Unit 2- Multicultural Societies

Name:

Research
Research the importance of migration on the history of your country. Find answers to
the following questions.

1. Has there been substantial immigration to your country? When? From where?

Yes, around 1880’s Arabs (“Turks”) arrived in Colombia. Most of them were from
territories occupied by the Ottoman Empire, such as Lebanon, Syria and Palestine.
Because they entered the country with documents from that country so they were
erroneously classified as “Turks”.

2. Has there been substantial emigration from your country to other places? When?
To where?

Yes, since the 1960's Colombians have been emigrating, seeking better economic
opportunities. Primarily they emigrated to the United States and Spain, years before
they also had emigrated to Venezuela before their own economy collapsed. Other
countries are Ecuador and Canada.

3. If there has been neither, find out if there have been any barriers to immigration
or emigration in your country.

Colombia has experienced little immigration. However, due to the recent crisis with
Venezuelans, Colombia has been working on new policies to address this problem in an
appropriate way. Instead, emigration is still a major concern, as many people leave the
country in search of better opportunities, due to the economic crisis and political
violence. One barrier to leaving Colombia can be obtaining a visa, which is
time-consuming. The government tends to have strict requirements for documentation,
and also can be an expensive process.