WHERE can workers and wrongfully treated individuals — based on their nationality, ethnic affiliation, religion or membership in a particular social group — find peace, employment and protection — permanently?

The International Rescue Community (IRC) reported that “the wealthiest countries host just 24 percent of the world’s refugees. The remaining 76 percent are hosted by poor, low and middle-income countries.”

IRC was founded at the call of Albert Einstein in 1933, working in over 50 crisis-affected countries as well as communities throughout Europe and the Americas.

Ironically, most of the top 10 countries with the highest number of refugees are themselves in a state of flux, mired in the war between Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Hamas, as well as those fleeing the still raging conflicts in Afghanistan.

IRC shows that Turkey is the single biggest host country for refugees. Most refugees living in Turkey come from Syria, where an ongoing conflict has displaced families since 2011.

Fifty-two percent of all refugees in the world were displaced from just three countries by the end of 2022: Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey each hosted 3.4 million refugees, the largest population worldwide. Germany was third with 2.5 million, followed by Colombia with slightly less than 2.5 million, including other people in need of international protection. Pakistan hosted 2.1 million refugees.

West then?

The proximity of the UK makes it a natural magnet for refugees and skilled workers from the time it was a member of the European Union.

Brexit made it hard for nationals from Eastern European areas to come and go. Those who make it to the countries sharing borders with the United Kingdom, refugees and asylees take their chances on boats through the English Channel.

Immediately after and until Dec. 31, 2022, there were around 132,000 asylum applications involving 161,000 people with the UK Home Office.

Parliament.uk reported 20,888 (12 percent) people were granted refugee status or other protection following an asylum application in the year ending June 2023.

The asylum backlog prompted UK’s Home Office Secretary Suella Braverman to argue that “international refugee rules must be rewritten to reduce the number of people entitled to protection” as the Conservative government seeks international support for its tough stance on unauthorized migration.

In addition, Braverman (herself with recent immigrant roots) said that those “illegally crossing the Channel on small boats “possess values which are at odds with our country” as well as “heightened levels of criminality.”

The UK made arrangements with third countries to act as “hosts” to asylum seekers, mostly from Africa and Europe.

Immigrant advocates took the Home Office to court.

On Nov. 15, 2023, the UK Supreme Court struck down the UK government’s plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda, unanimously ruling that the government’s controversial immigration policy was unlawful.

To overcome the high court’s ruling, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a news conference that he would “pass emergency legislation” to deem Rwanda a safe country and that he would “not allow foreign courts to block the flights” the UK plans to use to transfer migrants to the African country.

US refugee program

In contrast to the US policy from1865 to the early 1900s when the Statue of Liberty beckoned the poor and persecuted — the “tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free: the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door” — the US has not only restricted access of the poor and undocumented to the 50 states but also banned the admission of legal immigrants from getting their visas.

Under the Trump administration, America’s annual resettlement cap reached a historic low of 15,000. President Joe Biden has reversed course and raised the cap to 62,500 for the remainder of FY 2021 and then to 125,000 for FY 2022 and FY 2023. The US still lags behind its neighbor to the North.

Canada as permanent sanctuary

Take note that Canada’s main immigration agency is aptly named Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) reported that “in 2022 Canada received 94,246 asylum applications. Most of them came from Mexico, Haiti and Turkey. A total of 39,835 decisions have been made on initial applications. Around 68 percent of them were answered positively.

As the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Canada welcomed 40,415 Afghan refugees under all streams since August 2021.

Responding to the humanitarian crisis in Syria — and working with Canadians from coast to coast to coast, private sponsors, nongovernmental organizations, and provincial, territorial, municipal governments, and international partners — Canada settled more than 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February 2016. And Canada did not stop there. In April 2018, Canada created the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot Program (EEMP) aimed at helping skilled refugees and their families immigrate to Canada through existing economic immigration pathways.

Under EEMP, skilled workers/ refugees may immigrate through one of three selected economic programs: the Atlantic Immigration Program, the Provincial Nominee Program and the Rural and Northern Immigration Program (RNIP), also referred to as the regional EMPP.

Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program provides permanent protection to refugees located in countries of asylum. In 2022, Canada intends to welcome between 55,000 and 79,500

Skilled workers welcome, too

In 2021, Canada issued 415,817 work permits to foreign workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker and International Mobility Program.

Last year, IRCC reported a record number of 608,420 Canadian work permits compared to 2021.

Filipinos affected by the IsraelHamas war may check how Canada’s current federal and provincial programs may be available to them.

In 2017, when then-president Rodrigo Duterte visited Israel and Jordan, the government said there were some 28,000 Filipinos residing in the country. The majority of OFWs were in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.

After the October 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel, hundreds of Filipinos were repatriated to the Philippines, some with established Israeli and Palestinian family ties.

On November 13, the Philippine News Agency reported that “a total of 224 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and eight children had been repatriated back to the country — so far.”

For those still in the areas of conflict and where there is no immediate or long-term solution in sight, at least two provinces in Canada offer options to skilled workers in entry or semi-skilled occupations.

For Filipinos who are either married to or have been in a commonlaw relationship with a Palestinian or a national who may qualify under Canada’s refugee and protected person status, Canada’s immigration programs at the federal and provincial levels may offer alternatives.

The Filipino professional or skilled worker spouse or commonlaw partner may be the principal applicant through the Express Entry program, or the Palestinian, Israel or Jordanian partner may pursue the refugee resettlement program.

Canada’s western provinces

Alberta has the Opportunity Stream, where skilled workers/refugees may explore eligibility under the province’s priority sector occupations: agriculture, construction, tourism and hospitality.

Alberta’s share of immigrants to be admitted to the province through these programs is 3.900.

To support the province’s tourism and hospitality sector hit hard by Covid-19 and the continuing labor shortages that are affecting industry recovery and growth, Alberta’s Advantage Immigration Program is developing a new tourism and hospitality immigration stream.

Under the Rural Renewal Stream, skilled workers/refugees may qualify through the combined efforts of an employer and a designated community. Alberta’s PNP page on the topic explains that “Communities can also endorse refugees who qualify under the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) with the support of a nongovernmental referral partner. Referral partners help EMPP candidates with the AAIP application process.”

British Columbia route

The province has the EESL stream for workers in select occupations in the tourism/hospitality or food processing sectors to gain permanent residence in B.C.

The entry-level and semi-skilled stream is a way for workers in select occupations in the tourism/hospitality or food processing sectors to gain permanent residence in B.C. The occupations eligible under ELSS (and to which skilled workers and/or refugees could qualify) are hotel front desk clerks; tour and travel guides, casino workers, outdoor sport and recreational guides; maîtres d’hôtel and hosts/ hostesses, bartenders, food and beverage servers food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related, support occupations; process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing, industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers, fish and seafood plant workers, testers and graders, laborers in food and beverage processing; and support occupations in accommodation, travel and facilities setup services, light duty cleaners, specialized cleaners, janitors, caretakers and heavy-duty cleaners.

West of the Middle East?

At the time of writing, there were approved job orders for cleaners in the following countries: Bahrain, 1; Kuwait, 4; Qatar, 2; Saudi Arabia, 6; United Arab Emirates, 4; Oman, 2; Jordan, 1; Macau, 1; Finland, 2; and Romania, 1.

Licensed recruitment agencies for Oman employers have the most number of approved job orders (99), followed by Finland (79), Macau (70), Kuwait (30), and Saudi Arabia (21). For a complete listing, you may check the official DMW link: https://www.dmw.gov.ph/ approved-job-orders

Laborer listing

Cuban employers (3 of 4 listings) and Saudi Arabia (2). Licensed recruitment for employers in these countries listed laborers mainly for construction and related sectors. But the overall number of workers needed is only 18.

Given Canada’s history of welcoming and settling refugees and skilled workers, the West has an official advantage.