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Tag: emigration

5 simple things to know about asylum policy in the European Union

Published by demetriodor on September 16, 2015

Migration is quickly turning into the defining issue of our time. This might sound cliché, but is true. Not only does migration top the list of most important problems facing society, but it is also divisive in a way no other issue is. Unlike problems like inequality or the environment, immigration polarizes and divides opinions of ordinary people in a manner that cuts through social classes, education levels, age groups, and political affiliations. Divisions and bitter disagreements run even within families and close circles of friends. For no other issue do I see on my Facebook wall the full gamut of opinions ranging from strong rejection of migrants and refugees to their unconditional welcome and embrace. Most opinions of course fall somewhere in-between expressing, for example, support for `genuine’ refugees fleeing war but not for economic migrants, or for Christian but not for Muslim immigrants; yet, deep and important disagreements remain. The current crisis with the influx of hundreds-of-thousands asylum-seekers in Europe in the summer of 2015 is only but the current episode of the unfolding migration drama. The crisis and the political responses to it bring powerful emotions in people: fear and compassion, anger and humility, empathy and contempt. Together with polarization, emotions further cloud the discussion of asylum policies and the right thing for the European countries to do in this situation. In response, I want to share five simple things I happen to know about asylum policies in the EU. I am by no means a specialist on…

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The Good, the Bad, and the Stranger

Published by demetriodor on February 10, 2012

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived two brothers. The first brother was like an ox: strong, dutiful, and hard-working. The second brother was like a rotten apple – useless, menacing, and foul. The first brother set up a small enterprise, which quickly took root and sprawled. Soon, he needed to hire a helping hand. He could either employ his brother, who was wicked and lazy but still a relation, or a Stranger, who was diligent and qualified, but came from some distant God-forsaken place. At this point the story forks and you, the reader, have to choose which path to take: – You hire the stranger. The enterprise grows and prospers. Your brother vanishes in misery. Every Christmas you send him a present to an address he has long abandoned. This is the way of the capitalist. – You hire the brother. He might be trouble, but he is of your own blood. And, on his advice, you close your community to strangers. Soon, your brother stops showing up for work, and when he does, he shows up drunk. You quarrel and curse, but you stay loyal, and the enterprise rapidly goes into wreck. But you go down together. This is the way of the nationalist. – You hire the stranger. Every month you take a generous slice from your profit and a big cut from the stranger’s salary, and you give them to your brother. Your brother acquires a big TV, junk food addiction, and…

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Emigrants vs. Settlers

Published by demetriodor on December 4, 2011

In his contribution to ‘Natural Experiments in History‘ James Belich  argues that shifting attitudes towards emigration in Britain and the US were essential for the settler explosions in the American West, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. Belich puts the shift in attitudes between 1810 and 1820 and illustrates the transformation with the contest between the use of ’emigrant’ and ‘settler’ on the pages of the Times of London. Always on the lookout for potential application of the awesome power of Google N-gram, I checked whether the shift of attitudes and vocabulary is visible in the larger body of English-language literature indexed  by Google N-gram as well. Here is the graph: ‘Settler’ gets more popular than ’emigrant’ indeed! But the shift occurs a bit later with an initial catch-up around 1930 and the ultimate win of ‘settler’ around 1970. Interestingly, in the corpus of British books, ‘settler’ never surpasses ’emigrant’ in popularity, while in American books the two terms are practically even between 1830 and 1865 when ‘settler’ overtakes ’emigrant’ for good. Actually, it is ‘pioneer’ that rises in popularity beyond ’emigrant’ around 1810 and then surpasses both ’emigrant’ and ‘settler’ after 1845: Overall, Belich’s transformation in attitudes and vocabulary towards emigration seems reflected in literature, although the shift occurs later, and is much stronger for American English.