National Geographic Xpeditions define human migration as the movement of people from one place to another having the very purpose of finding a permanent residency or a semipermanent residency across a political boundary. These people are either given (i.e. voluntary migration) or not given a chance to relocate (i.e. forced migration). Historical accounts of migration have been well-documented. Adam and Eve moved away from the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis, and the first human groups originating in East Africa to their current place in the world are among the many examples to cite. Migration may be classified in terms of space. It may be from different continents (intercontinental), from different countries but in the same continent (intracontinental), and interregional (within countries). Some migrations also occur within the same country (i.e. movement of people from rural to urban area and vice versa). Other types of migration include: internal migration; external migration; emigration; immigration; population transfer (also known as involuntary or forced migration); impelled migration (further categorized into “reluctant” or “imposed” migration); step migration; chain migration; return migration; and seasonal migration. Among the aforementioned types of migration, immigration has been given the most attention in all countries in the world.
Human immigration is the movement of people into a new country like the migration of Vietnamese from Vietnam to America. It is in this case that the Vietnamese residing in America are called immigrants while Americans moving into another country are called emigrants. Some people, because of fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, social group membership, political opinion and other possible reasons seek refuge to another country. Thus, they are called refugee. Those who are compelled to move to another region because of unfavorable conditions may it be political, social, or environmental but do not cross any boundaries are called internally displaced individuals. Migration stream occurs in a group of people migrating to a certain area from a particular country, region, or city.
There are various reasons why people consider migrating from one place to another. Some people, even before migrating, make a cost-benefit analysis of what is gained and lost to include other factors such as distance, travel costs, travel time, modes of transportation, terrain and cultural barriers. There are those who chose leave a place because of a difficulty in accessing basic necessities such as food due to war and other catastrophic events. Other people move into another place because they are attracted to the climate, freedom, a greener pasture, and the like. Environmental factors such as climate and natural disaster, political factors (i.e. war), economic (e.g. work) and cultural (e.g. religious freedom and education) are among the few that makes people decide to leave their own country. Some people tend to settle in a place that they are familiar and more knowledgeable about than that of which little is understood. The desirability to move to another place is basically based on the social, economic and environmental situations. Migrants have the propensity to move closer to their point of origin in terms of opportunities. That is, people tend to move in areas where opportunities are closed to their point of origin than move to farther areas with better opportunities.
While migrants are able to find a greener pasture in another country, the “population patterns and characteristics, social and cultural patterns and processes, economies, and physical environments” are affected. That is, as an individual migrates, a diffusion of his cultural traits and ideas is underway thereby creating and modifying cultural landscapes. Some of these ideas and cultural traits are retained (i.e. language) and some do not remain the same (i.e. cultural traits) as an individual move.
Before one can enter a national territory, almost every country in the world requires a VISA application to the embassy of the country they wish to apply. The embassy then will decide whether to deny or approved the entry of an individual within that particular country legally. This VISA determines the length of the stay and the purpose of visiting or seasonally migrating into a country for work, tour, study and the like. In the United States it is the 9/11 bombing attack that has prompted a more stringent policy on migration as the country emphasizes the need for national security (Orrenius and Zavodny, 3).
However, there are a lot of people called illegal alien who have entered the territory of a country without the approval of the consul. As a result, those illegal alien are constantly being chase by authorities for deportation and complete ban to enter that particular country again. Numerous cases in the world have documented about risky migration.
All throughout the world, about 10-15% of the entire migrant population or an estimated 20 – 30 million migrants lacks the necessary documents as required by a government according to the 2010 report of the International Organization for Migration. In the paper Eliciting Illegal Migration Rates Through List Randomization, there are 11.2 million migrants or 28% of all foreign-born in the United States while 56% of all Mexican immigrants in Europe in 2006 according to Hanson as cited by McKenzie and Siegel are illegal. McKenzie and Siegel also reported that the European Union is dealing with about 7-13% of the immigrant population (Clandestino as cited by McKenzie, 2).
Based on the 2001 Greek census more than half (52%) of Albanian migrant women in Greece worked as domestic helpers such as as cleaners, hotel maids, and caregivers of Greek elderly and children. The rest were employed in tourism (19%), agriculture (15%), and industry (9%). Same situation has been also noted in Italy where the majority of women employed in the domestic services sector. While migration was found legal, migrant women from Albania who migrated in Italy and Greece have suffered discrimination and marginalization. Further, these Albanian women and are often typecasted as prostitutes based on the report of Zinn and Rivera in 1995 as cited by Vullnetari. The prostitute image of Albanian women is probably attributed to their history. Vullnetar furthered that these women especially in the rural areas were kidnapped and sold by human traffickers in all parts of the country. Albanian women in Greece are said to be the most exploited groups.
Like Albanian women, North Korean women are being trafficked in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). According to Song (162), PRC reported that there are about 10,000 – 50,000 North Koreans who migrated in China. About 11,000 North Koreans were reported hiding or living near the border according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). PRC wants to repatriate illegal border-crossing North Koreans where these people would face severe punishment and death penalty. Non-government Organizations in China have reported that North Korean women are either victims of human trafficking or smuggled refugees. These women are trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor. Because North Korean women can leave their country with less scrutiny from the state than men, these women flee to China in search of a better economic condition temporarily or permanently and voluntarily and involuntarily. But the legal status of North Korean women upon entering PRC becomes vulnerable to physical or sexual abuse.
In the Philippines ˜4 million people of the total migrant population are permanent migrants. Similarly about ˜4 million Filipinos also among the 8.2 million migrants are temporary while almost 900,000 people are irregular based on the 2006 data of the National Statistics Coordination Board in the Philippines. Like other Asia nations, Filipinos have also suffered from discrimination in Europe and America. It has also suffered discrimination in countries like Japan. There has been a report from GMA Network where a Filipino in his/her pre-teens was bullied in Japan which triggered the individual to commit suicide. According the Citizens’ Network for Japanese-Filipino Children, children born out of wedlock are denied of their Japanese nationality lest the father of the child acknowledged paternity while the child was in the womb. The secretary general of the said organization also noted that Japanese-Filipino children “felt alienated and faced discrimination in job-hunting activities.” Nowadays, most Filipino migrants are working as domestic helpers, or entertainers. Very few of the Filipino overseas workers are part of the think tanks as reported by Opiniano.
Works Cited
GMA Network . Pinoy Abroad. Bullied in Japan, Pre-teen Half-Pinay Commits Suicide, (29 October 2010). GMA Network, Inc. (2013). Retrieved from: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/204711/pinoyabroad/bullied-in-japan-pre-teen-half-pinay-commits-suicide
McKenzie, David and Melissa Siegel. “Eliciting Illegal Migration Rates Through List Randomization.” Migration Studies, 1.16 (2013): 1-16. Print.
National Geographic: Xpeditions. ”Human Migration Guide (6-8).” National Geographic Society, (2005). Retrieved from: www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions. Web.
Opiniano, Jeremiah M. “Statistics on Filipinos’ International Migration: Issues and Steps Towards Harmonizing the Data.” 10th National Convention on Statistics (NCS), (October 1-2, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.nscb.gov.ph/ncs/10thNCS/papers/contributed%20papers/cps-03/cps03-04.pdf.
Orrenius, Pia M. and Madeline Zavodny. “The Economic Consequences of Amnesty for Unauthorized Immigrants” Cato Journal, 32.1 (2012): 85-106. Print
Song, Jiyoung. “Smuggled Refugees: The Social Construction of North Korean Migration.” International Migration, 51. 4 (2013):158-173. Print.
Vullnetari, Julie. “Women and Migration in Albania: A View From the Village.” International Migration, 50.5 (2012): 169-188. Print.
