Migration, Regional Integration and Human Security by Harald Kleinschmidt

Author:Harald Kleinschmidt [Kleinschmidt, Harald]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780754646464
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 9776182
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2002-04-12T00:00:00+00:00

Concluding Reflections

In the current surge of migration, prospective migrants plan carefully and systematically their migratory movements. In this case, considerations of destination and distance possibly play an important role in their final determination. These people, not all illegal migrants, target Australia, New Zealand, many European destinations, the United States, Canada and most certainly Japan. Here generally the pull and the push factors play a significant role in their decision-making. The pull factors connote the perceived better life and the opportunities of good work in the target destinations ahead. The push factor is the prevailing hopeless poor living conditions and circumstances at home. They push people to seek redemption abroad. For them leaving the homeland, in search for better lives, becomes imperative, irrespective of distance of the destination. In future research regarding the role of geographical space and geographical distance, I think that it is important to find out what is really meant by space. Is this physical, geographical space, or socio-psychological, cultural or economic space (opportunity)? This will give future researchers a chance to develop their own historical perspective too on migration within Asia, and to find out how keen early migrants away from home might have been on space, and whether they considered space as an essential part of their dream of building a new world for themselves – a new home and an opportunity to thrive. Then there is the need to compare outward migration with inner country migration and which would be more concerned with distance from the native space to the new one where one would go looking for work and opportunity. Tentatively, I would think that transitional migration is more influenced by the possibilities of realizing one’s expectations through a given destination. Here distance appears to have only a minor relevance because it is the opportunity of a better or at least a good life that is the primary consideration, such as the Filipinos going to the USA for instance. It is opportunity or perceived opportunity for a better life that is the deciding factor.

For Mexicans, I think distance is important to make better wages by just crossing over the border to the USA. I leave it however to other scholars to look into this matter. In any case, let me reiterate my hypothesis that the concept of geographical distance is not always a primordial concern of most of the migrants. Rather, it is the combination of complex factors including the pull and push factors that determine their desire, impulse, or compulsion for migration. Homeland poverty pushes people out and the pull factor is the knowledge that the target destination country has a better opportunity to offer a good life. In short, it is for security and opportunity of a better life that appears to be the main concern.

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