I recall very well what my English teacher taught. Emigration - E for exiting, and Immigration, I for incoming. When I learnt this, I did not have any inkling that I will emigrate and immigrate one day. What I also did not realize at that time was one has to emigrate to immigrate. When I did so, again I was not thinking of the real price to pay, and how lingering that could be.
I read very sympathetically, when immigrants take unsafe boats to travel. What a price they were willing to pay - their lives. Some are are detained in the middle of the sea leaving their fate in others hand. Some of them end up in detention centers in various islands, hoping that they will one day reach their intended destination. Yes, some of them are economic refugees, Yes, they are jumping the queues, and so on. But their treatment only begs me to compare how the Americans welcomed economic refugees from Europe, and in their honor, the French Government built the Statue of Liberty for them. It happened only 140 years ago! And how about the reception for "10 pound POMs", just about 60 years ago at Sydney harbor. Surely, the times have changed fast.
I often run into immigrant adults trained to something in their country of birth, but do something completely different in the chosen country. I am aware of a nuclear physicist working as a postal clerk, a veterinary surgeon working as a security guard, and an accountant selling grocery. The price of immigration here is their academic qualifications earned with hard work during their prime years. Only a very few pursue their original professional interests, and do so in a competitive manner with natives. Competition is always stiff, if a local put 100%, then the migrant has to put 120% to be noticed. Those who aren't fluent in the language of their chosen country, end up cleaning houses and washing dishes at restaurants for rest of their lives.
Then the emotional price everyone pays for emigration. Leaving family and friends behind, except for everlasting memories of childhood. Occasionally hear from their family or friends when someone gets married, have a baby, or passes away. With the new born there's hardly any bond, and with the one who passed away, a lump in the throat and misty eyes for a second or two. Too many things prevent mourning the death longer than that. Yes, immigrants are always in a fast lane in the chosen country.
I think that the price paid by the children of immigrants is a heavy one. At home, there's pressure to reflect parents' values and culture, and at school, pressure on them to be the same as their peers. I feel they belong to a confused generation, and many parents do not make their life easy. Occasionally, I read about a teenage girl killed by parents for the sake of perceived honor, or one running away from their parents, because of the lure from peers. Where's the solution, for such confusion I wonder. Even when the parents managed to establish a compromised culture at home, it's still inadequate to meet the demands of peers. The only way out for them is to be within groups of children of migrants from similar cultural backgrounds, and the support they provide to each other.
I see many migrants' children in their thirties, still finding it difficult to settle in life. They have good education, good jobs, but not ready to make a commitment to another person and start a married life. Proposals from family friends are frowned upon, but a cocoon they and their parents have built around them during their teenage years stop them from breaking out.
As I undergo these tribulations, and in the absence of a social net work to provide comfort, only thing that comforts me is the material wealth built by the migrants, and the social security provided by the state in the chosen country. There's something to fall back on, when the young ones are unemployed, or when the old ones are unhealthy.
So, what's my final take on e/immigration? After living in foreign countries for most of my adult life, I think its worth the price, despite paying a heavy price on a daily basis. I can only pray and hope that the price my children pay or will pay for my decision to emigrate is outweighed by the benefits they will experience in my chosen country.
I read very sympathetically, when immigrants take unsafe boats to travel. What a price they were willing to pay - their lives. Some are are detained in the middle of the sea leaving their fate in others hand. Some of them end up in detention centers in various islands, hoping that they will one day reach their intended destination. Yes, some of them are economic refugees, Yes, they are jumping the queues, and so on. But their treatment only begs me to compare how the Americans welcomed economic refugees from Europe, and in their honor, the French Government built the Statue of Liberty for them. It happened only 140 years ago! And how about the reception for "10 pound POMs", just about 60 years ago at Sydney harbor. Surely, the times have changed fast.
I often run into immigrant adults trained to something in their country of birth, but do something completely different in the chosen country. I am aware of a nuclear physicist working as a postal clerk, a veterinary surgeon working as a security guard, and an accountant selling grocery. The price of immigration here is their academic qualifications earned with hard work during their prime years. Only a very few pursue their original professional interests, and do so in a competitive manner with natives. Competition is always stiff, if a local put 100%, then the migrant has to put 120% to be noticed. Those who aren't fluent in the language of their chosen country, end up cleaning houses and washing dishes at restaurants for rest of their lives.
Then the emotional price everyone pays for emigration. Leaving family and friends behind, except for everlasting memories of childhood. Occasionally hear from their family or friends when someone gets married, have a baby, or passes away. With the new born there's hardly any bond, and with the one who passed away, a lump in the throat and misty eyes for a second or two. Too many things prevent mourning the death longer than that. Yes, immigrants are always in a fast lane in the chosen country.
I think that the price paid by the children of immigrants is a heavy one. At home, there's pressure to reflect parents' values and culture, and at school, pressure on them to be the same as their peers. I feel they belong to a confused generation, and many parents do not make their life easy. Occasionally, I read about a teenage girl killed by parents for the sake of perceived honor, or one running away from their parents, because of the lure from peers. Where's the solution, for such confusion I wonder. Even when the parents managed to establish a compromised culture at home, it's still inadequate to meet the demands of peers. The only way out for them is to be within groups of children of migrants from similar cultural backgrounds, and the support they provide to each other.
I see many migrants' children in their thirties, still finding it difficult to settle in life. They have good education, good jobs, but not ready to make a commitment to another person and start a married life. Proposals from family friends are frowned upon, but a cocoon they and their parents have built around them during their teenage years stop them from breaking out.
As I undergo these tribulations, and in the absence of a social net work to provide comfort, only thing that comforts me is the material wealth built by the migrants, and the social security provided by the state in the chosen country. There's something to fall back on, when the young ones are unemployed, or when the old ones are unhealthy.
So, what's my final take on e/immigration? After living in foreign countries for most of my adult life, I think its worth the price, despite paying a heavy price on a daily basis. I can only pray and hope that the price my children pay or will pay for my decision to emigrate is outweighed by the benefits they will experience in my chosen country.
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