I COME FROM THERE. (Migration)

Migration is the movement of people to settle in a new area or country in order to find work or better living conditions. Migration can be voluntary or forced.

• When a person leaves his country is known as an emigrant;

• when it reaches its new destination is an immigrant.

Pause and Reflect. Why do you think people migrate? Post your opinion on the class blog.

Listening task. Watch the following video: "Migration - Why do people migrate?"

People migrate for a number of reasons. These reasons may fall under these four areas: Environmental, Economic, Cultural and Socio-political.

Within that, the reasons may also be ‘push’ or ‘pull’ factors.

• Push factors: are the reasons why people (sometimes forcibly) leave an area.

• Pull factors: are the reasons why people are attracted move to a particular area. 

Now, enforce what you've learned with the Matching activity.

Sometimes, people are forced to leave the country to keep themselves safe and they must seek asylum in other countries. They are refugees.

Refugee is a person who runs away for refuge or safety, especially to a foreign country, as in time of religious or political trouble war, etc.

Pause and Reflect. How do you think these people are treated when they arrive in a new country? Post your opinion on the class blog.

Reading task. The following words are from a group of young people from Afghanistan living in Britain. They left their country in 2006 because of the war.

“I don’t need to be here because I haven’t got any money, because we had lots of money, but we couldn’t live there, there was no where to live. That’s why we left Afghanistan. Even now if I know it is safe, I wouldn’t stay here for more than one hour. I want to go back, if Afghanistan is safe. If it is not safe, we are not comfortable to live there.”

“Whenever I go to play football and they ask me where I am from, I say Afghanistan. They look at me somehow. They think that Bin Laden is Afghani and we are all like Bin Laden.”

“We had so many problems. Like when I was growing up the Taliban came to power and we don’t know where they came from. They ruled the country for six-seven years and they just suppressed everybody. Like if someone stole an egg, they used to cut their hands off and hang them from the ceiling and tell other people to look and say ‘this is what happens if you do this.’ It was horrible. We had so many problems.”

“Can I talk about my wishes and hopes? While I’ve been here, I have been everywhere. Like they took me to a few places for a month, and I didn’t know where I was or who I was living with. In the past five months I have been to five cities and I didn’t know where I was. I never had time to go to college or do anything. So how can I talk about my hopes and dreams? I can’t go back to my own country because I’m a minor and I don’t have anyone to look after me. As you know, I should have someone to look after me.”

Pause and Reflect. Do you know any case of refugees today? How do you think they feel? Post your opinion on the class blog.

Impact of Migration on destination country

Migration has both positive and negative impacts on the destination country. 

Writing task. According to your ideas and experience, post what the positive and negative consequences of migration are.

Speaking task. After everything you've learned, you decide whether you are for or against migration. Prepare your arguments for the discussion in class.

Finally, remember the new vocabulary you have learned through the Crossword Activity.