Monday, March 15, 2010
Immigration Assignment
To date in class most of our focus on migration has been on immigration to the United States. Do research on any Western European country that receives a large body of immigrants. Where do most of the immigrants come from? Why have they left their homelands? (remember our discuss of push/pull factors) Attempt to explain 5 challenges that they might have in trying to assimilate into their new country.
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In the country of Portugal, the majority of immigrants come from Brazil, Cape Verde, and Angola. They came in search of a better business life, the "quality of life". The most common reason that people leave Brazil and Cape Verde is due to the poor economy, and the environment. Some problems in coming to Portugal is possibly from the distance needed to travel and how many people might not be able to afford the ticket, so illegal immigration is an option.
I chose to research the UK for this assignment. The UK's population consits of many immigrants. Many immigrants come into the UK from Pakistan and India( some from northern Africa.)These immigrants are leaving their homeland because of a variety of reasons. In Pakastian and other Middle Eastern countries people may be leaving their homeland because of war, poor economy, and lack of opportunities for a better life. There is also a high amount of poverty in India which is a push factor. In northern Africa there is a very high amount of diseases and poverty which is one of the main reasons that people move out of their country. These immigrants may have trouble with learning English and getting used to their new community. The UK also has many foreign immigrants already, so it might be hard to adjust to the diverse culture of the country. These immigrants may encounter harsh treatments from the British people( stero- typical thought that all Middle Easterns are terroist). Opportunities may become scarce as the number of immigrants increase in the UK.
Immigration to France:
Most immigrants to France come from neighboring countries like Morocco, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Poland, etc. They are attracted by opportunities in manufacturing, construction work, and agriculture. However, the main reason for immigration is family reunification. 5 challenges they may face:
1. Recently France banned wearing the veil in public, so that would present a challenge for Muslim immigrants.
2. There have been stricter visa requirements and stiffer conditions of entry for work, family entry, and settlement.
3. Language barrier.
4. They may have a hard time assimilating into the new, diverse culture.
5. The number of immigrants in France is drastically increasing, so there may be less opportunities.
Italy has about 4 or 5 million immigrants, which is about 7 percent of their population. Most of the immigrants come from Eastern Europe, Asia, North Africa, Romania, Morocco, and many other places. As of December 2000, the number of immigrants in Italy was more than 1.2 million, which was about 2.5% more than the 300,000 immigrants in the 1970's. One of the reasons why people come to Italy is for a better life and to earn money. Also, if they do not actually make it into Italy, but they get into another European country, they will probably still have a lifestyle better than the one that they left. One problem for immigrants to get into Italy is that it is hard to get in legally, so they might have to get in illegally. Also, many people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean to get to Italy. These incidents have been publicized to deter people from immigrating, but many still try to get into Italy. Next, it is hard for immigrants to get accepted into the European Union, but once they do they can move freely from one European country to another. Moreover, there are conflicts between groups of Italians and immigrants such as racism. There are also unpredictable unemployment rates, which might mean that immigrants might not get a job.
The country that I chose was France. Most of Frances immigrants come from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Immigrants come to France because people need to find jobs, to help feed their families and they also go to France just to have a better life. Five challenges that immigrants face getting into France- first, the unemployment rate in France is very high and business owners do not want to higher immigrants. Second in France they have recently banned the veil to be worn in public, so this would be tough for Muslim women to adapt to if she is very religious. Third if the immigrant does not speak French it would be really hard for them to learn a new language. Fourth, for immigrants that want to come to France but legally, it’s harder for them to get a visa now. Fifth, the immigrants might have a very hard time changing their life styles to the French's life style.
I researched the country Norway for this assignment. Most of the immigrants come from Asia, Africa, or Latin-America. Many of the people have left their homelands because of poverty and a poor standard of living. Problems you might have coming to Norway are learning a new language, it may be hard to become familiar with the culture, and it would be hard to get a job with a poor education.
The country I chose to do was France. Many immigrants come from Morocco, a neighboring country. They have left their homelands to have a better life, but they face many challenges: They might not know the language, they culture is very different, its difficult to get a visa to come legally-so many people will come illegally, different religions, and it is harder for them to get jobs.
France:
Where are the immigrants from?
most of the immigrants come from countries such as Italy,Morocco,Spain...etc. They come for the job opportunities found in France.
5 challenges immigrants may face in France:
1:The immigrants may not speak french
2:Religious people may not be happy with the ban of christian crosses, Jewish skullcaps, and Muslim headscarves in schools.
3:Their has been an increase in immigrants and there may be more competition for jobs and housing.
4:Because of the mass of immigrants it has become harder to get a visa and move into the country.
5:The immigrants might have to overcome social barriers with their neighbors.
In Italy, most of the immigrants come from Romania (556,000), Albania (381,000), Morocco (387,000) and Ukraine (195,000). The number of italian citizens grew drastically from 11,945 in 2004 to, 19,266 in 2005. Albanians emigrate because of economic situations, inflation and rising unemployment rate. Romanians emigrate because they can get more money in Italy and because they can get a better education. Moroccan's immigrate to italy because of malaria and other diseases. Ukraine has one of the highest crime rates in europe. Language could be a huge challenge for them when they go to Italy. Food and drink could be different in Italy compared to what they usually eat. They might drive on a different side of the rode. Some might not be able to read and have to get a job. These are some reasons why they could be challenged.
I chose Norway for the assignment. The main immigrants in Norway come from Poland, Pakistan, Sweden, Iraq, and Somalia. People immigrate to Norway for better education, jobs, and an overall better life. They emigrate from other countries because they have poor education, shelter, and healthcare. They might have problems with the new language, culture, getting a job, finding education, and actually knowing their way around the city they immigrate into.
The United Kingdom:
In a recent 2 year study, it showed that most of the immigrants going into the UK are from mainly Poland and outher European Union Countries. The main reason was for work, not for moving in with British spouses or other reasons. 5 reasons immigrating would be hard.
1. The language barrier
2.The cultural differences
3. The different blend of ethnic groups could be different and uncomfortable
4. Getting requalified in your current position in the new country
5. Finding a place to live in.
Kai
SOCCOM
Immigration to a West European Country Research Assignment
1. Where do most of the people emigrating from their homelands and immigrating to Sweden come from? The most recent census/estimate I could find through research was from 2004. There are two countries with high numbers of emigrants from their home country and immigrants to Sweden. Most of the people immigrating to Sweden come from: Former Yugoslavia (134,940 people based on an estimate/census in 2004) and Finland with 186,589 people based on an estimate/census in 2004.
2. Why have the immigrants left their homelands? Most of the immigrants have left their homelands because they were/are refugees or they were searching for work. In order to enter Sweden for work, you need a work permit. There are penalties if one doesn’t get a work permit when they immigrate to Sweden for work purposes. Here are some reasons in the past why immigrants immigrated to Sweden:
From http://www.migrationinformation.org/USFocus/display.cfm?ID=406:
1) Refugees from neighboring countries (1938 to 1948)
2) Labor immigration from Finland and southern Europe (1949 to 1971)
3) Family reunification and refugees from developing countries (1972 to 1989)
4) Asylum seekers from southeastern and Eastern Europe (1990 to present) and the free movement of EU citizens within the European Union.
3. List some (approximately 5) reasons why it might be hard for immigrants to get into Sweden. Basically obstacles:
1. If you want to do work (within specified rules) in Sweden (and you’re an immigrant) you need to get a work permit.
2. They must get a Visa.
3. They must get a permanent resident permit if they want to live there and/or a regular residence permit.
4. You will be refused to come permanently (or immigrate) into Sweden if you don’t have a passport.
5. You will be refused to come permanently (or immigrate) into Sweden if you don’t have any money for a subsistence and fare home.
*Subsistence Definition: The action or fact of maintaining or supporting oneself at a minimum level.
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