Migration Studies Commons^™

No. 65: Brain Drain And Regain: The Migration Behaviour Of South African Medical Professionals, Jonathan Crush, Abel Chikanda, Ivy Bourgeault, Ronald Labonté, Gail Tomblin Murphy

Southern African Migration Programme

Since the end of apartheid, South Africa has experienced a significant outflow of health professionals. The out-migration of health professionals from the country is part of a broader global trend of health professional migration from the Global South to the Global North. In the health sector, this “brain drain” has led to a significant decline in the quality of care in affected countries. The costs of health professional migration for countries of origin are usually measured in terms of lost investment in training and the gaps in medical care left by their departure. One recent study, for example, estimated that …

No. 67: Migrant Entrepreneurship, Collective Violence And Xenophobia In South Africa, Jonathan Crush, Sujata Ramachandran

Southern African Migration Programme

The remarkable growth of informal migrant entrepreneurship in South Africa since 1990 would have been much lauded had it not been for the striking detail that the actors in question are seen as “foreigners” or “outsiders”. As such, they are uniformly viewed as undesirable and disadvantaging poor South African citizens. The growing presence of migrants in the informal sector has created various tensions in South Africa, including in government circles, ignoring the fact that in the free market economy of South Africa, immigrants and refugees, like citizens and commercial enterprises, would otherwise enjoy the freedom to establish, operate and expand …

No. 66: Xenophobic Violence In South Africa: Denialism, Minimalism, Realism, Jonathan Crush, Sujata Ramachandran

Southern African Migration Programme

Violent xenophobia has become a regular feature of South African life. Everyday animosity frequently spills over into violence against individual migrants and refugees and their economic enterprises. Some of these incidents reach the scrutiny of the media and officialdom, but most remain invisible and unremarked. The fact that most of the violence occurs in marginal urban locations of informal settlements, townships and inner-city suburbs in South Africa has prompted intense debate over the nomenclature and identification of the underlying causes. Explanations for the large-scale anti-migrant violence that swept the country in May 2008, and continues in more isolated and sporadic …

Reversing The Flood Of Forced Displacement: Shedding Light On Important Determinants Of Return Migration, Prakash Adhikari Ph.D., Wendy L. Hansen Ph.D.

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Most current research on forced migration focuses on explaining patterns of displacement during armed conflicts and the role that social networks play in pulling people away from conflict torn areas. But what happens to displaced persons after a conflict ends? While many of these individuals are able to resettle in the place to which they fled during conflict, some individuals return to their places of origin while others remain in limbo. This research seeks to better understand behavior after flight. Using a rational choice framework, we theorize that people are strategic in their calculations of the costs and benefits of …

Entre Expatriation Et Apatridie : Les Romans De Gaston-Paul Effa Et Henri Lopes, Yves Abel Feze

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The stories of exile and return from exile of novelists Gaston-Paul Effa and Henri Lopes give themselves to read on how to register a double “desappartenance” and focuses in the heart of their narratives the figure of a now be stateless, alien to itself and to the Other. We propose, therefore, to study the reconstruction of identity as it is the result of emigration and return on the homeland. This leads thus to the conclusion that the stateless defies the nation in order to situate itself and his stories in a transnational space.

No. 64: Soft Targets: Xenophobia, Public Violence And Changing Attitudes To Migrants In South Africa After May 2008, Jonathan Crush, Sujata Ramachandran, Wade Pendleton

Southern African Migration Programme

No abstract provided.

Stateless In The United States: Current Reality And A Future Prediction, Polly J. Price

Faculty Articles

Statelessness exists in the United States-a fact that should be of concern to advocates of strict immigration control as well as those who favor a more welcoming policy. The predominant reasons for statelessness include the presence of individuals who are unable to prove their nationality and the failure of their countries of origin to recognize them as citizens. Migrants with unclear nationality, already a problem for the United States, obstruct efforts to control immigration by the deportation of unauthorized aliens. These existing problems of national identity will increase exponentially if birthright citizenship in the United States is amended to exclude …

Post-Conflict Governance In Nahr El Bared Palestinian Refugee Camp: The State's Technologies Of Control And Shifts In Unrwa Practices, Sheeraz Moujally

Theses and Dissertations

On the fifth anniversary of the Nahr El Bared War, this thesis seeks to historicize the re-establishment mechanisms of the post-conflict governance of the Nahr El Bared Palestinian refugee camp, almost razed to the ground following a fierce battle between the Lebanese Army and the Salafi multinational militia Fatah Al Islam in May-September 2007. In Lebanon, Palestinian camps are deprived of classical state-like governance, as Palestinian refugees are excluded from legal protection and civil rights and their spaces have been de-domesticated since 1969. In this context, this thesis captures the interplay of the competing sovereignties, each trying to impose its …

No. 27: Migration And Development In Contemporary Mauritius, David Lincoln

Southern African Migration Programme

Mauritius is a society descended of involuntary and voluntary migrants. After two-and-a-half centuries of settlement as a plantation colony and by the time of its independence from colonial rule in 1968 the island nation’s population had grown to seemingly insupportable levels. But having faced the afflictions of overpopulation, social division and economic despair (and sizeable emigration) at the dawn of its independence, it took just a decade and-a-half for despondency to fade and for Mauritius to begin resembling a tropical idyll of sorts. Though poverty persisted as the small island successfully transformed its economy from colonial plantation to mostly industrial …

The Politics Of H-1b Visa Limits, Fang Fang

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In recent years, the number of H-1B Visa (Temporary Work Visa) issued has increased tremendously. Various lobbying groups are devoted to persuading Congress to revise immigration laws and to increase the work visa issuance cap. The purpose of my study is to find out the how the H-1B Visa policy is effected by analyzing the lobbying expenditures of different economic sectors. Although there are abundant studies on the factors that affect immigration policies, there are few studies that concentrate specifically on the H-1B Visa. I combined campaign finance data and annual work visa data to assess the relationship between lobbying …

Chapter 5, History, In Intimacy And Community In A Changing World: Sikaiana Life 1980-1993, William Donner

Sikaiana Ethnography

This chapter is a discussion of the legendary and the more recent recorded history of the Sikaiana people from the Solomon Islands.

A related website can be found at www.sikaianaarchives.com

No. 60: Linking Migration, Food Security And Development, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

Two issues have recently risen to the top of the international development agenda: (a) Food Security; and (b) Migration and Development. Each has its own global agency champions, international gatherings, national line ministries and body of research. Global and regional discussions about the relationship between migration and development cover a broad range of policy issues including remittance flows, the brain drain, the role of diasporas and return migration. Strikingly absent from these discussions is any systematic discussion of the relationship between population migration and food security. If the global migration and development debate sidelines food security, the current international food …

No. 59: The Third Wave: Mixed Migration From Zimbabwe To South Africa, Jonathan Crush, Abel Chikanda, Godfrey Tawodzera

Southern African Migration Programme

Migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa has been extremely well-documented by researchers. In this paper, we suggest that there is a need to periodize these migration flows in order to understand how and why they have changed over time, not simply in terms of the volume of migration but the changing drivers of migration and the shifting nature of the migrant stream. Few previous studies have taken a longitudinal approach to Zimbabwean migration, primarily because most research takes place at one point in time. SAMP is in the fortunate position of having a large database at its disposal which allows …

No. 58: The Disengagement Of The South African Medical Diaspora, Jonathan Crush, Abel Chikanda

Southern African Migration Programme

Conventional wisdom holds that the ‘brain drain’ of health professionals from Africa is deeply damaging to the continent. Recently, a group of North American and European neo-liberal economists has challenged this conventional wisdom, variously arguing that the negative impacts are highly exaggerated and the compensating benefits many. The benefits include various forms of “diaspora engagement” in which those who have left then engage through sending remittances, direct investment, knowledge and skills transfer, return migration and involvement in diaspora associations. A previous SAMP study of Zimbabwean physicians outside the country provided clear evidence for the “diaspora engagement” hypothesis (see No 56 …

No. 61: Unfriendly Neighbours: Contemporary Migration From Zimbabwe To Botswana, Eugene Campbell, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

Although Zimbabweans have often crossed into Botswana for various reasons, the numbers involved escalated dramatically after 2000 as Zimbabwe entered a prolonged economic and political crisis from which it has still not recovered. While considerable research and policy attention has been given to the migration of Zimbabweans to South Africa, their movement to Botswana has a much lower profile, except when the two countries engage in charges and counter-charges over issues such as the building of electrified fences between the two countries or the corporal punishment of Zimbabwean migrants in Botswana. At such moments, relations between these two close neighbours …

No. 62: Heading North: The Zimbabwean Diaspora In Canada, Jonathan Crush, Abel Chikanda, Belinda Maswikwa

Southern African Migration Programme

Studies of the Zimbabwean diaspora tend to focus on migrants in South Africa and the United Kingdom. This is the first major study of Zimbabwean migration to Canada. The report presents and discusses the findings of a SAMP survey conducted across Canada in 2010. It first discusses the recent history of migration from Zimbabwe to Canada and then provides a demographic and socio-economic profile of the Zimbabwean diaspora in Canada. The report also examines the linkages that Zimbabweans in Canada maintain with Zimbabwe, and the potential for return migration.

According to the 2006 Canadian Census, there were 8,040 Zimbabweborn people …

No. 63: Dystopia And Disengagement: Diaspora Attitudes Towards South Africa, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

In 2008, South African Brandon Huntley was given refugee status in Canada by the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). The unprecedented decision, based on Huntley’s claim that as a white South African he was the victim of racial persecution in South Africa, caused a firestorm. Interest in the case was particularly intense in South Africa itself where the decision was derided in the media and the South African government lodged a formal protest with the Canadian government. Over 140 high-profile South African academics also filed a petition protesting the decision with the Canadian High Commission in Pretoria. Within weeks, …

No. 57: Patients Without Borders: Medical Tourism And Medical Migration In Southern Africa, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Cross-Cultural Transition On Intercultural Relationships Using A Strengths-Based Approach, Kristen Naylor Calderon

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the ways in which intercultural relationships are affected by cross-cultural transition through the lens of the female experience. Specifically, this research examined (1) in what ways women felt that cross-cultural transition impacted their relationship, especially with regards to cultural values and male-female role taking; and (2) what kinds of benefits women experienced in their relationships as a result of moving across cultures with their partner. A total of 15 non-Chilean women in intercultural relationships with Chilean men were interviewed; all women had lived with their partners in her home country and then moved together to Chile.

Results …

No. 26: Social Media, The Internet And Diasporas For Development, Jonathan Crush, Cassandra Eberhardt, Mary Caesar, Abel Chikanda, Wade Pendleton, Ashley Hill

Southern African Migration Programme

The recent focus on diasporas by policy-makers researchers has highlighted the rich potential of migrants as a force for shaping development activities in their countries of origin. The study of diasporas in development presents researchers a number of significant challenges. As Vertovec and Cohen suggest, ‘one of the major changes in migration patterns is the growth of populations anchored … neither at their places of origin nor at their places of destination’. The fluid, multi-sited and multi-generational nature of diaspora groupings poses considerable methodological challenges of definition, identification, location, sampling and interviewing.

As the nature of African diasporas are constantly …

Globalization, Modernity, And Migration: The Changing Visage Of Social Imagination, Darlene Machell Espena

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this article, I assert that the recent phenomenon of migration is one apparent and fundamental process that shapes human communities, transforming cultural variation, and distorts the constructs of distance and space. The boundaries of nation-states and identities are constantly being challenged, restructured and interrogated and the trends of modernity and globalization, new ways of projecting feelings and diffusing cultures among displaced communities are produced. The article looks for the new stories that are produced with this vibrant intersection of globalization, modernity and migration. In particular, I focus on the distinct Sikh migrant community in the Philippines: how they have …

No. 25: Complex Movements, Confused Responses: Labour Migration In South Africa, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

The end of apartheid undermined the rationale for apartheid-era immigration. Immigration from Europe (which had been declining in the 1980s) dwindled to almost nothing as the new government dissociated itself from the racist immigration policies of the apartheid era. At the same time, downsizing and mine closures in the 1990s led to a dramatic decline in employment opportunities for African migrants in the mining industry. Tens of thousands of local and foreign migrants were retrenched. Although the industry has recovered somewhat, and continues to employ some foreign workers, the overall numbers of temporary migrant workers remain far below the levels …

No. 24: South Africa's Two Diasporas: Engagement And Disengagement, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

The African diaspora is increasingly viewed as a key to realizing the development potential of international migration. At the same time, there remains considerable confusion about who exactly constitutes the diaspora and which groups should be targeted for “diaspora engagement.” For some, the diaspora consists of all migrants of African birth living outside Africa. The African Union’s definition of the African diaspora, for example, “comprises people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality.” The World Bank goes a step further to distinguish between an involuntary and a voluntary, a historical and a contemporary, component …

Asian Americans And Politics: Voting Behavior And Political Involvement, Elizabeth Hoene

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Voting behavior and political involvement are two commonly studied topics among political scientists today, most commonly involving Caucasian, African, and Hispanic Americans. However, there have been relatively few studies done on Asian American and Asian immigrant voting behavior and their political involvement. What causes Asian Americans and Asian immigrants to vote the way they do? How involved are they in American politics and why? These are questions that I am aiming to answer through the studying of the Pilot National Asian American Political Survey 2000- 2001 from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Socioeconomic factors such as income, …

No. 54: Medical Xenophobia: Zimbabwean Access To Health Services In South Africa, Jonathan Crush, Godfrey Tawodzera

Southern African Migration Programme

Medical xenophobia refers to the negative attitudes and practices of health sector professionals and employees towards migrants and refugees on the job. There is considerable evidence that many officials (especially the police, home affairs officials, refugee determination officers and customs agents) bring xenophobic attitudes with them when they come to work. Those in the “helping professions” (such as teachers, social workers and health care professionals) also come into contact with migrants and refugees in the course of their jobs. They have the power to withhold services and they can certainly influence the way in which those services are delivered. This …

No. 56: Right To The Classroom: Educational Barriers For Zimbabweans In South Africa, Jonathan Crush, Godfrey Tawodzera

Southern African Migration Programme

This report examines the obstacles to access by Zimbabwean children and students to schools and tertiary institutions in South Africa. There is a common assumption in South Africa that these children and students have no right to an educa­tion in South Africa. In fact, this view contravenes various international human rights conventions to which South Africa is a signatory. At the regional level, it is inconsistent with the SADC Education Protocol. At the national level, it violates the South African Constitution as well as legislation and stated government policies concerning the access of all children in the country to education. …

No. 55: The Engagement Of The Zimbabwean Medical Diaspora, Abel Chikanda

Southern African Migration Programme

Despite the well-documented negative impacts of the ‘brain drain’ of health professionals from Africa, there is an argu­ment that their departure is not an absolute loss and that transnationally-oriented medical migrants (or diasporas) can act as development agents in their home countries. Financial remittances, in particular, are said to have significant transformative development potential. African countries are also expected to benefit from knowledge and skills transfer through the return of health professionals from abroad. Other diaspora engagement initiatives that do not require permanent return (such as short term work assignments, technological transfer to country of origin and ‘virtual’ participation of …

European Identity Struggles In The Age Of Austerity, Par Engstrom

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The economic crisis has coincided with a discernible rise of right-wing populist parties in a number of European countries. This was most recently seen in elections in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Right-wing populist parties also hold parliamentary seats in Austria, Denmark, Finland, and Norway, and they have been part of coalition governments in Italy and Switzerland for some time. In France, Jean-Marie Le Pen’s National Front, although not represented in parliament, wields considerable political influence, and may receive an additional electoral boost should Le Pen’s daughter, Marine Le Pen, inherit the party leadership. True, these parties still enjoy only …

Multiculturalism And The Struggle Of National Normative Challenges, Marc Alexander C. Gionet

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Globalization has not translated into a set of universal monolithic values. As populations relocate for various reasons, increasingly less effort is required not only to stay connected, but to remain within the home community via satellite television, radio, telecommunications, and locally concentrated diaspora. Henryk M. Broder has described such a phenomenon as the development of “ parallel societies, ” which result from immigrants’ failure or lack of interest in integrating into a host community. The question that many commentators have attempted to answer is: does the development of parallel societies, or even additional cultural diversity, represent a threat or a …

November Roundtable: Multiculturalism And Integration Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Germany's Integration Blinkers. What's So Bad About Parallel Societies?” by Henryk M. Broder, Spiegel Online, November 20, 2010

and

“Angela Merkel: German Multiculturalism has Utterly Failed,” by Matthew Weaver, The Guardian, October 17, 2010