Al Hussein is 19. He is struggling to stay seated on top of a huge truck
crossing the desert. He has been riding like that for hours, breathing dust, in
an unbearable heat. He has left his home, his twin brother, and the rest of his
family down South. Beyond the desert lies the sea, and maybe, if he is lucky a
boat to Europe where he hopes to get a job, to start a new life, and to send
money to his village.
Al Hussein is hardly alone in his perilous trek. Some 150 million men,
women and even children, about three percent of the world‘s population, are
outside their country of origin coming as strangers to the country where they
reside. There is no continent, no region of the world which has no migrants
within its boundaries. Every country has become a country of origin, transit or
destination of migrants. Many are all three. More than half of international
migrants live in developing countries. According to the International
Organization for Migration, the
largest numbers of international migrants are located in Asia; Europe and
North America have about equal numbers followed by Africa, Latin America, and
Oceania with progressively fewer numbers. The International Labor Organization
(ILO) estimates that up to 80 million of these are migrant workers. In 1997, ILO
estimated that the number of migrant workers was as follows: Africa, 20 Million;
North America, 17 million; Central andSouth America 12 million; Asia 7 million;
the Middle East (Arab countries), 9 million, and Europe 30 million.
Migration is hardly a recent or localized phenomenon. Women and men have
been leaving their homelands in search of a better job. People also leave their
own countries because of civil conflicts and insecurity or persecution. However,
in this globalized world, we are witnessing unprecedentedly high labor mobility
and an increasing pressure of migration. Gareth Howell, International Labor
Organization representative to the United Nations, points out that “the
increasing restrictions on immigration leads to increased trafficking of
migrants often with tragic personal consequences.”
Women and children account for more than half of the refugees, and their
proportion are increasing in the case of other categories of migrants. 96
percent of children who work and sleep in the street are migrants,about half of
them girls aged between 8 and 14. Migrants are a particularly vulnerable group
and see their rights routinely violated, not only as workers, but as human
beings. They commonly face discrimination and xenophobic hostility. According to
the International Organization for migration (IOM) migrants “are more and more
targeted as the scapegoats for all manner of domestic problems facing societies
today, particularly unemployment, crime, drugs, even terrorism.” As noted by Ms
Gabriela Rodriguez Pizarro, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human
rights of migrants “This is especially true in the case of the many migrants who
are undocumented or in an irregular situation, including the victims of
trafficking in persons, who are the most vulnerable to human rights violations.”
According to the UN, between 300,000 and 600,000 women are smuggled each year
into the European Union and certain Central European countries. The problem is
also widespread in Africa and Latin America.
Reading Comprehension
1.Which of the following is not mentioned in the first paragraph?
[A] Al Hussein was going abroad for work.
[B] The work that Al Hussein intended to do was very hard.
[C] Al Hussein was so young.
[D] Al Hussein wanted to start a new life.
2.What‘s the most suitable title for the article?
[A] Working Far From Home?
[B] Migration and Discrimination.
[C] To go abroad.
[D]Problems about migration.
3.Read the third paragraph and find out which one was not true.
[A] Migration is a phenomenon which exist for a long time.
[B] Migration is not a localized phenomenon.
[C] Migration is localized but not a recent phenomenon.
[D] Globalized world has high labor mobility.
4.Which of the following is true?
[A] Women required for their human rights.
[B] Children account for 96 percent of migrants.
[C] Half of the female migrants aged between 8 and 14.
[D] Male adults account for less than half of the refugees.
5.What does paragraph 5 mainly talk about?
[A]The problems of migrants are increasing
[B] Migration need to face discrimination, and there human rights are
vulnerable.
[C] Migration need more of human rights.
[D] Most women are smuggled each year.