Friday, January 27, 2012

Blog #2: Brazil to Grant Work Visas to Haitians

    Many countries around the world discourage immigration and make it hard for people to work and live legally in their countries. Brazil is one of those countries. However, since the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the government of Brazil has decided to make exceptions for those migrating to Brazil from Haiti in search of work and refuge. Brazil is granting work visas to a number Haitians coming to Brazil and they are expecting to grant over a 100 visas a month. Thousands of Haitians have traveled through the rough terrain of the Amazon in order to get to Brazil and many people who are stuck in towns outside of the Amazon are also being given visas to work. People from Pakistan and India who have traveled the same route through the Amazon to get to Brazil are normally immediately expelled from the country but Haitians are being given exceptions by the government. Especially because of the 2014 World Cup as well as the 2016 Olympics scheduled to take place in Brazil, manual labor has significantly increased and is in high demand. Even so, the amount of Haitians coming into Brazil are making it hard for authorities to house and feed while their applications are being reviewed.    There are many great things about what Brazil is doing and it could benefit the country greatly. Yet , as always, when there are good outcomes, there are also bad ones. Not only is Brazil helping the Haitian people, who are in dire need of it, but they are also benefiting their country’s productivity by allowing these people to come in and work, thus benefiting their economy. This also is going to give the Haitian people more opportunities to better their lives and allow them a chance to possibly return back to their own country and contribute the Haitian economy as well.
    However, this could emerge new problems for the country as well as the society. Because of the culture differences this could cause conflict within the community of Brazil. Culture clashes have always been a source of conflict in many areas and many people are very much ethnocentric, causing conflicts between cultures over misunderstandings and differences in values, languages and beliefs. Another issue that could arise is worker exploitation. Even though the country is giving them opportunities to work, they could end up underpaying them, not giving them equal pay for equal work, and they could also end up providing no worker benefits to them at all, such as taking deductions from their pay checks without providing any kind of health benefits, housing benefits, etc.  Over population is also another issue to consider when bringing new people into the country and market prices could inflate. Considering the condition of Haiti and their people, right now this an important and beneficial thing Brazil is doing for them. Though overtime, this could end up bringing new complications for everyone.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/11/world/americas/brazil-to-grant-work-visas-to-haitians.html?_r=1&ref=migrantlabor

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