The importance of MigrationWhile the overlying aspects of migration themselves may not seem like they have a large impact on everyday life for people in well-developed countries, the actual truth, especially for individuals in America, is that immigration is often under-appreciated or misunderstood.
Ben Huh, an immigrant from Korea, moved to the U.S. when he was 14 in order to escape the war torn areas of Korea where he was living. His story really helps the listener understand why understanding Migration is important. Ben describes the importance of accepting immigration into a country, and how him being able to escape the persecution his family was receiving in Korea and move into the U.S. was probably the most important event of his life. And while his migration shaped who he was, it wasn't the most important thing about him. Ben was still a normal kid, who liked normal things but just spoke another language. Once we can understand Ben's story more, we can begin to tie that in with Paul Collier's novel, by truly understanding how immigrants affect each and every person of the world. "The U.S. without immigration isn't the united states, in fact it wouldn't be a country at all. This country was built by immigration, even the founding fathers migrated from England to the U.S. to start the country and to claim land that wasn't theirs to claim." - Paul Collier The fact that Paul collier discuses about the U.S. not being the U.S. without immigration is really important in understanding the importance of migration itself. While most Americans would argue that immigration is important, they still have a bias against people they perceive to be "guests" of the country, while the truth is that about 15% of the population of the United States are documented Immigrants, and another 2% are undocumented. If we consider these statistics we can understand that about one in five to six people are immigrants. That's a lot! Imagine your group of friends. Maybe you have 10 friends you group up with often, their would be a decent chance that two of them are immigrants of the United States right now. Really when we can understand that the whole world is made up of immigrants, you, me, and even your neighbor, we can understand The importance of immigration. It isn't one thing to "accept" immigration for what it is and go on with ones life, its to understand that their isn't a right and a wrong when it comes to people, its not monolithic. Everyone either migrated somewhere or their ancestors migrated somewhere then had children. Immigration is what makes up the worlds population. The importance of migration is just that, we shouldn't treat people differently based on where they are from, because in the past and the future, each person was from another area to begin with. Paul Collier's novel is what attempts to drive home this point that we should act as if we are all one from the same, because truly no one is better than another when on the topic of migration. Destroying the bias between "guests" and "non-guests" is important, each person has an important role in society, and it could be argued that immigrants have an even more important role than "non-guests". Destroying this bias is important, and it's something that needs to happen sooner than later. |
Ben Huh - What if you were an ImmigrantBen Huh - TEDxPortland
"My Immigration? Well I was 14, my parents brought me here, we had relatives-it isn't poverty, many immigrants live in near or in poverty, and many immigrants do not, it is not a monolithic experience, yet many believe in the immigrant experience in that it is a struggle or it is the essence of poverty." - Ben Huh "It is easier to ship a box of banana's from India to the U.S. Than reunite a child from the same place with their parents in the U.S." |