitions, overwhelming debts and failed business ventures, contrasted with his celebrity status as a leading explorer.

Drawing on extensive research of original diaries and personal correspondence, Michael Smith’s definitive biography brings a fresh perspective to our understanding of this complex man and the heroic age of polar exploration.

Human A Portrait of Our WorldYann Arthus-Bertrand (Thames and Hudson, August 2015)

One day, in Mali, Yann Arthus-Bertrand was the victim of a helicopter breakdown. While waiting for the pilot, he spent the entire

day with a farmer who spoke to him, with great dignity and without complaint, of his daily life, his hopes, his fears and of his sole ambition: to feed his children. Yann was deeply marked by this encounter, by this man to whom he felt so close. This was the first of many such encounters, the outcome of which is Human, a sensitive and loving portrait of mankind as a community, as a family – but most importantly as individuals. It tries to answer the universal and ancient question of who we

are and what we aspire to. It may reveal the dark side of the human condition, but it also sheds light on the best of it, for we all carry inside of us this will to live together in harmony.

Set Adrift Upon the World The Sutherland ClearancesJames Hunter (Birlinn, October 2015)

They would be better dead, they said, than set adrift upon the world. But set adrift they were – thousands of them, their communities destroyed, their homes demolished and burned. Such were the Sutherland Clearances, an extraordinary episode involving the deliberate depopulation of much of a Scottish county, planned and carried out by a small group of men and one woman. Most of those involved wrote a great deal about their actions, intentions and feelings, and much of it has been preserved. There are no equivalent collections of material from those whose communities ceased to exist. Their feelings and fears are harder to access, but they are by no means irrecoverable. James Hunter’s researches took him to archives in Scotland, England and Canada. The result is a gripping, moving, definitive account of a people’s struggle for survival in the face of tragedy and disaster which includes experiences which have not featured in any previous such account.

Nowhere PeopleGreg Constantine (Nowhere People, September 2015)

This is the third book in the Nowhere People series, a ten-year exploration into the lives of stateless individuals and communities around the world. The book exposes the tragic impact statelessness has on communities in 12 countries: Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Kuwait, Iraq, Serbia, Italy, Ukraine, Kenya, Ivory Coast, and the Dominican Republic. While the struggles of stateless people are practically invisible to the world, this book aims to help answer the question “What does statelessness look like in 2015?”, and to reveal the human face of statelessness and the lengths to which stateless people will go to survive and find a place in society. Built around the voices, testimonies and stories of stateless people themselves, Nowhere People provides tangible documentation and proof of a global issue that has been ignored for far too long.

The book is available from www.nowherepeople.org/nowhere-people-book.

RSGS: a better way to see the worldPhone 01738 455050 or visit www.rsgs.org to join the RSGS.Lord John Murray House, 15-19 North Port, Perth, PH1 5LU Charity SC015599

Shackleton By Endurance We Conquer Michael Smith (Oneworld Publications, May 2015)

Readers of The Geographer can purchase Shackleton for only £7.49 (RRP £9.99). To order, please visit www.oneworld-publications.com, search for ‘Shackleton’, and quote the code ‘RSGSOFFER’.

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