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Sievers, W., Fassman, H., & Bommes, M. (2014). Migration from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe: Past Developments, Current Status and Future Potentials. Amsterdam University Press.
Introduction
The book entitled as ‘Migration from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe: Past Developments, Current Status and Future Potentials’, has been written by Michael Bommes, Heinz Fassmann and Wiebke Sievers. The book is aimed to enlighten prevalence of migration from the prominent regions of the Middle East to the Europe by means of determining the antecedents of migration and consequences on the European region. The primary author of the book is Michael Bommes, was the most renowned scholar of migration studies and incorporated number of studies and academic material to explain and enlighten the dynamics of migration in the Middle East.
However, the author passed away before the publication of the current book and hence, the subject matter of the book was edited, compiled and concluded by Heinz Fassmann and Wiebke Sievers, who are also the member of the prevailing research group. The book incorporates the research methodology in order to obtain the statistically proven results and draw the conclusions. The research group determined the research questions, collected the relevant data and discussed the results and research inclinations in joint discussion sessions. The members in the research group contributed their findings and conclusions which resulted in the prevalence of a vast and valid data, and eventually resulted in the compilation of the book.
Discussion
The political and social disturbances threaten the wellbeing of the individuals, whereas economic downturn hinders the quality of life of the individuals. Moreover, the pull strategy has been implied by the European countries, who tend to attract the skilled and unskilled labor in order to meet the industrial demand of the country. Moreover, the economic and social certainty in the European countries attracts the youth from the Middle East (Sievers et al. 78). The authors have also enlightened the migration policies are effecting the migration from Middle Eastern countries to Europe. However, the immigrants from Middle Eastern countries are also perceived as a threat by the European countries due to the possibility of Arab uprising in the region. In this instance, the Europeans Union is offering the systematic and limited migration opportunities to the Middle Eastern countries in order to prevent the unwanted inflow of immigrants from the region (Sievers et al. 159). This information is questioning to the economic prospects of migration for European countries due to the increase in barriers for supporting the prevalence of immigrants.
It has been inferred that the Middle Eastern countries have actively involved in the events of Gulf War and Cold War, whereas the conflicts that took place in 1990s increased the difference between the Muslim sects. However, the surrounding countries of these nations has been effected and hence, the immigrants from nations that played a prominent war in the historical conflicts hardly migrate towards Europe (Sievers et al. 164). This information stands out from the prior information because it enlightens the feasibility for European countries to reconsider their immigration policies.
Conclusion
The prevalence of migration is observed to be beneficial for the regions because it provides financial, social and political relief to the individuals who seek immigration opportunities, whereas it also provides the countries that welcome the immigrants with the growth prospects in the economy. The migration from Middle Eastern countries to European countries is observed to be the antecedent of numerous factors, however, it entails growth prospects for the European economy due to the prevalence of skilled labor in the country. The authors have incorporated the study that is supported by the empirical findings and scholarly notions, which eventually indicates the validity of these notions.
This section of current paper enlightens the interview conducted from the Turkish immigrant, who is currently a resident in a European city. The immigrant belongs from the generation of baby boomers and incorporated the decision of migration in the year 1951. The decision of migration was considered due to the prevalence of cold war between Turkey and Soviet Union which caused social, political and economic challenges that hindered the quality of life of the immigrant. The unemployment rate increased in Turkey due to the social and political disturbances which decreased the financial prospects for the family and hence, the decision of migration to the Europe took place.
The push approach has been observed because the immigrant and his family were forced to leave their region in order to secure their future with the better economic prospects. Similarly, the economic stability in the Europe and employment prospects motivated the immigrants to migrate and settle in Europe. The immigrant had paternal family members in Europe before their migration, which is also considered as a pull approach for the immigrants because the availability of family members effected his decision of migration towards the Europe.
The family members of the immigrant who were residing before their immigration are considered as a great help in their settlement. They supported the immigrant by means of providing an adequate reference for the employment opportunities, which is considered as a great help for the immigrant who faced financial hardships in his home country. Moreover, the initial issue of accommodation was resolved due to the prevalence of the family members and these family members helped the immigrant to become familiar with the European culture and understand the country’s norms in order to settle in the country. The immigration process of the immigrant was sponsored by his family members and hence, their prevalence is considered crucial for the settlement of the immigrant.
The immigrant and his family that migrated with him from Turkey moved in with their family members who were already residing in Finland, Europe. The immigrant members of the family were basically the farmers in Turkey and owned a farmhouse and were highly engaged in the local distribution of their farmed products. After their settlement in Finland, they started blue collar jobs in order to overcome their financial hardships. Afterwards, they started their small retail kiosk that offered grocery products and hence, they indulged in the retail business.
They were highly typical for the occupation that was close to farming and food products due to their prior experience in farming and distribution of food products. They were not similar to my family members because my family adapted and incorporated their inclination towards the white collar jobs. There were gender differences in the line of occupation because in Turkey, only male members of family were taking care of the farm and distribution. However, the female members of the family were required to work in Europe in order to overcome the financial hardships and become financially stable, which was not considered adequate in the mid-1950s.
The family members had to adapt their inclinations socially for their effective settlement in the country. It is inferred that their settlement was not fully welcomed by the locals and hence, discrimination against their ethnicity and cultural differences prevailed. It restricted the family members to become socially mobile at an instant and required an adequate in order to adapt the culture of Europe and develop common grounds with the members of the society. They had to incorporate the informal name changes in order to become the part of the society as their names was difficult to pronounce and restricted their social interaction.
Similarly, the female members of the society had to incorporate their jobs due to which they were required to communicate with the opposite gender. It was a great challenge for the family because male members initially opposed its prevalence, whereas the female members were not confident enough to overcome the gender related disparities. There were also some stereotypes about the family that were based on their culture and origin of the country, as they were perceived as the troublemakers in the Middle Eastern Region (Soysal 12). It effected their lives because they felt that they were looked down by the society and the locals did not want to maintain any personal relation with them.
Their social life was highly effected due to the prevalence of such stereotypes and the prevalence of prejudice was also observed directly during the initial years of migration. The family members communicated in Turkish language at home, as it was their first language and the ethnic traditions were passed down to the next generation in order to provide them with the self-identification. The holidays, food and customs were taught by the elders or early immigrants of the family and hence, the young generation became highly familiar with them.
The immigrant family followed the religion of Islam, due to which they did not joined any church, however, their inclination towards the religion kept them motivated during the hardships that were faced before and after their migration. The immigrants were married when they migrated from Turkey, however, the interracial marriages have been observed in the family that are also approved by all the family members (Huschek et al. 245). The religious lines are followed but the aspect of religion resides in the personal beliefs and hence, they are not effected by the religious inclinations of new family members who follow moderation in their religious beliefs. Therefore, the settlement of this ethnic group is considered successful because all the members became well-settled in Europe, started their business from scratch, overcame financial hardships, became well-qualified for blue collar jobs and got married in Europe (Ehrkamp 127).
Work Cited
Ehrkamp, Patricia, and Helga Leitner. "Beyond national citizenship: Turkish immigrants and the (re) construction of citizenship in Germany." Urban Geography 24.2 (2003): 127-146.
Huschek, Doreen, Helga AG de Valk, and Aart C. Liefbroer. "Partner choice patterns among the descendants of Turkish immigrants in Europe." European Journal of Population/Revue européenne de Démographie 28.3 (2012): 241-268.
Soysal, Yasemin Nuhoglu. "Citizenship and identity: living in diasporas in post-war Europe?." Ethnic and racial studies 23.1 (2000): 1-15.
Sievers, Wiebke, Heinz Fassman, and Michael Bommes. Migration from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe: Past Developments, Current Status and Future Potentials. Amsterdam University Press, 2014.
