People have been migrating ever since the existence of mankind. The number of migrants is increasing significantly these days. These migrants include people of all age groups, all religions, cultures and regions. Migration affects not only the people who migrate, but it also affects the country they leave, its people, the new country they move to and people of that country in many different ways. There are several reasons why people migrate to different places. Some of the reasons are: for better living standards, better education and family reunion.
Firstly, the major reason behind migration is the search for a better living standard. Some people are not safe in their country and they move to other countries as refugees for safety. Recently, Canada welcomed about 500 refugees from Sri Lanka who were discriminated by their own government and they did not feel safe there. Here is another story of a Tibetan refugee’s escape to Nepal http://www.yowangdu.com/tibet/tibet-tibetan/walking-on-the-sky.html Besides safety, some people also move for better job opportunities. Sometimes, it’s difficult to find a job in your own country because of over population, corruption and so called competition in almost every field. I myself have seen a lot of crime and corruption in India. It is very difficult to establish your career there especially if you are a female. Sometimes, you have to bribe employer even to get a job. There might be corruption and crime in Canada too, but it’s still far better than back there.
Secondly, these days a lot of countries are issuing more and more visas to students. We see almost all colleges and universities in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England and many other countries welcome thousands of international students every year. These students pay almost three times the fees of domestic students. Therefore, the government sees this as a chance of making huge economic profits and welcomes students open heartedly. Some of the reasons why students move to another country for higher education are: corrupted education system, lack of practical knowledge and negligible chances of getting a job after finishing university or college in their country. Sometimes, education is used as a medium to get into other country and then these “students” live there illegally.
Thirdly, family reunion is also one of the biggest reasons behind ever increasing number of immigrants. In many cultures, people prefer marring a person from their own country and their own culture; for example, arrange marriages are very famous in South Asian culture. People go back home to get married and then they sponsor their spouses and their families as well.
These are just some of the main reasons for migration. There are many other reasons too such as: adventure, business and for travelling experiences. People usually make their own little communities where ever they go. They take their traditions and their culture with them and they mix it up with the culture of the new country. The number of people migrating is continuing to grow fast and it’ll keep growing for many coming years.
Mandeep Kaur Grewal
