Why We Migrate Part 1 (Farsi with English Subtitles) - مهاجرت
Uploaded by Pacific7575 on 05.07.2009
Transcript:
I am an Iranian Immigrant living in Vancouver Canada
for almost six years
For the first few weeks after I arrived
Immigration felt like just another simple trip to another city
but gradually I began to realize that
immigrants face many difficulties during their settlement
and although there are temporary solutions for some of their problems
such as finding a job and getting settled financially
but there are also other problems like adapting to the new culture
that might take years or even generations to get resolved.
and then I became curious to know
why people migrate despite all these problems
and move to new environments where they are not familiar with
What are the roots of migration? What causes it?
What are the impacts of migration on source and destination countries
Who controls it?
Who benefits from it?
These were questions I was curious to find the answers
and they led me to the history of migration
I noticed that migration is a historical phenomenon
Around hundred to seventy thousand years ago early man or more specifically Homosapiens
migrated from Africa to Asia and Europe
The main reason for early human migration was to find food
Even after the emergence of civilization finding food and searching for more fertile land
was the main reason for people to move
But industrial revolution in 18th and 19th century changed the way people lived
At this time money became the only way of acquiring food
and as a result people started to move in search of MONEY or in other words WORK
Migration in search of work followed by globalization in twentieth century
resulted in more and more capital flowing into industrial countries
As a result labor migration became the prominent form of human migration
and this is against the public's perception of an immigrant
To most people an immigrant is a political refugee or a victim of war or natural disasters
Although the number of refugee migrants are on the rise
but comparing to economical migrants, they are still in minority
In fact economy is the strongest reason for human migration
The impact of this form of migration on source and destination societies
is quite different from migration in the early centuries
In the past migration happened slowly, gradually and in two or three generations
so immigrants and inhabitants of the destination country would find
enough opportunities to adapt to new circumstances
but immigration now is taking place in such a high speed and volume
that creates so many problems in source and destination countries
Source countries lose big portion of their human resources every year
which is disastrous for their economy
For example according to IMF (International Monetary Fund)
150,000 educated Iranians leave their homeland every year
Also 80 percent of students who won awards in scientific fields have chosen to migrate
and decide to continue their studies in American and European universities
In destination countries immigrants face culture shock
which lasts for years and even generations
One of the other impacts of migration is emergence of segregated communities
which results in more racism
In most cities of the industrial countries you can find regions and communities
dominated by a specific race or ethnicity
Chinese, Indians, and Whites all prefer to live in their own communities
and ideas like melting pot in US and multiculturalism in Canada
are impractical concepts created by governments of the industrial countries
to decrease the level of racism and ethnic unease and are not the ultimate solutions
One of the other impacts of migration is driving down the labor wages
Immigration increases competition for a specific job opportunity
and market gets flooded with a pool of cheap labor and
working people find it harder and harder every day to negotiate their wages with employers
Immigrants face much bigger problems comparing to local workers
Majority of immigrants face problems finding jobs within their field of interest
Soon they run into financial problems and start working at so called survival jobs
such as pizza delivery, driving cabs or janitorial services
A significant number of them get stuck in these menial jobs forever
Immigrants do the kinds of jobs that others will not do
The vast majority of jobs characterized by low pay, instability, irregular hours,
difficult and dangerous working conditions, lack of benefits, social stigma
are done by immigrant labor, if not by racial minorities, women, or youth
of the destination country
A vast majority need to change career to be able to find work
or if they are lucky enough to find jobs relevant to their studies
they work way blow their skill level with little chance of advancement
comparing to their local counterparts
Only a small percentage of immigrants find jobs with room for growth within their specialty
This group gets excessive media attention in order to prove that these countries
are lands of opportunities and you can be successful with hard work and perseverance
In other words, it is only immigrants who are to blame for their failure
But even according to Statistic Canada, on average, It takes 10 to 15 years for immigrants
to earn income equal to their Canadian counterparts
for almost six years
For the first few weeks after I arrived
Immigration felt like just another simple trip to another city
but gradually I began to realize that
immigrants face many difficulties during their settlement
and although there are temporary solutions for some of their problems
such as finding a job and getting settled financially
but there are also other problems like adapting to the new culture
that might take years or even generations to get resolved.
and then I became curious to know
why people migrate despite all these problems
and move to new environments where they are not familiar with
What are the roots of migration? What causes it?
What are the impacts of migration on source and destination countries
Who controls it?
Who benefits from it?
These were questions I was curious to find the answers
and they led me to the history of migration
I noticed that migration is a historical phenomenon
Around hundred to seventy thousand years ago early man or more specifically Homosapiens
migrated from Africa to Asia and Europe
The main reason for early human migration was to find food
Even after the emergence of civilization finding food and searching for more fertile land
was the main reason for people to move
But industrial revolution in 18th and 19th century changed the way people lived
At this time money became the only way of acquiring food
and as a result people started to move in search of MONEY or in other words WORK
Migration in search of work followed by globalization in twentieth century
resulted in more and more capital flowing into industrial countries
As a result labor migration became the prominent form of human migration
and this is against the public's perception of an immigrant
To most people an immigrant is a political refugee or a victim of war or natural disasters
Although the number of refugee migrants are on the rise
but comparing to economical migrants, they are still in minority
In fact economy is the strongest reason for human migration
The impact of this form of migration on source and destination societies
is quite different from migration in the early centuries
In the past migration happened slowly, gradually and in two or three generations
so immigrants and inhabitants of the destination country would find
enough opportunities to adapt to new circumstances
but immigration now is taking place in such a high speed and volume
that creates so many problems in source and destination countries
Source countries lose big portion of their human resources every year
which is disastrous for their economy
For example according to IMF (International Monetary Fund)
150,000 educated Iranians leave their homeland every year
Also 80 percent of students who won awards in scientific fields have chosen to migrate
and decide to continue their studies in American and European universities
In destination countries immigrants face culture shock
which lasts for years and even generations
One of the other impacts of migration is emergence of segregated communities
which results in more racism
In most cities of the industrial countries you can find regions and communities
dominated by a specific race or ethnicity
Chinese, Indians, and Whites all prefer to live in their own communities
and ideas like melting pot in US and multiculturalism in Canada
are impractical concepts created by governments of the industrial countries
to decrease the level of racism and ethnic unease and are not the ultimate solutions
One of the other impacts of migration is driving down the labor wages
Immigration increases competition for a specific job opportunity
and market gets flooded with a pool of cheap labor and
working people find it harder and harder every day to negotiate their wages with employers
Immigrants face much bigger problems comparing to local workers
Majority of immigrants face problems finding jobs within their field of interest
Soon they run into financial problems and start working at so called survival jobs
such as pizza delivery, driving cabs or janitorial services
A significant number of them get stuck in these menial jobs forever
Immigrants do the kinds of jobs that others will not do
The vast majority of jobs characterized by low pay, instability, irregular hours,
difficult and dangerous working conditions, lack of benefits, social stigma
are done by immigrant labor, if not by racial minorities, women, or youth
of the destination country
A vast majority need to change career to be able to find work
or if they are lucky enough to find jobs relevant to their studies
they work way blow their skill level with little chance of advancement
comparing to their local counterparts
Only a small percentage of immigrants find jobs with room for growth within their specialty
This group gets excessive media attention in order to prove that these countries
are lands of opportunities and you can be successful with hard work and perseverance
In other words, it is only immigrants who are to blame for their failure
But even according to Statistic Canada, on average, It takes 10 to 15 years for immigrants
to earn income equal to their Canadian counterparts