Transnationalism And Immigration

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.

Palestinian identity has lasted the test of time through exile, diaspora, and attempts at cultural white-washing. It is through these situations that Palestine has created a unique sense of identity, unlike many nation-states. The Palestinian identity has come to transcend borders, nationality, and mediums. It is not only represented in politics and protest, but in personal expression and the arts. This paper argues that both national identity and cultural productions of Palestine represent the diaspora through noticeable adaptation based on location and support the idea that Palestinian identity isn't singularly definable.

A refugee is a person who was forced to leave their country. Whether it be from warfare or natural disaster, their homes are no longer safe to live in, so they need to relocate elsewhere. Once someone sets foot on the journey of becoming a refugee, they become vulnerable and dependent with no sense of what the future will bring. In an attempt to accommodate them, first world countries with the resources necessary to assist these refugees, are struggling to determine whether or not they should step-in and help. Some argue that taking them in could come with excessive consequences, while others believe they could be assets. Although there may be a few consequences, they are outweighed by the benefits and undeniable severity of the situation.

Refugees have been the spotlight in many countries in the past few years. In Canada, refugees where mainly sourced from Syria, Eritrea, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Congo (Puzic 5). The difference between refugees and immigrants is “refugees are people who have fled their countries because of a well-founded fear of persecution. They are not able to return home” (Government of Canada 1), but immigrants are people who chose to leave their country and settle in another for their own reasons. A lot of people do hate the fact that refugees have been the main focus recently, and how “they have been treated better” than our own people, but that does not beat the fact that there are many advantages that come from the refugees. Refugees bring the advantages of increasing the country’s population, boosting the country’s economy, and increasing the country’s diversity.

The diversity of thought among people from all corners of Earth breeds an air of excitement and curiosity. Flying ignites a passion to explore new places and meet new people. I love Lincoln, Nebraska, but I love the exhilaration of new experiences that come with traveling.The unique food, culture, and architecture at every unique location taunt me, calling for me to abandon my home in search of fulfillment elsewhere. Exposure to the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Los Angeles is a breath of fresh air from the monotony of Nebraskan life. Touching down in New York City at the end of a long flight is only the start of a new journey into a melting pot laced with opportunity for those who seek it. The idea of building my own path in a hub of diversity and opportunity is beyond appealing. Traveling to new places with varying demographics and cultures spoils the explorer within me who craves interaction outside of the incubator I call

Stepping out of my first plane ride, I experience an epiphany of new culture, which seems to me as a whole new world. Buzzing around my ears are conversations in an unfamiliar language that intrigues me. It then struck me that after twenty hours of a seemingly perpetual plane ride that I finally arrived in The United States of America, a country full of new opportunities. It was this moment that I realized how diverse and big this world is. This is the story of my new life in America.

Throughout history we have seen many people leaving their old lives behind for the new opportunities in America but are let down by the harshness of our culture. In the story, Arrival: 1960 by Pablo Medina, we learn about a young Cuban family who make a big move to the United States, more specifically New York City. The main character begins the story high spirited and excited for their new home for it would be packed with new experiences. As the story continues he begins to see the reality within the city and at his school. He discovers that his new environment is not at all what he expected and on top of that he is faced with a culture that is abstract to his previous beliefs of identification. His high expectations were greatly reduced to the shocking experiences he went through in this forbidding environment.

The developing world has been overwhelmed by major refugee crises in the past few decades, and a rapidly changing world has altered the dynamics of refugee flows and their root causes. For this reason, the authors of Escape From Violence: Conflict and the Refugee Crisis in the Developing World, attempt to provide a more realistic theoretical framework of refugee trends in order to prescribe ways in which the developed world can help alleviate the problem. The book attempts to clarify why there have been so many refugees emerging recently from the developing world, why they leave in varying volumes, where they end up, and why they go back or not. The findings indicate that patterns of refugee flows and conflict are affected by various

Every individual, no matter who they are, will all face challenges that result from their backgrounds and cultures. Born in Calcutta, India and later moving to the United States, Amin Ahmad was an individual who discovered this harsh truth firsthand. In his essay, “I Belong Here,” Ahmad reflects on his experience of being treated differently from those around him based off his cultural background. He analyses the emotional barrier that forms between the journey of immigration and the continuous feeling of inferiority based solely on the desire to belong. The article is written to provide a different point of view; one focused on introducing to the world the challenges and emotions immigrants face after starting the journey towards a new life.

Although most immigrants are Hispanic, at least 11% of the newcomers are from India, Vietnam and China. Immigrants from all over the world come for the same three things: economic, religious, and political freedom. The countries the people have escaped from are riddled with thousands of obstacles ranging from political unrest, religious persecution to poverty and oppression. Hoping for a better life for themselves and their loved ones, immigrants experience multiple trials and unthinkable horrors on their journey towards

Being a minority in America was burdensome, especially after the events of 9/11. In Sherman Alexie’s short story “Flight Patterns”, these burdens are exemplified through a fictional story of a man of color, or to be more specific, a Native American. This character’s name is William. William is a workaholic businessman whose job requires him to constantly take flights to different locations. Throughout the story, we see the life of a minority through William’s eyes as he wakes up to take another flight and complete his daily routine. On the way to the airport, William takes a taxi cab that will forever change his life and perspective of the world. This journey helps to define the main conflict of the story; the racism and preconceptions of skin color in the society of America and how it affects the lives and self identity of these minorities as well as the wish of many minorities to fulfill their American dream and the inner conflict that the main protagonist goes through.

In the reading, “The Immigrant Enclave: Theory and Empirical Examples,” Alejandro Portes and Robert D. Manning primarily discusses the process that immigrants go through as they go about adapting and integrating into their new society. As the reading states, often when immigrants migrate to new societies, it is either for economic reasons as a means of achieving a better life for themselves or that of seeking political asylum as political refugees. A real world example of an immigrant enclave today is that of the thousands of Syrian refugees who emigrated to the United States and other countries in an effort to flee the Syrian civil war. During the midst of the Syrian crisis, many Syrian refugees sought

Thirteen million refugees and about 100 million immigrants have moved across borders within the last several decades (Potocky-Tripodi 2002). Global changes that have currently occured account for an unprecedented movement of individuals across the world in search of better opportunities and conditions.

Ever since, Palestinians have had to adapt to new places and cultures in order to survive, which makes it more difficult for them to preserve their own. Said presents several examples of transculturation throughout the essay. For instance, the use of the Mercedes, even though Said describes it in negative terms, the use of the Mercedes has come in handy for Palestinians. Enduring one disaster after another, Palestinian identity is arduous to preserve in exile. It is a struggle of having no country. Our country is a big part of who we are. As we are born, we are destined to become a part of it. It becomes part of our identity. Things that we grew up with meant something to us. We usually treasure things that became part of our lives. Even unconsciously, we take hold of it. Home brings us memories, memories that we want to hold on up to our last breath.

Nowadays migration is getting to be one of the dominant characteristics of the modern world since at the present moment that movement of people and migration of citizens from one country to another become a norm. Not surprisingly that such unparallel and extremely high level of migration results in substantial demographic, ethnical and socio-cultural changes in many countries of the world.