The Pros And Cons Of Diaspora

Throughout the world, there is an estimate of about 65.3 million refugees that have either been forced out of their homes or chose to willingly escape the violence or corruption they faced in their homeland. Of those millions of people, only a small percentage are given the status of refugee as many nations have strict requirements and only allow a specific amount each year. This leads to an increase in the amount of illegal immigration as many are desperate to risk their lives to for a better one then they had back home. Even as refugees are given asylum, many often face difficulties such as discrimination due to the racial stereotypes that exist as a result of negative depictions in the news and media. Although nations have generally become more open to receiving and providing aid for a significant amount of refugees seeking asylum, people’s ideology of race and the misrepresentation of the media towards immigrants prevent an even larger amount of refugees from being accepted into society.

In Germany, the Catholic Church has a portion of the population consisting of 25.2 million. The Protestant Church, has 24.5 million members. The two churches make up more than three-fifths of the population. The Muslims number is approximately 4 million, with 226,000 Shia, 400,000 Alevis, and 2.6 million Sunnis. Germany has about 2,600 Islamic places of worship, including 150 traditional mosques (Germany, N.d.). Muslim populations continue to rise, especially with the conflict occurring in Syria which is displacing thousands of families. More than 6 billion euros are being set aside to house for 800,000 new refugee applicants this year. Germany is planning to take in 500,000 more for several years to come. This amount represents 1% of Germany’s population (Shubert, 2015). Not everyone in Germany is open to the idea of refugees coming into the nation and it is sparking up conflict between the citizens and the newcomers. When the chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, informed the nation that they would be taking in this amount of refugees, Germans who strongly opposed this decision burnt down a refugee shelter that ended up hospitalizing many of the individuals taking refuge inside (Shubert, 2015). Taking in refugees into the country is forcing the people of strong national identity to come forth and combat the intake of lesser political identities in the refugees. This kind of national pride is being started by right-wing extremists who believe that bringing in so many

Many refugees have a hard time adjusting to their new culture because they are not accepted by their peers and community. First of all, in the article “Children of War”, the author states, “Sometimes I wished I’d stayed there, watching the war, rather than being here, safe, but without

In the final draft I will expand on each of the issues, by looking into more specific examples of both what different European countries are doing policy wise, as well as what the sentiment is among the refugees in the different areas of Europe. To fully be able to understand the conditions the refugees are facing I will be using other scholars ethnography work; One of those works being Katerina Rozakou’s piece regarding the management of refugees in Greece. As a result of that knowledge I will be able to come to an accurate conclusion as to what course of action should be taken in Europe as a whole, to deal with this ongoing

Immigration is a complex process that results in a transformation of identity. Depending on contextual, individual, and societal differences this transformation can have either positive or detrimental results. Initially, the immigrant will be faced with an intense culture shock while settling into a new country. During this time, cognitive functioning becomes increasingly jumbled amidst the new context, resulting in immense identity confusion. This process of acculturation involves two specific issues regarding identity for each individual. These two issues include the delicate balance between remaining ethnically distinct by retaining their cultural identity and the desire to maintain positive relations with the new society. A variety of

Every person, or group of persons, has an identity and a culture tied to them from the country in which they grew up. An identity is the image someone present to the rest of the world, and culture is the image which one has of his/herself. Countries are similar to a person; over its history of being influenced by other countries, it has formed an identity and culture for itself. It has been stated that the worst act performed by others on another is to take away their identity, and deny them of their culture. Immigrants in America experience the loss of cultural norms/ values, cultural practices/ traits, adjustment to a new culture and changes in identity and concept of self. It is important to note that most immigrants are from minority groups.

Migration: Migration is the movement of people with the plan of setting up a civilization at the ultimate destination. Migration is traditionally over long distances and between countries, but internal migration, migration within a single country, is also possible. Migration can be done individually, with a few people, such as a family, or many people, such as an entire civilization. Migration does not occur as often as it used to in first world countries, but is still very popular in places such as central Africa and certain parts of

Moreover, whilst refugees manage [attempt] to persevere through their previous hardships, they will continue to face greater complications in their lives such as struggling to merge into their new culture. As suggested in the article "Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison," (71) stated "They share with adolescents the desire to be accepted by their peers. Both groups may experience a role and dependency reversal in which they may function as interpreters and cultural brokers for their parents... Perhaps the greatest threat is not the stress of belonging to two cultures, but belonging to none." In other words, the author implies that like immigrants, refugees can face the dilemma of not being considered a part of their new culture. The

It is a sacrifice to move to a foreign country and have to change the principles and traditions that have been instilled in an individual since birth. For this reason, in order to adjust to a new culture immigrants not only have to be disposed to discard their original values to adapt to their new nation, but they have to deal with certain barrier in order to assimilate to their new lifestyle. Whether an immigrant is considered first or second generation, the obstacle of learning a new language or struggling with finding balance between the two distinct cultural worlds still remain a challenge.

However, that is not the case for everyone. Integrating cultures without losing individual traditions and beliefs are problematic and compounded further for refugees who are forced to leave their homes, rather than leaving by choice. For refugees, their arrivals are cast as illegal fugitives that put society in fear and suspicion like drifters and aliens. Instead of treating them as casualties seeking for safety, they are faced with racism, loss of freedom and isolation from the society which are the issues and questions raised in this

Empathy and Angst in a German City Transformed by Refugees is an article by Katrin Bennhold that describes the conflicting perception held by German nationals towards the influx of Syrian asylum seekers. The article captures the reaction and perception of the German uptake of the Syrian refugees by the German nationals. The author suffices as the untold voice of the German citizens that are directly affected by the Syrian refugee crisis. The author, Katrin Bennhold, seems to be keen on highlighting the shunned opinions of the citizens in Germany that have found themselves in a crisis that is not of their making. Her intended audience seems to be the policy makers as well as the world citizenry willing to offer refuge to the Syrian

In some periods of our history immigration is often associated with conflict and warfare. Nearly 8 million refugees found a new home in West Germany and 3.5 million in East Germany by 1950, as a result of Second World War. Other examples are Algerian independence in 1962 also resulted an inflow of one million Algerians into France in last than a year. The Balkan wars in the 1990s also led more than one million refugees into Germany. Some other periods of high immigration are related to economic need, mostly inflows into France, Germany and the Great Britain in 1950s and 1960s. Ethnic mix results from these movements are very different than others in Germany, France and

I learned this week about minority-group responses how minority’s identity is affected by the social sigma and relationships formed during their integration. I had not thought about how a person may feel when leaving their home country and at times their family to pursue another home and life. Immigrants face many obstacles in the integration process, attempting to find a job, home, people that they can relate to. Not only the physical aspect of the transition of coming to America but also the stigma of how “American’s” view immigrants when they are in their workplace or hometown.

Transnational communities are sometimes referred to as Diasporas: globally dispersed populations whose origins lie in a single homeland or set of linked homelands. Diasporas have become a common feature of the common world. One of the effects of the growing salience of such identities in some people’s lives is to reduce the sense of affiliation to the states in which those diasporic populations reside. In John’s case, the majority of his family migrated to Australia, leaving him with only small familial links in his home country of England. “I’ve been able to keep in contact regularly through writing letters, and I’ve been back to England about 2-3 times since migrating to Australia to visit the extended family, and they’ve been here to see us too.

The question of identity is always a difficult one for those living in a culture or group, yet belonging to another. This difficulty frequently remains in the mind of most immigrants, especially the second generations who were born in a country other than their parents. Younger generations feel as if they are forced to change to fit the social standards despite previous culture or group. Furthermore those who wish to adopt a new identity of a group or culture haven't yet been fully accepted by original members due to their former identity.