INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION

Switzerland (Geneva) 51

1997 - VOLUME 35, NUMBER 4

98.51.6 - English - John SALT and Jeremy STEIN, Migration Research Unit, Department of Geography, University College, London (U.K.)

Migration as a business: The case of trafficking (p. 467-494)

A case is made for treating international migration as a global business which has both legitimate and illegitimate sides. The migration business is conceived as a system of institutionalized networks with complex profit and loss accounts, including a set of institutions, agents and individuals each of which stands to make a commercial gain. The article focuses on migrant trafficking, the core of the illegitimate business. Our model conceives of trafficking as an intermediary part of the global migration business facilitating movement of people between origin and destination countries. The model is divided into three stages: the mobilization and recruitment of migrants; their movement en route; and their insertion and integration into labour markets and host societies of destination countries. At each stage of the model we describe the trafficking business, its systematic organization and its methods of operation. This division of roles is seen as critical for trafficking's survival. Our conceptualization of trafficking as a business has important implications for the study of migration and for policy makers. For the former, trafficking blurs meaningful conceptual distinctions between legal and illegal migration. For the latter, trafficking presents new challenges in the management and control of migration flows across borders. In particular it suggests the need to look at immigration controls in new ways, placing sharper focus on the institutions and vested interests involved rather than on the migrants themselves. (INTERNAL MIGRATION, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, THEORY)

98.51.7 - English - Allan BOROWSKI, School of Social Work, The University of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia), and Yuri YANAY, School of Social Work, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel)

Temporary and illegal labour migration: The Israeli experience (p. 495-511)

In recent years, Israel has become a major recipient of documented and undocumented temporary labour migrants from many countries outside the Middle East region. The purposes of this article are to describe Israel's experience of temporary labour migration and its concomitant, illegal labour migration; and also to explore what her policies on temporary labour migration indicate about the nature of the policy-making process in this policy domain in Israel. To these ends the article traces the evolution of temporary labour migration - legal and illegal - and recent policy initiatives of the Israeli government. It then considers some of the major conceptions of the policy-making process found in public policy literature. The article concludes by pointing to the uniqueness of Israel's experience of temporary labour migration and to the fact that her policies have been overwhelmingly reactive - inadequately considered, ill-conceived, ambivalent in relation to their ultimate purpose and, in the course of implementation, vulnerable to "privatization" (being taken over by vested interest groups). Analysis of the most recent policy initiatives designed to reduce the number of legal labour migrants and address the problem of illegal labour migrants, reflect a policy-making process that is not followed by commensurate action. (ISRAEL, IMMIGRANT WORKERS, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, TEMPORARY MIGRATION, IMMIGRATION POLICY)

98.51.8 - English - Rogaia M. ABUSHARAF, Storrs, Connecticut (U.S.A.)

Sudanese migration to the New World: Socio-economic characteristics (p. 513-536)

Sudanese migration is one of the most recent waves from the developing world to the US and Canada. Previous studies on Sudanese international migration were concerned with migration to Egypt and the oil-rich Arab countries (i.e. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Libya, Qatar and Iraq). This article, the first on Sudanese-New World migration, focuses on the period since the advent of the current Islamic military government of Lieutenant General Umar al Bashir in 1989, the Gulf war of 1991 and the renewal of the civil war in the Sudan. The article demonstrates that an earlier, small, temporary migration from the Sudan to the New World, based principally (but not exclusively) on seeking higher education, has been replaced by a larger migration stemming from political unrest, economic stringency and a perceived lack of choice in migration. The article also provides basic descriptive data on this phenomenon. (SUDAN, UNITED STATES, CANADA, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION)

98.51.9 - English - Ayse KADIOGLU, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Bilkent University, Bilkent, Ankara (Turkey)

Migration experiences of Turkish women: Notes from a researcher's diary (p. 537-557)

The article reviews the migration experiences of Turkish women who were either involved in external migration or were exposed to migration by being left behind upon the emigration of their husbands. It includes notes on statements made by some returning women and women whose husbands returned home. The statements were encountered during a comprehensive field survey conducted in Turkey. Since the literature on women and external migration is, in general, blinded by a view of migrant women as "traditional" regardless of their ethnic, regional, religious and other background variables, it is expected that their exposure to the "modern" western culture will automatically pave the way to their emancipation. The diary entries of statements made by migrant women portrayed in this article question such an axiomatic proposition by pointing to the significance of background variables and certain features of household structures. (TURKEY, WOMEN, EMIGRATION)

98.51.10 - English - Edward NG, Demography Division, Statistics Canada, Ontario (Canada), and François NAULT, Health Statistics Division, Statistics Canada, Ontario (Canada)

Fertility among recent immigrant women to Canada, 1991: An examination of the disruption hypothesis (p. 559-580)

Recent studies show that current fertility is higher for women who immigrated to Canada than for Canadian-born women. This represents a reversal of the historical pattern that can perhaps be partly explained by the more pronounced decline of fertility among the Canadian-born compared with the foreign-born population and the higher proportion of Non-Europeans among recent immigrants. Recent studies also provide support for the disruption hypothesis which suggests that during the period immediately following immigration, foreign-born fertility is depressed but subsequently rises somewhat and then declines as duration of stay in Canada increases. However, this article shows that fertility immediately following immigration does not appear to be disrupted by the immigration process: immigrant women who came to Canada between 1986 and 1991 had a higher current fertility than those who immigrated in earlier periods. This finding was obtained by calculating the ratio of infants age 0 to women of childbearing ages using 1991 census data. Previous studies that had found a disruption effect used a ratio of children aged 0 to 4. (CANADA, IMMIGRANTS, FERTILITY TRENDS, FERTILITY DETERMINANTS)

1998 - VOLUME 36, NUMBER 1

98.51.11 - English - Judith SHUVAL, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel)

Migration to Israel: The mythology of "uniqueness" (p. 3-26)

The article explores the widespread assumption that immigration to Israel is a unique phenomenon which differs structurally from migration to other places. This assumption stems from the view that migrants to other destinations generally leave a place they consider home to find a new home. In terms of the Israeli construction, Jews have been "strangers" in their countries of origin and seek to find a new home by means of migration. The Law of Return (1950), which established an open-door policy for Jews and extensive support benefits for immigrants in a context of presumed social consensus, has generally been thought to be sui generis. The article considers evidence that shows that in the 1980s and 1990s, Israel is becoming more like other Western countries which admit large numbers of refugees, asylum seekers, foreign workers, persons seeking family unification and diaspora migrants. As in other migration societies, multi-ethnicity poses problems of cultural integration and some groups seek actively to retain major elements of their earlier cultural heritage. Immigrants have become an identifiable political force to be reckoned with. There is more overt questioning within the society of the open-door policy for Jewish immigrants than in previous years. Nevertheless, the tradition of "uniqueness" remains strong in the sociology of migration in Israel. Consideration of the empirical reality at the end of the 1990s suggests that the sociology of migration in the Israel context has many important parallels in other societies and is best understood in a global context of theory and practice. (ISRAEL, JEWS, IMMIGRATION, IMMIGRATION POLICY)

98.51.12 - English - Mobo C. F. GAO, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tasmania (Australia), and Xi'an LIU, Faculty of Asian and International Studies, Griffith University, Queensland (Australia)

From student to citizen: A survey of students from the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Australia (p. 27-48)

This article is a survey of students from the People's Republic of China (PRC) who arrived in Australia after 1986 and were still there in 1992. Students from the PRC began to enter Australia in 1972 when China and Australia established diplomatic relations. The numbers were insignificant until 1986 when Australia launched its education export policy. The article provides statistics and analysis on the motivation of these students, their education and family backgrounds and their present conditions and aspirations. The article also addresses issues such as Australia's education export and immigration policies, the dilemma between political and economic refugees in terms of human rights and the impact of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre on PRC students in Australia at the time. The survey results suggest that the majority of the former PRC students have settled successfully in Australia, though not without considerable difficulties and emotional cost. The question of distinction between political and economic refugees is acknowledged as a very thorny one, and it is suggested that immigration policy based on national interest, and clearly stated, would be more convincing, less hypocritical and therefore in the long run more effective. (AUSTRALIA, CHINA, STUDENTS, IMMIGRANTS, MIGRANT ASSIMILATION, IMMIGRATION POLICY)

98.51.13 - English - Colette Marie McLAUGHLIN and Paul JESILOW, School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine (U.S.A.)

Conveying a sense of community along Bolsa Avenue: Little Saigon as a model of ethnic commercial belts (p. 49-65)

In the past, ethnic enclaves have functioned as homogeneous residential areas providing support and comfort to newly arrived immigrants. A new form of urban village is increasingly serving commuting immigrants who live in integrated residential neighbourhoods. Little Saigon, a Vietnamese commercial belt in Southern California, serves as a model of this emerging form. Participant observation and interviews with users of Little Saigon and other ethnic commercial belts in Southern California reveal that these areas provide users with places where they can experience the sense of community previously provided by ethnic ghettos. Little Saigon demonstrates that ethnic, commercial enclaves benefit diverse groups of individuals: in these places immigrants with limited English gain employment, older immigrants find solace, and "Americanized" immigrants and their children connect with their ancestral culture. Concomitant with the cultural advantages are the perpetuation of stereotypes, erosion of ethnic boundaries and persistent forms of specialized crime that threaten these areas' success and yield negative perceptions of the areas' ethnic groups. (UNITED STATES, VIET NAM, URBAN SOCIOLOGY, ETHNIC GROUPS, IMMIGRATION, MIGRANT ASSIMILATION)

98.51.14 - English - Michele LANGFIELD, School of Australian and International Studies, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria (Australia)

The Welsh Patagonian connection: A neglected chapter in Australian immigration history (p. 67-91)

This article is an account of the history of Welsh migrants to Patagonia from 1865 to 1914, their motivations for emigrating, their experiences in Argentina, and the subsequent relocation of several hundred to the British dominions in the early 20th century. The focus in the first part of the article is on the nature of those who went from Patagonia to Australia between 1910 and 1915 and the migration of a group of Australians to Paraguay in the 1890s. The second half of the article examines the experiences of the Welsh Patagonians in Australia, their relationships with federal and state governments in the light of the intense rivalry to procure them as settlers, and their involvement in two New South Wales Royal Commissions concerning the operations of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. The article concludes with a discussion on the degree to which a Welsh cultural heritage and identity has been preserved by these settlers in an assimilationist post-Federation Australia. Not only is this a unique double migration experience, but it calls into question immigration encouragement policies and official advertising material during this period, a history which parallels other land settlement schemes of both the pre- and post-war eras in Australia. (AUSTRALIA, WALES, ARGENTINA, IMMIGRATION, HISTORY, IMMIGRATION POLICY)

98.51.15 - English - Constantine PASSARIS, Department of Economics, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B. (Canada)

The role of immigration in Canada's demographic outlook (p. 93-105)

Canada's contemporary demographic profile has been profoundly influenced by the end of the baby boom, decline in the fertility rate, ageing of the population and prospects for an absolute decline in population shortly after the turn of the century. These demographic characteristics necessitate an enhanced role for immigration and the need for a more proactive immigration policy in order to correct and fine-tune demographic trends and to come to grips with the social and economic challenges and opportunities of the next few decades. The expanded role of multicultural immigration conveys a sense of urgency in terms of exploring and anticipating the economic and social costs and advantages related to immigration that are decidedly more multicultural and multiracial in composition. Canada's immigration policy will require a realignment of economic and social policies as well as cultural and linguistic programmes in view of the multicultural composition of family dependents, business and entrepreneurial immigrants and refugee movements. (CANADA, DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES, IMMIGRATION, IMMIGRATION POLICY, CULTURAL CHANGE)

98.51.16 - English - Didier BERTRAND, Centre des équipes de recherche en psychopathologie, Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail (France)

Refugees and migrants, migrants and refugees. An ethnological approach (p. 107-113)

This essay addresses the cultural dimension of the concepts refugee and migrant in order to better define their practical validity and authenticity. Examples are drawn from doctoral research and field work with South-East Asian refugees both in camps and in France. (SOUTHEASTERN ASIA, FRANCE, REFUGEES, MIGRANTS, THEORY, ETHNOLOGY)

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