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Faryal Shah · #2 Tuesday, August 05, 2008

immigration

immigration is entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. High rates of immigration are frequently accompanied by militant, and sometimes violent, calls for immigration restriction or deportation by nationalist groups.

migration

migration is , of people, geographical movements of individuals or groups for the purpose of permanently resettling.

Early History
Migrations have occurred throughout history and have played an important part in the peopling of all the areas of the earth. Primitive migrations were usually in search of food, but could also result from physical changes, such as the advance of the continental ice sheets, and invasion by other peoples. The most important migrations in European history were the Gothic invasions (3d–6th cent.; see Germans), the Arab invasions (7th–8th cent.; see Arabs), the westward migration of the Golden Horde of Jenghiz Khan (13th cent.), and the invasions of the Ottoman Turks (14th–16th cent.; see Ottoman Empire; Turks).

Later Migrations
From the 17th to the 20th cent. migration involved individuals and families rather than nations or mass groups. The basic motive was economic pressure, as areas of low population density attracted people from high-density areas where economic opportunity was low. The desire for religious and political freedom has also been important, and national policies have played a part. In the largest international migration in history, c.65 million people migrated from Europe to North America and South America between the 17th cent. and World War II, while another 17 million went to Africa and Australia.

Nearly 12 million people, most from Mexico or Asia, migrated to the United States in the 1970s and 80s. Within the United States, migration patterns have traditionally been from east to west. Migration from north to south since the 1960s has resulted in the ascendancy of the Sun Belt, a region extending from Florida to S California. This trend has been supported by the southward migration of many blacks. Government regulation of migration became significant in the 20th cent.

Modern Migration Trends
Normal internal migration has been characterized by a population shift from rural to urban areas. In the United States, the portion of the population that lives in urban areas has risen steadily from 30% in 1910 to more than 70% in 1990; in Brazil, the percentage of urban dwellers has risen from 30% to 75% since 1940. Within urban areas, a large population shift from central cities to suburbs has occurred in the last half of the 20th cent. The development of totalitarianism and World War II resulted in a new pattern of forced mass migration within Europe. Over 30 million people were forcibly moved or scattered by the Nazis. In the postwar period c.10 million Germans and persons of German descent were forcibly expelled from Eastern Europe.

Other forced migrations since World War II have included the partitioning of India and Pakistan, which uprooted 18 million, and the establishment of the state of Israel, which created about one million refugees (see refugee). After the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, more than 600,000 fled Vietnam in the face of political persecution; many fled by boat and became known as the “boat people.” In South Africa, under the policies of apartheid, blacks were forced to live in designated “homelands” from 1959 to 1994. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 led to the migration of millions of Afghans to neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

In the 1980s and 90s war and civil strife continued to force massive refugee migration in many parts of the world. In Somalia and Ethiopia, civil war combined with long-term drought have resulted in large migrations of peoples (often from rural to urban areas and to neighboring countries) in an attempt to avoid famine. Hundreds of thousands of Kurdish refugees (see Kurds) have migrated from Iraq to Turkey and Iran in the wake of the civil war that followed the Persian Gulf War in 1991. The disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s caused the dislocation of many peoples, especially Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs in areas other than Serbia, and Kosovars. In Rwanda and Burundi, millions of people, primarily Hutus, fled as ethnic civil war wrenched those nations in the mid-1990s; many of them fled to Zaïre (now Congo), where their presence aggravated civil and international strife.

philanthropy
the spirit of active goodwill toward others as demonstrated in efforts to promote their welfare. The term is often used interchangeably with charity. Every year vast sums of money are collected for invaluable philanthropic purposes, and an increasing number of people participate in the work of collecting money through highly organized campaigns, the purpose of which is fund-raising. In many countries philanthropy has been incorporated in government policy in the form of tax exemptions for contributions to charitable agencies. It has become so accepted that few now escape the demands of giving, and many important institutions are partly or wholly dependent on it.

In early times, charity was usually prompted by religious faith and helped to assure a reward in an afterlife, a notion found in Egypt many centuries before the Christian era. Throughout history, active participation in philanthropy has been a particular characteristic of Western societies. A traditional philanthropic ideal of Christianity is that of the tithe, which holds that one tenth of a person's income should go to charity. Charity is also important in Islam, Buddhism, and other religions. Foundations—institutions that distribute private wealth for public purposes—also have an ancient history.

At the end of the 19th cent. it was recognized that corporations could play a part in financing voluntary agencies when the Young Men's Christian Association set a new pattern for raising money: intensive drives over a short period of time, the use of sophisticated techniques to raise money, and an emphasis on corporation donations. Other voluntary agencies soon copied this pattern, and it is still the typical practice for large-scale fundraising. During World War I, coordination of effort became a trend in philanthropic activity. In the United States, this coordination took the form of Community Chests, which combined a number of charities under one appeal, now known as the United Way.

Today the organization and coordination of philanthropy has eliminated much of the spontaneity of giving. They have also brought about a more rational assessment of ability to give as well as the introduction of scientific methods of ascertaining community and national needs and of raising money. The focus has also shifted from the relief of immediate need to long-term planning to prevent future need.

poor law
in English history, legislation relating to public assistance for the poor. Early measures to relieve pauperism were usually designed to suppress vagrancy and begging. In 1601, England passed the Elizabethan poor-relief act, which recognized the state's obligation to the needy; it provided for compulsory local levies to be administered by the parish, and it required work for the able-bodied poor and apprenticeships for needy children. Local reluctance to support the poor from other areas led to settlement laws limiting migration. Institutional relief was provided by poorhouses, where the aged, sick, or insane were grouped together. From c.1700 workhouses were established where the poor were expected to support themselves by work. However, because of widespread unemployment and low wages, it became customary in the late 18th cent. to give home relief. Poor-law amendments of 1834 sought to establish uniform assistance by placing relief under national supervision; they curtailed home relief and modified the settlement laws. Those amendments assumed that pauperism stemmed partly from unwillingness to work rather than from inadequate employment opportunities. As a result poor relief was maintained at a level below that of the poorest laborer. The Local Government Act of 1929 established the basis for a more far-reaching and humane approach to the conditions of the poor.

population

the inhabitants of a given area, but perhaps most importantly, the human inhabitants of the earth (numbering about 6.2 billion in 2002), who by their increasing numbers and corresponding increasing needs can seriously affect the global ecosystem.

Population Growth
History and Evolution
General population increase in the world was negligible until the Industrial Revolution. From the time of the Roman Empire to the colonization of America, the world population grew from about a quarter billion to a half billion persons. By the mid-19th cent., however, it had grown to about one billion, and by 1930 it had risen to 2 billion; the United Nations estimates the world population will peak at 10 billion in 2200. In world terms, the population is growing at about 1.2% annually (compared with 0.1% in ancient times and a rate of 1.75% as recently as the 1990s) in population. Although a 1.2% growth rate may appear small, it annually adds some 77 million persons to the world's population, with nearly all of this growth taking place in less developed nations.

During the Industrial Revolution, advancements in sanitation, technology, and the means of food distribution made possible a drop in the death rate so significant that between 1650 and 1900 the population of Europe almost quadrupled (from about 100 million to about 400 million) in spite of considerable emigration. As the rate of population growth increased, so did concern that the earth might not be able to sustain future populations. The phenomenal increase in numbers led Thomas Robert Malthus to predict that the population would eventually outstrip the food supply. Karl Marx emphatically rejected this view and argued that the problem was not one of overpopulation but of unequal distribution of goods, a problem that even a declining population would not solve.

Modern Population Growth
In the late 20th cent., a major population difference arose in the comparative growth rates of the developed (0.6%) and developing (2.1%) nations. Africa's annual growth rate is about 3%, compared to 1.7% for Asia, 0.7% in Latin America, and 0.3% in Europe. If current rates hold steady, many developing countries will double their populations in 25 years or less, compared to 50 years or more for industrialized nations. Great Britain, for example, has a present doubling rate of 140 years, while Costa Rica has one of 19 years.

Great Britain has accomplished what is known as demographic transition, i.e., it has moved from a condition of high birthrate and high death rate (before the Industrial Revolution), to one of high birthrate and low death rate (during industrialization), and finally to one of low birthrate and low death rate (as a postindustrial society). Most of the countries in the Third World are in a condition of high birthrate and declining death rate, contributing to what is known as the population explosion.

Population Control
A declining birthrate depends to a large extent on the availability and use of birth control and on high living standards that make unnecessary the production of additional children to provide necessary and inexpensive labor. Family planning is national policy in many industrial countries, such as Japan and most of Europe. As a result, in most cases the birthrate has declined. Many developing countries have followed the lead of India (which has since 1952 conducted an extensive, but not totally successful, birth control program) in trying to promote family planning as national policy. These countries include China, Kenya, Pakistan, Taiwan, Turkey, Egypt, and Chile.

In the United States, aspects of the population question, such as birth control and abortion, are among the most bitterly debated subjects. The United States has opposed at times the use of foreign aid appropriations for family planning overseas; domestic family planning is mainly run by private groups such as Planned Parenthood.

A number of nongovernmental organizations concerned with population growth have also appeared. Zero Population Growth, an educational group founded in 1970, aims to stop population growth, first in the United States and then in other countries. On the international level, besides the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the United Nations Economic and Social Council provides birth control aid to underdeveloped nations.

refugee
one who leaves one's native land either because of expulsion or to escape persecution. The legal problem of accepting refugees is discussed under asylum; this article considers only mass dislocations and the organizations that help refugees.

The Rise of International Refugee Organizations
Early examples of mass dislocations include the expulsion of the Jews and the Moors from Spain in the 15th cent., the flights from religious persecutions in Europe to the New World in the 16th and 17th cent., and the exodus of the émigrés in the French Revolution. Before the 20th cent. there was little or no systematic attempt to help refugees, although some groups, on a private basis, provided assistance to refugees who were coreligionists.

After World War I, international organizations were created to give assistance. 1.5 million Russians fled the Revolution of 1917; in the 1920s large numbers of Armenian and Greek refugees fled from Turkey, and many Bulgarians left their country. In 1921 the League of Nations appointed Fridtjof Nansen its high commissioner for refugee work; later the International Labor Organization and the Nansen International Office for Refugees took charge. Nansen effected repatriation wherever possible; in other cases he arranged for the issuance of Nansen passports, recognized by 28 countries, which gave the holder the right to move freely across national boundaries.

The refugee problem was revived after Hitler's accession to power in Germany (1933) and his annexation of Austria (1938) and Czechoslovakia (1939) and the persecution of Jews. The Loyalist defeat in Spain (1939) and anti-Semitic legislation in Eastern Europe added to the overall problem. Many asylum governments attempted to return refugees to their country of origin; they were often forbidden to work and sometimes imprisoned. Some progress was achieved with the establishment of a permanent committee for refugees in London after a conference of 32 nations held in France in 1938.

World War II further dislocated civil populations. At the war's end the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) had the responsibility of caring for some 8 million displaced persons (persons removed from their native countries as prisoners or slave laborers). Most were eventually repatriated, but about one million in Germany, Austria, and Italy refused to return to their native countries, which were by then under Communist governments. The number of Jewish refugees was in time greatly reduced by emigration to Israel, but uprooting the Arab population of that new state in turn created some one million refugees. With the end of UNRRA, the United Nations created the International Refugee Organization to carry on its work. After much debate the United States in 1948 adopted the Displaced Persons Act, which, despite numerous restrictions, eventually permitted the entrance of about 400,000 immigrants.

The Contemporary Refugee Problem
The world refugee problem has remained acute. When the Indian subcontinent was partitioned in 1947, millions of people were forced to migrate. Steady streams of refugees left China and East Germany, especially in the 1950s. The Korean War produced some 9 million refugees. Other major refugee-creating events of the 1950s include the Hungarian Revolution (1956) and the uprising in Tibet (1958–59). Sub-Saharan Africa's massive refugee problem is rooted in the continent's colonial past. Before colonization, Africans had moved freely within their own tribal areas. However, the boundaries fixed by 19th-century colonial powers often cut across tribal areas, resulting, particularly after independence, in mass movements of refugees across national borders. By the early 1990s there were close to 7 million refugees in Africa, including 4.5 million displaced Sudanese. The Arab-Israeli War of 1967 expanded an already swollen refugee population in the Middle East (now estimated at 4.3 million), and hundreds of thousands Lebanese also fled (largely to other parts of Lebanon) when Israel invaded in 1982 and 2007. The Vietnam War and Cambodian civil war created large numbers of Southeast Asian refugees; the India-Pakistan War of 1971 produced about 10 million refugees, most repatriated to newly created Bangladesh.

In the 1980s and 90s fighting in Afghanistan created large Afghan refugee populations in Pakistan and Iran, and in the latter decade the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, especially in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo displaced hundreds of thousands within Europe. Conflicts in Uganda, Burundi Rwanda, and Zaïre/Congo, which sometimes spilled from one nation to the other, as well as fighting in Sudan and Somalia disrupted the lives of millions in the late 20th cent. and early 21st cent.

At the beginning of 2007 the world's international refugee population was about 14.2 million, including the above-mentioned Palestinians. The largest displacements involved more than 2.1 million Afghans living in Pakistan, Iran, and other nations; more than 1.5 million Iraqis in Syria, Jordan, and other nations; more than 680,000 Sudanese in Chad, Uganda, Ethiopia, and other nations; about 460,000 Somalis in Kenya, Yemen, and other nations; and about 400,000 Burundians in Tanzania and other nations. In addition, there were an estimated 24.5 million “internally displaced persons,” individuals forced from their homes within the boundaries of their own countries. Sudan (5 million), Colombia (3 million), Iraq (1.8 million), Uganda (1.6 million), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1.1 million) all had enormous numbers of internal refugees.

In the face of these numbers, and the expense of administering aid, private relief agencies such as CARE and Oxfam fight overwhelming odds; support often rises and falls on media attention. While Southeast Asians, Cuban, and Soviet refugees found political support in the United States, far fewer refugees from Central America, Haiti, and Africa gained entry. Many governments refuse asylum to refugees; meanwhile, long-term refugees suffer various psychological hardships, and the root causes of the problem—war, famine, epidemics—remain unsolved.

prejudice
unsubstantiated prejudgment of an individual or group, favorable or unfavorable in character, tending to action in a consonant direction. The hostility that prejudice can engender and the discrimination to which it may lead on the part of a dominant population toward an ethnic group, gender, religious or linguistic minority have caused great human suffering throughout history. Some researchers attribute prejudice to deep-rooted “fear of the stranger,” while others cite religious or nationalist chauvinism, and fear of economic competition. Most, however, agree that prejudice is learned and can be reduced when members of different communities work together toward the realization of a common goal or when groups intermarry. Since prejudice and discrimination each contribute to the origin and growth of the other, prejudice can be reduced by removing discrimination, and a change in discriminatory institutions usually leads to a change in attitudes.