Chapter 3: Migration

Chapter 3: Migration

1. WHAT IS MIGRATION?

   • CYLIC MOVEMENT
     • Movement within activity spaces.
       • Ex. Commuting to work, school etc.
     • Seasonal movement
       • Ex. Wealthy people from cold places in Canada and the Northern US travel to places where it's warmer.
     • Nomadism
   • PERIODIC MOVEMENT
     • Involves returning home, but still a long distance away.
     • Migrant Labor
     • Transhumance
       • Farmers move cattle and other livestock to pastures based on seasonal availability, and follow them there, living off the land as best they can.
       • Military service
         • Soldiers are stationed in far away places, but eventually return home.
   • MIGRATION
     • Permanent relocation
     • 2 Types: International & Internal
       • Ex. African-Americans internally migrated from the Southern states to the Northern states in the 1900s, enjoying their newly-acquired freedom.
     • IRCA gave permanent residence to 2.6 million migrants that had been living in the US for a long time.

2. WHY DO PEOPLE MIGRATE?

   • Migration: Forced vs Voluntary
     • Not always clear
       • Ex. Irish people migrating to the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Forced: They migrated because of public persecution and the potato famine. Voluntary: They chose to migrate to the US.
   • Forced Migration
     • Ex. Atlantic Slave Trade: largest forced migration ever.
   • PUSH AND PULL FACTORS IN VOLUNTARY MIGRATION
     • Ravenstein's Laws of Migration:
       • Every migration generates a return.
       • Most migrants move a short distance.
       • Migrants who move long distances tend to choose big cities.
       • Urban residents are less likely to migrate than rural residents.
       • Families are less likely to migrate internationally than young adults.
     • The gravity model relates places to population size and distance, and gives us a guide to expected migration.
     • Step migration consists of a series of stages.
   • TYPES OF PUS AND PULL FACTORS
     • You must have a visa to be a legal immigrant.
     • Most migrants are in search of a better life.
     • Power relationships are common with migrant labor. Employers hire migrant workers who they think would work best for them.
   • CONTRIBUTIONS TO MIGRATION: Political circumstances, armed conflict and war, & environmental conditions.
   • TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
     • Communication technology strengthens kinship links.
   • CULTURE & TRADITION
     • People are afraid their culture and traditions won't survive a major political transition, so they migrate.

3. WHERE DO PEOPLE MIGRATE?

   • GLOBAL MIGRATION FLOWS
     • See Fig. 3.11 (attached)
   • GLOBAL MIGRATION FLOWS
     • (For info on migration routes, see map attached)
   • REGIONAL MIGRATION FLOWS
     • Economic Opportunities
       • Paying-jobs are located in "islands of development, where a lot of migrants are concentrated.
     • Reconnection of Cultural Groups
       • Focus on reconnecting cultural groups across borders. Ex. Migration of Jews from Europe to Israel / Palestine.
     • From an area of conflict to a safer area.
   • NATIONAL MIGRATION FLOWS
     • Russia experienced an internal migration from west to east.
       • Russification - when the Soviet Union tried to transform all Soviet territory to Russian culture.
   • REFUGEES
     • Some refugees are elgible for asylum, meaning they have the right to protection in the first country they arrive in.
     • The Middle East, especially Afghanistan and Iraq, generates the most refugees out of any other region in the world.
     • In the 1990's, the UNHCR reported a shocking amour of refugees in Europe, as a result of the collapse of Yugoslavia.

4. HOW DO GOVERNMENTS AFFECT MIGRATION?

   • LEGAL RESTRICTIONS
     • Many countries have laws about who can immigrate into the country. Often, the obstacles in the way of potential immigrants are legal, not physical.
   • WAVES OF IMMIGRATION IN THE US
     • Most of the immigrants in the 1800's and 1900's came from Europe, especially Scandinavia and Western Europe.
       • Now, the US has instated restrictive laws, quotas, and selective immigration.
         • After 9/11, the US cracked down on asylum seekers, and security with migrants and who gets in and out of the country.

5. FIELD NOTE: RISKING LIVES FOR REMITTANCES

   • Remittances are when migrants send money back home.
   • Reverse remittances are when the migrants ask for money from back home.