Why do we keep moving around?

Types of movement: People do not keep still. We are always on the move, over long
and short distances and for different lengths of time. The many types of movement can
be put into different categories.

1. The journey to work. As transport has improved, the distances people travel have
increased. Someone who travels to another settlement to work, or from one part of a
city to an other is known as a commuter. For example 500,000 commuters work in
the city of London and some travel very long distances along the U.K. to reach this
place.
2. Migration. This is when people move home. Migrations are divided up according to
how far people have moved and where they have come from. Some of the main types
of migration are:
a) local migration. Moving house to the next street along is an example of a
local migration.
b) rural-urban migration. This is a movement from the town to the
countryside.
c) urban-rural migration. This is movement from the town to the countryside.
d) guest-worker migration. Guest-workers leave their country to work in
another. Most are male and they usually leave their families behind. They
send as much of their money as they can back home. Most have to return to
their own country after a certain period of time.
e) international migration. Millions of people have left their own country to
live permanently in another. When you leave a country you are an emigrant.
When you settle in a new country you are an immigrant.

Patterns of migration in the European Union

The period since 1945 has seen a large-scale migration of people from (mainly) southern
Europe, North Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and (more recently) eastern Europe to the
north and west of Europe.

At least 13 million people have migrated permanently and many more guest-workers have
migrated temporarily. Germany, France and the U.K. have between them, received most
of these migrants but other countries have received significant numbers as well.

The consequences of these migrations have been both positive and negative. For
example, on the one hand the economies of the host countries have benefited from a
supply of cheap labour, but on the other hand, there have been outbreaks of racial
violence.
Migration in Germany

Germany has received more migrants since 1945 than any other EU country. In the
1950’s and the 1960’s guest workers were recruited, first from southern Italy and then
from Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey. They were given short-term contracts and were not
expected to settle permanently.

In 1973, a serious economic recession began to affect the EU. Germany immediately cut
back on its recruitment of foreign workers, although the total number of migrants
continued to rise. This was mainly because changes in policy had made it easier for guest
-workers to settle permanently and they were being joined by their wives and families.

By 1983 migrants accounted for 7.5 percent of the total population, the largest group
being of Turkish origin. However, their distribution within the country, and within the
towns and cities, was uneven.

At the end of the 1980’s the collapse of communism in eastern Europe meant that
restrictions on movement were lifted and this led to a new wave of migration. In the two
years 1989 and 1990 Germany received nearly 1 million migrants. Most of these were
ethnic Germans who had found themselves living in other countries when the map of
Europe was re-drawn at the end of the Second World War.

These migrations have had many consequences. During the 1950’s and 1960’s
Germany’s economy undoubtedly benefited from the supply of cheap labour. For
example, studies have show that guest workers produce more goods and services than
they consumed.

Housing problems have resulted form the relatively low wages earnt by the migrants
because they have had no choice but to live in the poorest districts. Run-down,
overcrowded housing causes health problems and contributes a low standard of living.

Integration - the fitting in - has been a problem for many of the migrants because they
have their own languages, religions and cultures. 1.7 million of Germany’s migrants are
Muslims, mainly from Turkey. One consequence has been the urban segregation with
migrants living in separate areas of towns and cities.

Age structure is another problem. This is because the immigrant population has a higher
birth rate than the German population, so it has a larger percentage of young people . The
government has to pay for their education and welfare and find employment for them
when they leave school.

The German Government’s policy for dealing with these problems has three main
aspects:
• Integration This is aimed largely at the children of the immigrants, most of
whom would like to fit in more with German society. It involves, for example,
language training and information campaigns.
• Restrictions on entry These are designed to keep down the number of new
migrants. For example, it has become more difficult for children over 16 years of age
to join their parents.
• Voluntry repatriation This involves encouraging migrants to return home by
offering them special payments. However, most would prefer to stay in Germany
where conditions are better whether they have a job or not.

These policies have had some success but Germany’s current economic difficulties,
resulting largely form the cost of re-unification with East Germany, have once again made
its immigrant population the focus of racial attacks. Few people had expected these
problems in the boom years of the 1950’s and 1960’s.