Dr. Elizabeth Ferris Addresses AMUN on Migration and Refugees and the Moral Necessity of Compassion
Editorial Board by Silvia Pellegrino and Daniel Frederick
With extensive experience in immigration both academically and in the field, Dr. Elizabeth Ferris shared the powerful effect that personal connections can have on immigration issues. Dr. Ferris is a Research Professor with the Institute for Study of International Migration at the Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Non-resident Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution.
Dr. Ferris spoke to representatives about the struggles migrants and refugees face in today’s world, where the word ‘refugee’ is typically charged with political meaning and a negative connotation.
Dr. Ferris’ remarks focus on the current global trend in migration. She reminded the body that migration is not a new phenomenon and that there is no such thing as a ‘rise in migration,’ but just a rise in global population. Through her expertise and personal experience, she delivered an overview of the topics that was both compassionate and extremely informative at the same time.
As a citizen of the United States of America, she expressed both her satisfaction and disappointment in the country’s politics on immigration. During an exclusive interview with this newspaper’s editorial staff, she said “I’ve always been very proud of the U.S. refugee program. We do it because it’s morally right. The economic benefit is just kind of gravy.” During the interview, she also expressed concern about the lack of global leadership in addressing migrant crises around the world. On one hand, she is proud of belonging to a country built on immigrants of various ancestries, but she has also expressed her disappointment in the policies of separation at the border, the use of immigration as a political tool, and withdrawal from the Global Compact on Refugees.
Dr. Ferris’ presence at the 2018 AMUN Conference was accepted most graciously by participants. After her keynote address she answered a series of probing questions from representatives. The session displayed Dr. Ferris’ broad mental cache of hard data that she has personally collected over a 30 plus year career in the field. She reminded the body of the importance of creating one global definition of refugee status and building a coalition on the topic of migration, which has been severely underresourced by the United Nations so far. In answering the representatives’ questions, Dr. Ferris talked about the political divide centered around migration globally, environmental migration, refugees’ wishes to return to their home safely, LGBQTIA+ refugees, students and individuals affected by the situation of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Dr. Ferris also recalled her humble beginnings saying, “I’ve been a big believer in the model UN since I was in high school where I participated myself.” AMUN is a training ground for our world’s future leaders and representatives. Dr. Ferris extended her best regards to all individual participants in the body, saying “I hope that you are able to use the knowledge gained here in shaping a better world, either at the UN or in policies toward the UN.”
Dr. Ferris also commented to reporters about being a mother while traveling the world. As Dr. Ferris concluded her interiview with IPD’s editorial staff, she said “It can be done, you can be successful in your career, and have a wonderful family life.”