2014 was the deadliest year for migrants. The International Organization for Migration reported that the number of migrants dying on migratory routes, whether at sea or on land, has more than doubled from last year to close to 5,000.

In October 2013, 366 migrants died when their boat caught fire and sank off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. Less than a year later, 500 migrants were feared dead after their ship was rammed by another boat near Malta, only days after a different vessel carrying 200 people sank off the coast of Libya. 

The Mediterranean has been labeled the deadliest sea; this year alone, more than 3,000 migrants went missing trying to reach Europe, presumed drowned. 

Throughout history migration has always been a strategy for improving the human condition. When IOM asked thousands of migrants around the world what migration meant to them, the responses were overwhelmingly positive: opportunity, freedom, rights, family, friends, love, hope and security.

The 243 million international migrants and 740 million internal migrants around the world have left home with the simple objective of pursuing better lives for themselves and their families. Yet for far too many people, the search for better opportunities comes at an extremely high price. More and more migrants are facing unimaginable and often fatal dangers along their journey.

It is a paradox that at a time when 1 in 7 people around the world are migrants in one form or another, we are witnessing a harsher response to migration, particularly in the developed world.

Migration, especially irregular migration, is a controversial topic. Too often the debate focuses on its perceived negative socioeconomic impact.

One major misperception about migration is that migrants are a burden. In reality, migrants make vast contributions to host countries. In many advanced and emerging economies including South Korea, migrants play an indispensable role in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, tourism and domestic work.

Many governments recognize that migrants ― including irregular migrants ― are becoming the backbones of their economies and solving the critical labor shortage problem. It is a fact that migrants fill vital jobs unwanted by natives and that their presence, activities and initiatives create additional employment.

The perception that migrants represent a financial burden on host countries is simply unfounded. Beyond positive economic contributions, migrants bring diverse thoughts and experiences that enrich our societies.

Yet we are seeing a rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in the developed world. Negative public opinion on migration affects countries’ border management policies and consequently migrants face even narrower paths for legal migration.

Limited opportunities for safe and regular migration drive migrants into the hands of smugglers and traffickers, feeding an unscrupulous trade that exploits and threatens the lives of desperate and vulnerable people. Still many are willing to spend their life savings or take on massive debts and risk their own and their families’ lives for a new start.

Death is a risk worth taking in desperate situations where violence, persecution, famine, or lack of opportunities remove even the prospect of a dignified life.

Migration is the mega-trend of the 21st century. We need to stop abuse and exploitation of migrants, and move away from prejudices based on myths and misconceptions. We must recognize that undocumented migrants are not criminals, but human beings with transcendent dignity in need of protection, entitled to legal assistance, and deserving respect.

As the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “No migrant should be sent back to a place where he or she will be tortured. Every migrant woman should have access to health care. Every migrant child should be able to go to school.”

States have the sovereignty to manage their borders based on their national interests, but they are also expected to uphold their international legal obligations. All persons, without discrimination and regardless of their nationality or legal status, are entitled to fundamental human rights.

Our societies must be better than to simply judge people by their legal status. No one should have to put themselves and their children on a sinking ship to pursue a better life. When we save the lives of migrants, protect their rights and provide a path to a dignified future, it’s amazing what migrants bring. 

By Park Mi-hyung

Park Mi-hyung is head of the International Organization for Migration’s Seoul office ― Ed.