Time was when revolutions meant that the poor and wretched grabbed what they had (knives, pitchforks) and rushed to where the rich and powerful lived and knocked a few heads down. The new governments turned out no different, but that is another story. We saw that in France in 1789 and then in Russia in 1917.

Things are different now. The poor and wretched grab their backpacks and start walking to a rich and powerful country.

It happened in Europe in 2015. Desperate people, escaping wars and poverty, jumped into rickety boats and landed on the shores of Greece, Turkey and Italy and started marching towards Germany and the northern European countries that have soft hearts. Some countries along the way like Hungary egged them on with empathy and support. Others, like Denmark, went by the rules. The EU could not construct a policy to satisfy all. The UK got scared and decided to exit the EU rather than deal with such situations where they have to agree to a Brussels decree. In other countries like Italy and Sweden, Rright wing parties began winning more seats, promising to restrict immigration.

Now it is the turn of the Americas. A small group of about 200 from Honduras exchanged messages on social media to head towards the US to escape the violence and poverty at home. Rather than pay human smugglers, they walked as a group for mutual safety. When people from other Central American countries found out, they thought it was a great idea, joined in and the migrants have grown to thousands.

Trump warning

President Trump learnt his lessons seeing Europe struggle and stumble dealing with the marching migrants. He sent his officials down to the governments to talk them into taking action. He threatened Mexico with stringent action if they did not stop the marchers from their border. Many turned back and others took the offer of asylum that Mexico announced. Trump warned the governments of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala of withholding aid if they did not do enough to stop their people from beginning these marches. He has threatened to send the US army to the border to prevent the estimated 5000 or so from crossing the border. And he will.

Think about it. The desperate ones of today have found an alternative to a revolution at home and just begin walking, thinking anything and anywhere is better than this. And their governments shamelessly let them go. Thanks to camera crews and smartphones, the world watches and local police are reluctant to take tough action. Reporters write heart-rending stories of the struggle of individual families and sympathetically call them caravans. Liberals around the world fill the social media with messages demonising governments for not taking them in.

On the other side, can a responsible government sit back and watch thousands walk in without proper papers? Culturally, societies are uncomfortable with large numbers of ‘different’ people being allowed to settle. Security requires that those coming in are carefully vetted. An important step towards a solution will be when governments are able to differentiate between refugees and economic migrants. The former deserve humanitarian response. The latter need to stand in line and apply. Bangladesh could not stop the flood of the Rohingyas and will have to deal with it for decades. Jordan took in the Palestinians when Israel threw them out and has been dealing with it for decades. Unfortunately, as economic inequality and tolerance worsens around the world, the poor and wretched will have no other option but to try and move to where they can eke out a better living. That is a sad comment on global society.

The writer is a professor at Suffolk University, Boston.

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