Challenging the Status Quo

Abstract

When human rights and the wellbeing, security, and safety of populations come into play, scholars need accord the matter adequate attention. It is surprising, to say the least, that in a time governed by technology and globalization many individuals have become lost in migration. Indeed, subsets of niche migrants, whether forced or otherwise, have long gone unrecognized. Not only has research been mainly driven and dominated by economic factors, compiled data regarding migration is too often skewed or incomplete. Based on this, the thesis seeks to address the question of how morbid migrants challenge the status quo of the state of the field of migration studies when it comes to lack of accountability of their presence and the repercussions such shortcomings can and will have on the migration field as a whole. To achieve this goal the thesis analyzes case studies of groups that fall within this new subset of forced migrants while taking into consideration social, cultural, and personal drivers that might propel or halt their movements. The purpose is to show that there is a vast conceptual shortcoming that need be addressed within this domain if the literature, research, and socio-political apparatus are to be truly representative of all those otherwise deemed lost in migration.