What is Migration? 

Migration is the movement of people from one region to another to settle permanently or temporarily. Since the beginning of human civilization stage, people started roaming from place to place for the survival of their life. Migration occurred throughout human history, beginning with the movements of Homo Erectus fossils (primate upright man-the oldest ancestor of humans) out of South Africa due to climate change or insufficient food supply. Ever since the primate humans began to spread from Africa 60 thousand years ago, humans have been on the move. Whether voluntary or forced migration, it has profoundly shaped our world. People often know about migration as a recent development phenomenon. But, migration has been a part of human existence since a very long time ago. People can move from one place to another as individuals, in family units, or in large groups to settle permanently or temporarily. Similarly, people are used to migrating to search for freedom from warfare and conflict, to find new economic opportunities, to escape from hunger and poverty, to flee from religious intolerance or political repression, or even to trade and travel to new places. Migration is contained with the human capital which is related to the livelihood strategy at the individual or family level. In the human capital theory, migration is considered an investment in the human agent which involves costs and returns (Sjaastad 1962). Individuals or families decide to migrate only if the expected future returns exceed the expected costs of migration (Mincer 1978). According to this theory, human capital is the predominant personal driver of migration. Migration has been a medium for people to get access to opportunities beyond their current activity space in the world. These opportunities may be jobs and educational facilities or jobs that render higher financial returns and through which people can grow their human capital which may render higher returns in the long run.

People often migrate depending on what’s happening in the world. The countries that host large numbers of migrants change in response to the same push and pull factors that lead to migration: economic and political developments, as well as conflict, persecution, natural disasters, and other crises (UNHCR). Pull or push factors are ample elements to be determined for the migration. Migration is also the movement of people from place to place, to attain better living standards. People may either choose to move voluntarily or be forced to move due to natural or socio-political implications. The number of worldwide migrants nowadays is unprecedented, 3 percent of the world’s population at least 272 million people live outside of their country of origin. According to the IOM World Migration Report 2020, as of June 2019, the number of international migrants was estimated to be almost 272 million globally, 51 million more than in 2010. Of them, nearly two-thirds were labor migrants. International migration affects each country and has wide-ranging socioeconomic, political, and environmental implications, for the countries of origin and destination, in both positive and negative ways. Today, the large-scale movement of people from their birth country to another country in search of economic opportunities is the latest phase of the streams of migration in our human history.

Definition of Migration 

Migration is defined as the “movement of people from one country, place or locality to another.” We don’t have a universally agreed definition of “migration”.The United Nations has issued Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration which defines “international migrant” for statistical purposes as a “person who changes his or her country of residence”. It has clarified that temporary travel for purposes such as holidays, business, medical treatment, or religious pilgrimage does not entail a change in the country of residence. The Recommendations define a “long-term migrant” as a person: who moves to a country other than that of his or her usual residence for at least a year (12 months) so that the country of destination effectively becomes his or her new country of usual residence. Similarly, a “short-term migrant” is defined as a person: who moves to a country other than that of their usual residence for at least 3 months but less than a year (12 months).

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) defines a migrant as a term “to cover all cases where the decision to migrate is taken freely by the individual concerned for reasons of ‘personal convenience’ and without the intervention of an external compelling factor.” According to the organization, migration is defined as the movement of a person or a group of persons, either across an international border or within a state. It is a population movement, encompassing any kind of movement of people, whatever its length, composition, and causes; it includes the migration of refugees, displaced persons, economic migrants, and persons moving for other purposes, including family reunification. According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, ”migration (from…) (to…) is the movement of people to a new country or area to find work or better living conditions.”

Migration and Migrants

Migration is a process of moving, either across an international border or within a country, incorporating any kind of movement of people, regardless of the reasons. The movement of people that takes place from one country to another is called external migration whereas the movement of people over long distances within an own country is called internal migration. According to the European Committee on Migration, “the term ‘migrants’ is used to refer, depending on the context, to emigrants, returning migrants, immigrants, refugees, displaced persons and persons of immigrant background and/or members of ethnic minority populations that have been created through immigration”. People move frequently in today’s globalized world. A ‘migrant’ is a person that travels to a different country or place often to find work (Cambridge Dictionary). According to archaeologists, almost people on the Earth are migrants, as humanity originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago and then spread all over the world – to Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Boris Altner (Journalist) states that ”nowadays there are about 200 million migrants in the world, and the problems and opportunities related to migration are fiercely debated by politicians and ordinary people all over the globe. We could name the 21st century ‘the age of migrants.”

Migration erodes traditional boundaries between cultures, religions, ethnic groups, languages, and economic richness. It is however perceived by way of many as a challenge or even a threat. It is a challenge for human rights mechanisms, which struggle to make sure the full enjoyment of human rights for all, which include migrants, due to the fact the human rights of migrants are frequently violated. The above definitions replicate the traditional differences between voluntary and forced migrants. In the case of voluntary migration, people leave the home of their own choice, often due to the fact of so-called “pull factors”, such as higher professional opportunities, although their preferences to pick out from are very limited. Forced migration is the result of “push factors”, such as persecution, warfare, or starvation, when humans flee violations of their fundamental rights. However, there is always a combination of push and pull factors present. Many migrants depart their country for economic causes and to get away from human rights abuse. Even economic migrants may be regarded as forced migrants when they flee conditions in which their monetary rights are violated.

Nature of Migration 

In general, two types of migration are practiced in the globalized world: 1) voluntary migration and 2) forced migration. Voluntary migration is based on push-pull factors that attract people to a new place for new opportunities. Whereas forced migration is contained with an element of coercion that exists, including threats to life and livelihood arising from natural or man-made.

1. Voluntary Migration

Voluntary migration is primarily based on the initiative and willingness of the person influenced by factors including economic, political, and social either in the migrants` country of origin (push factors”) or in the destination country (pull factors). “Push-pull factors” are the motives that push or attract people to a specific place. Push factors are the negative aspects of the country of origin, often influential in people’s preference to emigrate. The ‘pull’ factors are the positive aspects of a different country that encourages people to migrate to seek a higher quality of life. Although the push-pull elements are opposed, each aspect is equally important to the migration. Although there is a particular element to forced migration, any other harmful factor can be considered a ‘push factor or determinant and triggering factors, such as poverty, hunger, unemployment, natural and human-induced disasters, excessive pollution, etc. Such conditions signify decisive causes for voluntary migration, the people preferring to migrate to avoid unfavorable economic conditions or even emotional and physical suffering.

1.1. Types and Forms of Voluntary Migration

There are many types of voluntary migration. People move within or between countries for different reasons. So, it is difficult to understand how many types of voluntary migration are existed in this globalized context. However, we can find that several reasons for voluntary migration determined its nature and types. There are many explanations for how and why people are migrated voluntarily. According to the explanation term ‘voluntary migration’, the following types of migration are often found in the world.

1.1.1.Transnational Migration

Transnational migration is the migration where people move to a different country with keeping ties to their original country. When people will move outside their homeland, money, goods, products, and ideas can flow back to the original country. Because there is a strong hereditary relation between moving country and homeland. It is a form of migration as a two-way flow.

1.1.2. Transhumance

Transhumance migration is the movement of people in which seasons or climate patterns have a significant role. People will move seasonally, either with changes in the season or climate patterns. The movement of livestock from low altitudes to higher (mountainous) altitudes in the summer months can be an example of migration. It means herders and farmers would have to move with their cattle from one place to another place as well.

1.1.3. Internal Migration

Internal migration is the movement within a country, normally for monetary and educational purposes. For instance, if you receive a job offer in the city area while living in any remote district or area, you might also have to move to grab that opportunity. This may occur locally or regionally however is confined to the borders of the homeland country.

1.1.4. Chain Migration and Step Migration

Chain migration is the method of shifting to a location where either friends or family will also follow. The most common form of this migration is family reunification in which at least a family member moves to a certain area and sponsors the rest of their family member to join them. Chain migration has a link to other people. Step migration is the system of migrating in a series of steps. It means migrating in such a way that the destination is reached after a series of moves. Because people may need time to adjust to a new place or need to relocate temporarily until they move again to their final destination. Step migration is then migrating people in a series of steps until reaching the final destination.

1.1.5. Guest Workers

A guest worker is a foreign employee with transitory permission to work in any other country. Some jobs are offered to immigrant workers in this constant socio-economic development context. In many cases, these types of employees will send the money back to their homeland county as a remittance. In some countries, remittances make up a larger portion of the economy.

1.1.6. Rural to Urban Migration

Rural-to-urban migration is the migration of people from rural areas to city areas. This normally takes place within countries, although people can move from rural areas to urban areas in another country as well. The most motivating factors for this form of migration are economic or educational opportunities. Urban areas tend to have greater access to different services and amenities, as well as entertainment and diversified culture. Constant urbanization is the main cause that has led rural to urban migration in the developing world.

2. Forced Migration

There is no universally agreed definition of forced migration. Forced migration is the movement of people in which an element of coercion exists, including threats to life and livelihood arising from natural or man-made. Forced migration is regarded as the movement of refugees and internally displaced people displaced by conflict, natural and human-induced disasters, famine, or development works. Of these different reasons for migration, people leave with one choice to move to a new environment. In forced migration, immigrants leave their beloved homes to seek a life in camps, settlements, spontaneous shelters, and countries of asylum. According to UNHCR, at the end of 2021, the total number of people worldwide who were forced to flee their homes due to conflicts, violence, fear of persecution, caution, and human rights violations was 89.3 million. This is more than double the 42.7 million people who remained forcibly displaced a decade ago and the most since World War II. Similarly, at the end of 2021, some 53.2 million people were internally displaced due to armed conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations, according to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).

2.1. Types and Forms of Forced Migration 

Forced migration is contained with an element of coercion that exists, including threats to life and livelihood arising from natural or man-made. Generally following are the major expression of the form of forced migration.

2.1.1. Refugees: The legal definition of a refugee given in the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, defines a refugee as a person residing outside his or her country of nationality, who is unable or unwilling to return because of a ‘well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a political social group, or political opinion’. Those recognized as refugees have a clear international legal status and are afforded the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

2.1.2. Asylum seekers: Asylum seekers are people who have moved across international borders in search of protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention, but whose claim for refugee status has not yet been determined.

2.1.3. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): The United Nations report, Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement uses the definition: internally displaced persons are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border.

2.1.4. Development-induced displaced: People who are obliged to move as a result of policies and projects implemented for advanced development. People displaced in this way are often also referred to as ‘involuntarily displaced’ or ‘involuntarily resettled’. Examples of this include large-scale infrastructure projects such as dams, roads, ports, and airports; urban clearance initiatives; mining and deforestation; and the introduction of conservation parks/reserves and biosphere projects.

2.1.5. Environmental and disaster-induced displaced: Environmental and disaster-induced displaced people are those who are forcibly displaced within their country by environmental factors or disasters. This category comprises people displaced as a result of natural disasters (floods, volcanoes, landslides, earthquakes), environmental change (deforestation, desertification, land degradation, global warming), and human-induced disasters (industrial accidents, radioactivity).

2.1.6. Smuggled people: Smuggled migrants are moved illegally for profit making. Smuggled people may include those who have been forcibly displaced as well as those who have left their homeland in search of better economic and social opportunities. It is a condition of illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries’ laws such as the use of fraud.

2.1.7. Trafficked people: Trafficked people are those who are relocated by deception or coercion for exploitation. The profit of trafficking people comes not from their movement but from the sale of their sexual services or labor in the country of destination. Trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons, by the threat or forms of coercion, fraud, abduction, fraud, the abuse of power and authority, or the giving or receiving of payments or any kind of benefits to achieve the consent of an individual person having control over another person, for exploitation.  Three are several types of exploitation including the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, servitude, slavery or practices similar to slavery, or the removal of organs that is against the law and human rights.

Conclusion

Migration typically started from the perspective of the first world, concentrating on flows between developing and developed countries. Although the vast majority of migrants move inside their own countries. According to the study, the number of internal migrants is about four times as high as that of international migrants. Moreover, for people who move across international borders, the flow of such movements is being increased day by day in this globalizing world. The countries that host large numbers of migrants in response to the push and pull factors that lead to migration. Economic and political developments, conflict, persecution, climate hazards, poverty, and other crises are the major factors in migration. Pull or push factors are ample elements to be determined for the migration. Many types of form of migration are also determined by pull or push factors. According to an international report issued by different agencies flow of labor migration (164 million, 2017) is higher than other forms of migration. Similarly, female migrants grew by 26% in the past decade, up from 107 million in 2010 whereas male migrants slightly grew by 28% during that period. The large-scale movement of people from their origin country to another country in search of economic opportunities is the latest phase of the streams of migration in the world.

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