What forced many to emigrate was not a better salary, but unlawful dismissals, passport cancellations, the threat of arrest, professional ruin, social exclusion, and deep fear regarding their children’s future.
Some discussions on migration emphasize that human mobility is more closely linked to economic development and long-term societal transformations than to sudden crises. While this perspective is certainly valuable for understanding certain aspects of global migration flows—as people move across countries for work, education, family reunification, or better living conditions—it must not obscure one of the most pressing realities of our time: in today’s world, millions of people are not merely migrating; they are being forcibly displaced (https://www.welt.de/wissenschaft/article6a2fb2dd0611b9299a15580d/migration-eher-von-wirtschaftlicher-entwicklung-angetrieben-als-von-ploetzlichen-isolierten-krisen.html).
The global number of international migrants rose from approximately 160 million in 1990 to 304 million in 2024—nearly doubling. As a proportion of the world population, the migrant share increased from roughly 2.9–3.0% in 1990 to 3.7% in 2024 (https://www.migrationdataportal.org/themes/international-migrant-stocks-overview). Although the vast majority of migrants (about 60%) move for employment purposes, the proportion of people involved in cross-border forced migration or holding refugee status is estimated at around 17% (with the remaining ~23% attributed to mixed reasons such as family reunification and education) (https://www.unhcr.org/global-trends-report-2024).
Forced migration is not an economic choice; it is, in most cases, a survival strategy. The academics, teachers, physicians, legal professionals, and civil servants forced to leave Erdoğan’s Turkey did not set out in search of higher incomes. Many held respected professional positions, enjoyed relative economic security, and were socially well-established in their home country. What drove them to emigrate was not the prospect of a better salary, but rather unlawful dismissals, passport revocations, the threat of arrest, professional ruin, social ostracism, and deep anxiety about their children’s futures (https://turkeypurge.org/ https://www.statista.com/chart/5333/the-targets-of-erdogans-purge/).
The same applies to the women, academics, journalists, and former civil servants fleeing Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Similarly, the millions fleeing Syria, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, or other conflict zones are rarely in pursuit of economic opportunity; they are escaping bombs, oppression, arbitrary violence, state collapse, or systematic human rights violations. Consequently, attempting to explain forced migration solely through the lens of economic development theories ignores the political and moral realities experienced by the victims.
Today, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide exceeds 100 million. This figure is not merely a statistic; it represents shattered families, interrupted educations, silenced academic voices, derailed careers, and lives condemned to uncertainty. A significant portion of these displaced individuals are still searching for safety within their own countries; Meanwhile, millions of people are striving to rebuild their lives in other countries as refugees, asylum seekers, or under temporary protection status (https://www.unhcr.org/hk/en/about-unhcr/overview/figures-glance).
The impact of forced migration on the academic world is even more profound. Uprooting an academic from their country is not merely an individual tragedy; it is also a blow to society’s collective memory, its capacity for critical thought, and its scientific output. When universities are silenced, it is not only academics who lose out, but also students, institutions, and future generations. The destruction of academic freedom amounts to severing a country’s intellectual lifelines.
For this reason, the issue of migration is not simply a matter of humanitarian aid or integration for Academic Solidarity. It is also a fundamental arena of solidarity concerning academic freedom, human dignity, and the future of democratic societies. The stories of forcibly displaced academics reveal that migration is not a choice, but the last resort for preserving one’s dignity, profession, and freedom.
Economic factors certainly play a significant role in global migration movements. However, equating forced migration with economic migration would be both an analytical and a moral error. Economic migration is often driven by the desire for better opportunities. Forced migration, on the other hand, is frequently a matter of exercising one’s last remaining option: to flee, to survive, and to start over.
What we need today is not a language that views migrants and refugees merely as statistics, burdens, or security threats, but a language of solidarity that makes their knowledge, experiences, professional backgrounds, and human stories visible. Academic solidarity must be strengthened by amplifying the voices of the silenced, making visible the labor of the displaced, and opening up new intellectual spaces for scientists who have lost their freedom.
We can discuss the economic dynamics of migration. Yet, at the heart of forced migration lies not economics, but freedom. And standing in solidarity with those deprived of their freedom is not merely a humanitarian duty; it is an act of upholding the very reason for the academic world’s existence.
