When Europe’s migrant crisis first erupted six years ago, the continent was inundated with a wave of asylum applicants, the bulk of whom hailed from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2015, the number of applicants requesting resettlement in the EU from those three countries tripled, quadrupled and sextupled, respectively, compared with the previous year.
Although the precise reasons why it all seemed to happen at once, in a single year, continue to be debated, the fact that Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq were the main points of origin was less perplexing, given the violent wars experienced there. And Europe was not the only destination for the people fleeing them. Large, middle-income countries in the region – Turkey and Iran chief among them – also absorbed millions of Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis.
They were hardly models of stability themselves. Turkey was witnessing the transformation of its dynamic republic into an increasingly authoritarian country, and although Iran had scored a nuclear deal with western powers that should have buoyed its economy, political sabre-rattling and mismanagement of public funds kept it crippled.
Data released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, show that, in the aftermath of the 2015 migrant crisis, increasing numbers of Turks and Iranians have sought to become asylum claimants themselves. According to the agency’s figures, asylum claims from Iranian nationals shot up in 2016 to more than 36,000, quadruple those of two years earlier. Since 2017, they have been overtaken by claims from Turks, who increased their asylum claims by a whopping 520 per cent in the four years up to 2019. Last year, more than 15,000 Turks travelled to Europe as refugees, just a few thousand fewer than the number of Iraqis who did the same.
A stream of refugees out of Iran was, perhaps, a long time coming. The country has been in almost-perpetual economic stagnation and political isolation since its so-called Islamic Revolution, and the flood of Afghans, many of whom were living in Iranian camps, to Europe likely inspired many Iranians to join the trip.
But the trend in Turkey is the result of the more recent, eccentric and oppressive path the country has headed down in recent years. The alienation of ethnic minorities has created an atmosphere of hostility in many eastern and southern Turkish cities, home to large Kurdish and Arab populations. Young people, particularly students, have seen employment opportunities diminish as a result of erratic economic policies and crackdowns on political protests.
Since 2019, Europe has been much tougher on asylum claims and worked to stifle the smuggling routes that support them. Many Syrians and Afghans have been deported back to the wars from whence they fled, and the numbers of new arrivals from the Middle East more generally have shrunk somewhat.
The border freezes caused by Covid-19 will have helped stem the tide. Consequently, many of those fleeing war elsewhere in the region have diverted their ambitions back to Turkey. But for its own people as well as those seeking safety there, it is not quite the haven it once was.
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE) TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1.
United States
2.
China
3.
UAE
4.
Japan
5
Norway
6.
Canada
7.
Singapore
8.
Australia
9.
Saudi Arabia
10.
South Korea
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta) Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli) Best Team: Atalanta Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta) Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia) Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus) Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan) Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Have a cuddle with pets and loved ones to help stay cosy
Eat ginger but avoid chilli as it makes you sweat
Put on extra layers
Do a few star jumps
Avoid alcohol
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
