MIGRATION REVISION

International Migration

VOLUNTARYFORCEDMIGRATION

Voluntary migration is when the individual or household has a free choice about whether to move or not.Forced migration occurs when the individual or household has little or no choice but to move.Refugee is a person who has been forced to leave home and country because of ‘a well-founded fear of persecution’ on account of race, religion, social group or political opinion.Internally displaced person is someone who has been forced to leave his/her home for reasons similar to those of a refugee but who remains in the same country.

SOURCEANDRECEIVINGAREA

Source area is the region from which a group of migrants originates.Receiving area is the region to which migrants move.Remittances are money sent back to their families in their home communities by migrants.Diaspora is the dispersal of a people from their original homeland.Multiplier effect is where an increase in the money supply in a region sets off an upward spiral of development as this money circulates in the economy.Ethnicity is the identification of individuals with particular ethnic groups.

REMITTANCE

RACIALASSIMILATIONANDETHNICVILLAGESRacial assimilation is the gradual process of integration into the mainstream community. This process has three main strands, which are broadly in chronological order: economic, social and political.Ethnic villages to a greater or lesser extent show clear evidence of the groups residing within their areas in terms of shops, places of worship, schools, cinemas, newspapers, social facilities, advertising and of course street presence.

TOPICSUMMARY1

International migration is a major global issue. In the past it has had a huge impact on both donor and receiving nations.In terms of voluntary migration it is useful to differentiate between independent and dependent movements.Currently, one in every 35 people around the world is living outside the country of their birth. This amounts to about 175 million people, higher than ever before.Globalisation in all its aspects has led to an increased awareness of opportunities in other countries. With advances in transportation and communication and a reduction in the real cost of both, the world’s population has never had a higher level of potential mobility.

TOPICSUMMARY2

Even in recent times the scale of involuntary movement in he developing world is considerably higher than most people think.Not all displaced people have crossed international frontiers to merit the term ‘refugee’ movements. Instead, many have involved internal displacement. This is a major global problem that is showing little sign of abatement.A total of 42 million people were classed as displaced in 2009 with the largest numbers being in Africa and the Asia–Pacific region.Because poor nations do not possess the funds to minimise the consequences of natural disaster as developed nations can, forced migration is often the result.

TOPICSUMMARY3

Recent international migration reports have stressed the sharp rise in the number of people migrating to the world’s richest countries for work.The World Bank estimates that international remittances totalled $397 billion in 2008, of which $305 billion went to developing countries, involving some 190 million migrants or 3 per cent of world population.Some economists argue that remittances are the developing world’s most effective source of financing.

TOPICSUMMARY4

Social assimilation usually follows on the back of economic assimilation, although the speed and degree to which it is achieved tends to be strongly related to the socio-political maturity of the host society as well as to the degree of difference between an immigrant community and the host society.Migration has played a major role in shaping the global cultural map.

TOPICSUMMARY5

Significant levels of international migration can have a considerable political impact both within and between countries.London is undoubtedly the most cosmopolitan city in Europe.Some commentators go further and view London as the most multiracial city in the world.The concept of ethnic villages often appears in newspapers, magazines and academic journals.