Military conscription in Myanmar and migration crises

Thousands of civilians are expected to join the ranks of the Myanmar military due to conscription, replenishing shortages and losses on the battlefield. The generals ruling the country since the coup in 2021 demand that from April this year, all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 must complete at least two years of compulsory service in the armed forces. The recruitment campaign threatens to trigger a large migration from Myanmar, including towards Thailand.

The crisis and unrest in Haiti could lead to a sharp increase in migration to Florida, so lawmakers are preparing for an influx of Haitian migrants. Migration from Haiti to Florida has been going on for years and requires crossing a sea route of over 1,100 kilometres. Currently, over 276,000 people born in Haiti live in Florida.

Spanish police have dismantled a network of criminals preying on the families of deceased migrants who wanted to repatriate the remains of their loved ones. For years, the network made money by charging families in Algeria and Morocco to provide them with often false information about migrants who died at sea or whose bodies washed ashore in southern Spain. The suspects allegedly forced migrant families to sign illegal contracts to identify bodies and repatriate them, and to lure relatives, they used fake profiles on social media, cooperated with employees of public institutions and informed families of deceased migrants that the only way to recover their bodies was advance payments for their services.