It is often argued that people migrate simply because they are poor and looking for
employment opportunities in richer countries. What are the limitations of this sort of
explanation of international migration? Discuss in relation to different groups of migrants
from two different countries.
When people migrate they do so by varying distances for different periods of time and
migration between regions, localities and countries vary from migrant to migrant.[1] The
reasons for migration are complex, hence, they cannot be generalized, for migration is
undertaken as part of individual’s effort, to improve his or her life, flee disasters and
insecurity.[2] This means that the vagaries of climate, political instabilities and educational
advancement are globally the main causes of migration. The neoclassical theory explained
migration as only influenced by labor migration because migration of people in search of
employment opportunities occurred all through human history.[3] This paper, therefore, is
an attempt to understand the limitations of this neoclassical theory through explaining
other groups of migrants – and the reasons thereof – with Somalia and India as case
studies. Thus, the groups of migrants, in this essay, that are of main focus are refugees of
natural disasters and political instability, family reunions, students as well as skilled and
unskilled labor migrants.
There are various macro-structural pull and push factors that underlie immigration of
Somalia. The persistent push factors in Somali immigrants are catastrophic wars natural
and manmade disasters that result in forced migration.[4] This statement shows the
limitations of the neoclassical theory in that the theory failed to explain civil wars as the
causes of migration. The structural violence theory purports that forced migration is
influenced by various factors like conflicts and ecological disasters.[5] This claim is
further supported by the1988 civil war between Siad Barre regime and a northern Somali
clan, with the bombing of Hargeisa which resulted to over 300, 000 refugees in Ethiopia.
[6] The given evidence, therefore, show the limitations of the neoclassical theory which
failed to explain other groups of migrants such as refugees caused by political instabilities.
In addition, the 1991 conflicts resulted in about a million Somali refugees fleeing to
African and Western countries when the United Somali Congress with the support of the
Somali Patriotic Movement and Somali National Movement ousted Siad Barre.[7]
Similarly, between 1990 and 1998 there were 19,000 Somali asylum seekers in Canada and
8, 000 in the United States fleeing from civil wars.[8] This evidence, consequently, shows
