An interesting article about immigration from India to abroad and the reasons why people are immigrating in the first place. The reasons outlined in this article are true for many immigrants who are from agragarian economies. The problem sometimes is the fact that people who dream of abroad think it is some kind of utopia here becase of the abundent wealth.
Actually thats what I thought too, when I came back. I always had the impression that since Pakistan's main problems are blamed on economy then automatically if the economy is good then the people would be satisfied and happy. However having spent almost 6 years since my return, it is obvious that economy may be one factor that causes people to be happy or feel some kind of semblence of happiness, it is no gurantee of happiness. In fact the more wealth you have sometimes, the more responisbility and worry you have about protecting that wealth....Anyways read the article:
Looking out of the one-room home he shares with his wife and two children, Naresh sees his neighbors' success in the two-storied, freshly painted house that triumphs over Naresh's own shabby building, with its cracks creeping across the walls and mildew decorating the ceiling. Ten years ago, the two sons from across the way traveled from this village here in Punjab to Italy to make their fortune. One ended up selling cheap Indian clothes in a shop in Milan, the other found work in a factory. Gradually, with the money they sent back, their parents' simple shack was demolished to make way for the grander, Mediterranean-inspired, red-tiled edifice that now throws a shadow over Naresh's house and mood.
Wiki bhai gives some other reasons too:
Theories of migration traditionally distinguish between push factors and pull factors. [3] Push factors refer primarily to the motive for emigration from the country of origin. In the case of economic migration (usually labour migration), differentials in wage rates are prominent. Poor individuals from less developed countries can have far higher standards of living in developed countries than in their originating countries. Escape from poverty (personal or for relatives staying behind) is a traditional push factor, the availability of jobs is the related pull factor. Natural disasters can amplify poverty-driven migration flows. This kind of migration may be illegal immigration in the destination country (emigration is also illegal in some countries, such as North Korea). Emigration and immigration are sometimes mandatory in a contract of employment: religious missionaries, and employees of transnational corporations, international non-governmental organisations and the diplomatic service can expect to work 'overseas'. They are often referred to as 'expatriates', and their conditions of employment are typically equal to or better than those applying in the host country (for similar work).
For some migrants, education is the primary pull factor (note that students on limited visas are often not defined as immigrants, though later applications for immigration are usually made easier for them). Retirement migration from rich countries to lower-cost countries with better climate, is a new type of international migration. An example is immigration of retired British citizens to Spain. Some, although relatively few, immigrants justify their drive to be in a different country for cultural or health related reasons and very seldom, again in relative quantitative terms compared to the actual number of international migrants world-wide, choose to migrate as a form of self-expression towards the establishment or to satisfy their need to directly perceive other cultural environments because economics is almost always the primary motivator for constant, long-term, or permanent migration, but especially for that type of inter-regional or inter-continental migration; that holds true even for people from developed countries.
Non-economic push factors include persecution (religious and otherwise), frequent abuse, bullying, oppression, ethnic cleansing and even genocide, and risks to civilians during war. Political motives traditionally motivate refugee flows - to escape dictatorship for instance.
Some migration is for personal reasons, based on a relationship (e.g. to be with family or a loved one). In a few cases, an individual may wish to emigrate to a new country in a form of transferred patriotism. Evasion of criminal justice (e.g. avoiding arrest) is a (mostly negative) personal motivation. This type of emigration and immigration is not normally legal, if a crime is internationally recognized, although criminals may diguise their identities or find other loopholes to evade detection.
Barriers to immigration come not only in legal form; natural barriers to immigration can also be very powerful. Immigrants when leaving their country also leave everything familiar: their family, friends, support network, and culture. They also need to liquidate their assets often at a large cost, and incur the expense of moving. When they arrive in a new country this is often with many uncertainties including finding work, where to live, new laws, new cultural norms, language or accent issues, possible racism and other exclusionary behaviour towards them and their family. These barriers act to limit international migration: scenarios where populations move en masse to other continents, creating huge population surges, and their associated strain on infrastructure and services, ignore these inherent limits on migration.
