The social consequences of migration range from the brain drain to the aging of the population, through the creation of ghettos or the emergence of far-right parties.
These consequences vary depending on whether they are viewed from the point of view of the sending or receiving country.
Migration is called those changes of place of residence carried out by groups of people. The causes can be economic, military conflicts or other reasons.
We speak of immigration when it is analyzed from the place where the migrants leave, and of emigration when it is observed from the perspective of the receiving country.
Five social consequences of migration
one-
Statistics indicate that, in many migratory processes, there are cycles that affect the same places of departure. This causes different effects in both the sending and receiving countries.
In the issuing country, the population decreases, alleviating the demographic pressure that they suffer on many occasions. In addition, it tends to tend to family reunification in places where this is allowed.
An example is Latvia, a country that has lost a quarter of its population in just a few years due to migration.
As a negative effect, it should be noted that this loss of population affects levels of production and social development.
However, the opposite is the case in host countries. Demographic pressure rises and, at times, public services find it difficult to serve the new inhabitants.
two-
Given that the majority of migrants tend to be young, the effects on both the receiving society and the society of origin are totally different.
In the places of origin, the departure of this youth, generally better trained, causes a gradual aging of society.
In this way, they are left without the segment of the population that can contribute new ideas and that, in addition, is usually more innovative.
For their part, the receiving countries receive a population that eases their demographic pyramid, which in almost all the West tends to be inverted; that is, with more older people than younger people.
3-
This is a factor that ends up being noticed much more in the nations receiving emigration.
In the case of radio stations, there is a certain cultural impoverishment due to the departure of groups of young people, so that society ends up becoming more conservative.
On the other hand, the return (albeit occasional) of these immigrants, also brings experiences of the places they now inhabit, so they sometimes manage to impose a certain openness of ideas.
In the countries that receive these migrants, cultural diversity generates a double reading.
One positive: there is enrichment with new ways of life, traditions and cultures; and another negative: certain sectors of those societies do not look favorably on this mix and end up rejecting it.
4-
It is a direct consequence of the previous point. Social sectors that do not admit cultural diversity often end up organizing themselves into political parties that base their ideology on attacking different people.
In crisis contexts it is easy to blame outsiders for the evils that occur in society. These are not just classic far-right parties. The appearance of politicians like Trump is a good example of this fact.
5-
Although the aforementioned rejection can be incorporated at this point, the truth is that the rupture is also noticeable in the issuing countries.
While in the receivers it translates into the formation of ghettos in which members of the same nationality tend to group together -almost always with incomes below the average of the local population-, in the transmitters the break occurs in the same families.
Family separation is a fact in these countries. On many occasions, migrants have to leave children or other relatives on their land, causing great emotional distress.
References
- Pedraza, Silvia. Women and Migration. (2008). Recovered in iom.cz
- Catholic Net. The role of migrants in development. Obtained from es.catholic.net
- Sociology Guide. Social Consequences of Migration. Retrieved from sociologyguide.com
- World Bank. Impact of Migration on Economic and Social Development:
A review of evidence and emerging issues. Retrieved from siteresources.worldbank.org
- Jackson, Alex. Consequences Of Migration On The Country Of Origin. Retrieved from geographyas.info