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Economic effects of rural urban migration
Economic effects of rural urban migration
Problems of immigration
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Currently, our Bahamian nation suffers greatly from the insufferable influx of illegal immigrants, for as to quote the Bahamian song “They coming by boat, they coming by plane, some coming in wheelchair and walking with cane." For too long, our Bahamian people have improperly viewed illegal immigration as a problem of minority when it stands most serious than any other experiencing problems. Invading our territorial boundaries, the fleeing citizens of our neighboring countries ,Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti all contribute to the draining of our social services, increase of job unemployment, overuse of hospital benefits and in some serious cases the increase of our electricity bills. For many immigrants, especially Haitians, the Bahamas acts as a gateway to a better life and/or a passageway to America. We are considered the island of paradise, but how can we maintain this title, our identity, when there are people risking their lives while affecting ours simply to share it? Once the obstacle of getting here is overcome there is no stopping them or what they’ll do to stay here and prosp...
The debate on Puerto Rican Identity is a hot bed of controversy, especially in today’s society where American colonialism dominates most of the island’s governmental and economic policies. The country wrestles with the strong influence of its present day colonizers, while it adamantly tries to retain aspects of the legacy of Spanish colonialism. Despite America’s presence, Puerto Ricans maintain what is arguably their own cultural identity which seems largely based on the influence of Spain mixed with customs that might have developed locally.
Moving from the unpleasant life in the old country to America is a glorious moment for an immigrant family that is highlighted and told by many personal accounts over the course of history. Many people write about the long boat ride, seeing The Statue of Liberty and the “golden” lined streets of New York City and how it brought them hope and comfort that they too could be successful in American and make it their home. Few authors tend to highlight the social and political developments that they encountered in the new world and how it affected people’s identity and the community that they lived in. Authors from the literature that we read in class highlight these developments in the world around them, more particularly the struggles of assimilating
The United States was formed by the immigration of many people from all over the world. Americans take pride in knowing that we are a people of vast ethnic backgrounds and culture. However, at the present time, the flow of illegal immigration, as well as a large influx of other legal immigrants is placing a strain on our land of "huddled masses." Legal immigration to the United States can easily be handled and is welcomed by most Americans. However, the flow of illegal immigrants, especially from Mexico, must be stemmed, due to the strain it is placing on the government, (at the local, state and federal level), as well as the general population. Illegal immigrants are costing the United States over 24 billion dollars a year in taxpayers money (National Review 12.13.93). Something must be done to reduce the flow of illegal immigration into the United States. The focus of this paper will be the problems caused by and possible solutions to the problem of illegal immigration.
“Immigration could account for all the yearly increase in population. Should we not at least ask if that is what we want (Hardin, 1974)?” Well! The audacity of Garrett Hardin’s 1974 essay, “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against Helping the Poor” to ingeniously imply concern for illegal entry, but in all actuality supports partiality to who is advantaged to populates the United States! Thus, Immigration policies in America continuous changes reflects discriminatory processes of past and biased judgement by elected officials.
My cultural identity, is Haitian American. My parents come from a country of beautiful landscape and valleys of the hidden treasures of knowledge, diverse people, and rustic towns. My parents walked up steep plateaus for water, laid in grassy plains for peace, and dive into the sea for cooling in Haiti’s humid heat. Although, I come from a culture of deep history, the first country to gain independence in the result of a successful slave rebellion, my parents knew the plague of suffering Haiti’s battle with will not recover through the poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy. As Haiti fought through its demons, my parents fought to provide plentiful opportunity for their family and immigrated to the United States of America.
The Pandora’s box of information that I have discovered about Puerto Rico under early U.S rule provide some fascinating details on the background of contradictions that characterize debates on the political, economic and social issues concerning the island. Since its invasion in 1898, the United States has shaped the policies of the island according to its own discretion in spite of the people of Puerto Rico. The country did not have time to shed the skin of Spanish colonial rule before the United States set foot on the island to add its own layer of imperial legacy. The island was taken as a compromise to end the Spanish American War. How the newly acquired territory would take shape, and some of the local and international influences that might have contributed to the evolution of the Puerto Rican political, social and economical structure are some of the issues that I hope to address. As is customary an attempted commentary of this sort cannot be complete without the subject of identity, after all, this issue seems to be at the core of the status of the island.
As exemplified in the novel, Memoirs of Bernando Vega: A Contribution to the History of the Puerto Rican Community in New York, Puerto Ricans struggled just as much in the mainland as they did on the island. Because of the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, one would think that Puerto Ricans would have had many advantages over other immigrants, especially after passing of the Jones Act of 1917, which granted Puerto Ricans a partial citizenship status. However, that was not the case either. Puerto Ricans still dealt with discrimination, a great deal of setbacks and downfalls, as well as issues of forced assimilation. Their high hopes of becoming successful in the United States usually came to an end after about a month or so of living in the United States when they realized it w...
In the past, rafts teeming with Cuban refugees have routinely floated to American shores in order to escape the brutal and oppressive Castro regime. Haitians arriving in the same manner were turned away because their plight did not involve politics but poverty. Semantics aside, it is hard not to wonder if skin color played a role in their expulsion. Furthermore, though Haiti’s government is not classified as communist, the policies and actions of of its officials can arguably be considered equally as
Lee, Erika, and Judy Yung. Angel Island Immigrant Gateway to America. New York : Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.
...xtent will this essay bring about a change in Antigua? The Antiguan scene can only be modified by the government choosing to run the country in a more manner that will benefit everyone associated with Antigua, especially its natives. The native’s behaviours are related to their jealousy of tourists, and of the tourist’s ability to escape their own hometown to take a vacation. While a tourist can relate to the idea that the exhaustion felt after a vacation comes from dealing with the invisible animosity in the air between the natives and themselves, having this knowledge is almost as good as not having it, because there is nothing that the tourist, or the reader, can really DO about it! If Kincaid’s purpose is solely to make tourists aware of their actions, she has succeeded. If Kincaid’s purpose is to help Antigua, she may not have succeeded to the same magnitude.
The distance between the new arrivals and the natives fosters a sense of distrust on both ends. However, the concern that the growing population of immigrants will compromise America’s national identity undermines our national reality. Historically, those who have willingly immigrated to the United States have had a desire to become part of American society, crossing borders and seas t...
Langley, Lester D. The United States and the Caribbean in the Twentieth Century; The University of Georgia Press (Athens, 1982).
The Puerto Rican population has been continually experienced death by disease and tribal warfare; this has raised issues dealing with their language use, political affiliation and social construction of race. Due to Puerto Rico being under the control of different countries and nations in the past, they have had issues with continuing their heritage language. When the commonwealth period began in 1948, Spanish was reintroduced as the language of classroom instruction, while English was also required. Many Puerto Ricans feared that if Spanish-speaking traditions weren’t continued, their language would be lost. Thankfully, in the 1980s the popularity of music groups, such as Menudo, showed that Puerto Rican young people still wanted to maintain
“We are nation of immigrants. Some came here willingly, some unwillingly. Nonetheless, we are immigrants, or the descendants of immigrants, one, and all. Even the natives came from somewhere else, originally. All of the people who come to this country come for freedom, or for some product of that extraordinary, illusory condition. That is what we offer here—freedom and opportunity in a land of relative plenty.” (Middletown Journal 2005)
The Westerner referring most commonly to those that are of European descent see the island of Jamaica, to be exotic, a place of wonder and discovery, which is why they decided to settle in hopes of exploring this unknown territory to find adventure just as Edward Said described in Latent and Manifest Orientalism. To this day modern westerners, tourists, have the same mentality that Said described when they travel to Jamaica, they see it as a place to of adventure, a vacation from the boredom and stress that they have experienced back home. What tourists do not realize is that they are able to experience this adventure at the expense of other people’s hard work and labor, which is the Natives daily life. These people may bask all day in what the tourist thinks they enjoy the...