6-4 Reading Test practice: Immigration: global meaning question

• Would you migrate permanently to another country? Why? Why not?
• Do you know anyone who has migrated? How do you keep in touch with them?
• Why do you think people migrate to other countries?
• What would be the hardest thing about migrating?

Is there one major reason for migration?

Immigration: an introduction

Migration takes many forms. People migrate as manual workers, highly qualified specialists, entrepreneurs, refugees or as family members of previous migrants. Whether the initial intention is temporary or permanent movement, many migrants become settlers. Migration has been part of human history from the earliest times, but it has grown in volume and significance, and may be one of the most important factors in global change.

No single cause can explain why people choose to leave their country and settle in another. It is hardly ever a simple individual action, in which a person decides to move in search of  a better life, leaves the home country and quickly becomes assimilated in a the new country. Much more often, the process of migration and settlement stretches over a long period, affecting the rest of the migrant’s life and also later generations. It is a collective action, caused by social change and affecting the whole society of both countries.

While some theories about migration emphasise individual choice, and others focus on the influence of governments and business, it is more realistic to understand migration in terms of a complex interaction among all these elements. Large-scale institutional factors, such as international relations, political economy and government policies, play a part in any decision to emigrate, as do the informal social networks, practices and beliefs of the migrants themselves.

Migration generally arises from the existence of previous links between home and new countries, based on colonisation, political influence, trade, investment or cultural ties. For instance, migration from some North and West African countries to France is linked to earlier French colonisation, leaving French as a major language of the countries concerned.

Typically, migration is started by an external factor, such as a shortage of labour in the new country. Often the initial movement is by young people, usually men. Once a path has been established, relatives and friends follow, and are assisted by those already there. Social networks based on family or a common place of origin help to provide housing, work, assistance in coping with bureaucratic procedures and support in personal difficulties. These social networks make the process of migration safer and more manageable for the migrants and their families.

Migrant groups develop their own social and economic infrastructure: places of worship, associations, shops, cafes, lawyers, doctors and other services. This is linked to families being reunited: the longer the original migrants stay, the more likely they are to bring their partners and children in or to start new families. People begin to see their life as being based in the new country. This is particularly true of migrants’ children: once they go to school in the new country, learn the language and make friends, it becomes more and more difficult for the parents to return to their homelands.

While the links between an immigrant community and an area of origin may sometimes be weakened, they are more likely to continue over generations. Family and cultural links remain, and new business links may be developed.

Although each migration has its specific historical patterns, certain generalisations can be made on the way migrations evolve. For example, most start with young, economically active people going abroad temporarily. They want to save enough in a higher-wage economy  to improve conditions at home, to buy land, build a house, set up a business, or pay for education. After a period in the new country, some of these migrants return home, but others stay on.

This may be because they find living and working conditions in the new country better than in their homeland. But it may also be because of relative failure: migrants may find it hard to save as much as they require, and stay on in the hope of succeeding eventually. As time passes, many of them are joined by their families, or find partners in the new country. With the birth of children, settlement takes on a more permanent character, whatever the original intentions.

This can be summed up in a four-stage model. First, young workers move in order to work abroad temporarily, and send money home. Secondly, the stay is lengthened, and social networks are developed, providing mutual help. Thirdly, the original migrants’ families join them, there is an increasing orientation towards the new country, and ethnic communities emerge  with their own associations, shops, professions, and so on. And finally settlement becomes permanent.