my note on the concept of migration

Our cohort of generation is living under the period where the process globalization is becoming vast and rapid. The process of globalization enables some aspects to become easier : human mobilization (migration), communications, etc. And with easier human mobilization etc, wide range of societies has been impacted by the process, adding new dynamics to the existing complexities.

                                                       Worldwide Migration Graphic in 21st Century

                                      (brown = origin countries of migration; blue = destination countries of migration)

                                                                                     Source : wikipedia

In the 21st century, human migration has becoming wider than ever. Why do people migrate? 

The graphic above shows that most people are migrating from developing countries to develop ones, indicating economical background as the main determining factor. Job sectors in developed countries are seen to be more promising. Many people also hope to improve their well being by living in a better environment. Aside to those, there are also thousands of students who come to study abroad, not just to get better education, but also to have in-person experience of living in culture different to their own and having to challenge themselves by adjusting to it. Not forgetting tourist and travelers who are simply passionate to explore and discover new things in different places. These processes have been easier as people have easier access to gain overall information of getting to the other side of the world. People gets the idea of "that other country and culture" even before migrating, which gives them slight confident in coping with the "new adventure" ahead.

Now, what happens when people have migrated? of course, there are implications. 

On the micro scale, the process allows individuals to grow. Individuals who migrated have bigger urgency in stretching their potentials, in order to be successfully adjusting to the new culture as well as to grow their skills and personal networks. On the broader scale, societies and communities becomes melting pots of multicultural backgrounds. Exchanges of ideas has become easier as ideas developed faster. People are also becoming more open minded due to the exposure towards other individuals with different cultural backgrounds, thus they understand and accept differences. In the end, these two aspects increased productivity and promotes peace among societies, though in some cases the reality is completely the other way around. Due to massive number of individuals migrating to their countries, governments of some countries are troubled with the reality. Conflicts emerge between indigenous and migrants, mostly battling over resources. As result, migration policies has become stricter in some countries.

Afterall, should people continue migrating? I personally think the rights to migrate shall never be abolished in this world. We are all unfinished products, and migrating gives people the opportunity to explore things beyond their imaginations and expectations. This world has become borderless anyway, that it is too late to stop people migrating. However, it is important to keep in mind that our cultural identity will be challenged throughout the way, and to decide on our own identity is not a simple thing to do.