Alexander Betts
130 μ¢¤³£ ¬μμ¬
can regularize their status, access public services, and Änd work. By con-
trast, those without papers cannot get even the most basic entitlements.
Competition and a lack o adequate coordination among £ agencies
and nongovernmental organizations is palpable. For example, during my
recent visit to the border, some organizations pushed for unrestricted
cash assistance to Venezuelans, while others—among them, the Colom-
bian government—strongly counseled that this would merely exacerbate
existing tensions between migrants and locals. Several agencies com-
plained that other agencies initiated schemes without consulting relevant
partners, despite the existence o an inter-agency coordination platform.
There are, o course, some guiding lights. In beleaguered Cúcuta, a
“one-stop shop” border point operated by £ agencies and nongov-
ernmental organizations oers emergency relie and guidance to those
who most need it. Here, and at other points along the border, £¤μ
provides vaccines to the youngest migrants. And a few reception cen-
ters oer overnight housing, but only on a temporary basis. Most
migrants, however, rely on their kith and kin to survive.LESSONS FROM THE PAST
A new approach is needed to handle this situation—one that recognizes
the contemporary realities o survival migration and relies on interna-
tional cooperation rather than unilateralism. In 2016, Europe belatedly
began to Änd solutions by strengthening international cooperation both
among and beyond the 28 ¤ member states. The drop in Mediterra-
nean crossings between 2016 and 2019 is due in part to improvements in
the security situation in Syria. But the change has also come from stra-
tegic reforms aimed at strengthening internal and external cooperation.
In March 2016, the ¤ signed an agreement with Turkey, which dur-
ing the crisis was the last place that millions o migrants passed through
on their way to Europe. The ¤ oered Turkey around two billion eu-
ros o assistance in exchange for hosting and integrating refugees while
limiting their outward movement. (Although criticized for making
some migrant journeys even more dangerous, the deal has reduced Ae-
gean Sea crossings for Greece and supported Turkey’s capacity and
willingness to host 3.7 million refugees. Unfortunately, due to the
growth o anti-immigrant sentiment in Turkey, ocials in Ankara have
recently started resettling refugees in the Levant.) The ¤ also created
an emergency assistance fund for Africa in late 2015 and dedicated more
than four billion euros to support collaboration in the broad area o