Journal articles on the topic 'European Union countries – Emigration and immigration – Social aspects'

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1

Siedlanowski, Paweł. "Emigration to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as a Perceived Opportunity by Young People." Economic and Regional Studies / Studia Ekonomiczne i Regionalne 14, no. 2 (June 1, 2021): 220–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/ers-2021-0015.

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Abstract Subject and purpose of work: The article is devoted to factors influencing the migration decisions of young Poles to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and to showing the differences in their perception of the country of emigration and the country of immigration. The elements of youth policy in Poland and the Netherlands were also presented. The hypothesis adopted in the paper was that the decisions of young people in the labor market are mainly influenced by short-term financial aspects. Materials and methods: The observations and assessments used in the article were formulated based on the research literature on the subject, the statistical data collected by the institutions of Poland, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the European Union, a questionnaire survey and own experiences gained from mobility. Results: The article outlines the course of migration trends of Poles and presents the causes of changes in the choice of the destination country for migration. It presents factors encouraging young people to take up employment in the country and those encouraging them to search a job abroad, specifically in the Netherlands. The barriers and facilities that may be encountered by young people seeking employment in the labor market in both countries were indicated. The reasons for the emigration of young people from Poland were discussed based on the results of the current study, that is a 400-person research sample obtained from an online survey. The aim of the study was to identify three important factors influencing the decision to emigrate and to evaluate this decision. Conclusions: The conducted analysis shows the complexity of the problems of migration of young people. Economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental factors have a significant influence on the decisions made. From the point of view of young people, the unattractive domestic labor market in terms of finance and development, and all the resulting consequences are the biggest problems.
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2

Alcaraz, Jorge, and Elizabeth Salamanca. "Migration and outward FDI: a double direction approach." Review of International Business and Strategy 28, no. 2 (June 4, 2018): 240–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ribs-12-2017-0114.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify, based on social network theory, the relationship between the direction of international migration (immigration/emigration) and the international movement of enterprises and their location. Design/methodology/approach A traditional gravity model and the Tobit estimation method are applied to three groups of countries from three different regions: Latin America, North America and the European Union. The study considers a period from 2001 to 2012. Findings The main results suggest that the international migration that goes from the European Union and North America to Latin America is related with the firms’ internationalization and their respective location. Practical implications Given that migration can be an important and reliable source of information, trust and knowledge, managers should see it as a “bridge” between the home and host countries, which, in turn, can increase their competitive advantage. Social implications Governments can learn how migration and outward foreign direct investment interact. In addition, they could develop political frameworks to accurately and effectively manage international migration (immigration and emigration) and FDI in the best interests of the stakeholders. Originality/value This study extends the social network theory by suggesting that networks are not only related with firms’ expansion abroad but as well with their location. This statement could be generalizable as long as emigration/networks (ethnic ties) are considered the links between the home and the host country.
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Krajňáková, Emília, and Sergej Vojtovič. "Global Trends in the Labor Market and Balance of Losses and Benefits from Labor Migration." SHS Web of Conferences 74 (2020): 05012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20207405012.

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The study deals with the analysis of global labor market trends in the European Union countries under the influence of free movement and labor migration within the European Union. Named analyzes include defining trends in the emigration and immigration flows of the workforce among the countries of the European Union that apply the policy of migration and countries that are the source of labor emigration. On this basis, labor migration losses and benefits are assessed and their impact on GDP creation on the labor market, the state budget and other economic and social indicators for countries with a migration policy and for countries with a strong majority of labor migration flows abroad are examined. On this basis, the processes of creating imbalances in the European labor market, which are affected by the absence of balance sheets in the benefits and losses of labor migration for individual countries, are examined. The analyzes and investigations carried out have resulted in the definition and justification of the shift in the balance of losses and benefits of labor migration towards a predominance of benefits for countries with a migration policy and a prevalence of losses for countries with a strong dominance of labor migration flows abroad.
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4

Khomutenko, L., and O. Ieremenko. "MULTICULTURALISM AS A DERIVATIVE PHENOMENON OF LABOR MIGRATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION." Vìsnik Sumsʹkogo deržavnogo unìversitetu, no. 1 (2019): 71–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.21272/1817-9215.2019.1-9.

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The article explores the essence of multiculturalism and its place in the politics of the European Union. This article looks at aspects of the impact of migration flows on countries of the world and world politics. It reveals the scope and main directions of international labor migration. The purpose of the article is to investigate the economic indicators of the countries most affected by irregular migration flows and to develop practical recommendations for improving the mechanisms of employment in international relations. Analyzing and summarizing the results of scientific works and research of domestic and foreign scholars, the tendency of characteristic changes of multiculturalism as part of cultural relations was considered. Several consequences of international labor migration from different countries are described. The importance of multiculturalism policy for international economic relations has been proved. Particular attention is paid to the problems and prospects of multicultural policy development in EU countries. Keywords: multiculturalism, migration, labor migration, emigration, immigration, economic migrants.
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Rydzewski, Paweł. "Immigration and Social Aspects of Sustainable Development. The Case of Germany." Problemy Ekorozwoju 15, no. 1 (January 1, 2020): 25–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.35784/pe.2020.1.03.

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The aim of the article is to show the relationship between immigration and the social aspect of sustainable development. Data from the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS) study conducted in 2016 on a sample of 3490 respondents (residents of Germany) was used. Research suggests that this relationship is negative: mass immigration from culturally foreign countries and social environments can significantly reduce the quality of life of residents in developed societies. This manifests in opinions about the need to limit or stop immigration. The case of Germany can probably be generalized to other developed countries, especially from the European Union.
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6

Och, Jarosław. "Specific aspects of European and Polish migrations at the begging of the 21st century." Journal of Geography, Politics and Society 9, no. 4 (December 31, 2019): 58–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.26881/jpgs.2019.4.07.

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The text focuses on the migration in the European Union and in Poland at the begging of the 21st century. It aims to prove that even if the reasons and consequences of migration are varied, they have significantly shaped the development of human civilization and have been a part of human socialization. Furthermore, this text points out that the phenomena of globalization and democratization have affected the population movement and caused new patterns of contemporary migration. The European Union is a great example of cooperation between different countries in order to realize the principle of free population movement, which was put to the test over past years. Additionally, this article characterizes the Polish migration, especially the inflow of immigrants to Poland. Poland has become an emigration and an attractive immigration country. This text revels also the consequences of migration in modern Europe.
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7

Losheniuk, Oksana. "The concept of regulation of international labour migration in Ukraine." Herald of Ternopil National Economic University, no. 3(85) (August 8, 2017): 64–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.35774/visnyk2017.03.064.

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The article deals with challenges and opportunities for international labour migration in Ukraine. It is stressed that the approach to regulation of international labour migration should be comprehensive and should encompass a whole range of factors influencing migration flows, which will ensure making appropriate economic and social changes. The present concept of regulation of international labour migration in Ukraine is analyzed and the need for its improvement is discussed. The priority goals of the Concept of State Migration Policy in Ukraine are highlighted. It is stated that state migration policy is carried out in both emigration and immigration. Some of the key factors of immigration and emigration are identified. It is proved that migration policy in Ukraine is being shaped towards the European Union, which envisages a mutually beneficial redistribution of human resources over the countries. The paper claims, that achieving the quality of life as high as in the EU countries is a key demand for the integration into the European Union. It is emphasized that the existing legislation on migration has some weak points related to developing and fulfilling human potential of migrants. A range of measures to regulate international labour migration is introduced. Based on the research findings, the following actions are proposed to meet the aims of regulation of international labour migration in Ukraine: reduction of emigration from Ukraine by improving its socio-economic status; training and retraining of potential emigrants tailored to the specific characteristics of labor market growth in the country; stimulation of internal mobility aimed at the reduction of emigration; regulation of external employment of Ukrainian citizens; creation of conditions for attracting and efficient using of migrants’ money transfers; using transnational connections of migrants; halting the employment of national human resources; stimulation of immigration attractiveness for certain professional; halting illegal and undesirable migration; regulation of immigrants in Ukraine; legalization of illegal present immigrants; signing bilateral agreements between countries on return migration; stimulating re-emigration; protection of the rights and interests of labour migrants in Ukraine and abroad.
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Strielkowski, Wadim, Kateřina Hluštíková, Olena Malynovska, and Zuzana Horváthová. "Ukrainian migration in the EU: A comparative analysis of migration and remittance behaviour." Geografie 120, no. 3 (2015): 372–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.37040/geografie2015120030372.

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From the perspective of international migration, Ukraine represents a particularly interesting case because it is a country of emigration, immigration and transit migration; wherefore the movement of people occurs in all directions. Moreover, the country faces serious economic problems that are fuelled by political instability within the country. Nowadays, Ukraine is a country with fifth largest emigration in the world with the largest representation of emigrants in Czechia. This paper examines the remittance behaviour of Ukrainian labour migrants. We attempt to test the theory of dwindling remittances on the data on Ukrainian migration in seven European Union countries and to determine whether the time spent away from home actually has a negative effect of remittances. We use data from a recent project called MIRPAL (Migration and Remittance Peer Assisted Learnings) conducted by Ukrainian researchers in cooperation with the World Bank which maps in detail the economic and social situation of Ukrainian migrants in European Union.
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9

Georgiana, Noja Gratiela, and Moroc Andrei. "Labour Mobility Within the Eu: Major Effects and Implications for the Main Sending and Receiving Economies." European Journal of Economics and Business Studies 5, no. 1 (August 30, 2016): 87. http://dx.doi.org/10.26417/ejes.v5i1.p87-100.

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The paper aims to analyse the effects induced by labour mobility within the European Union, focusing both on emigration and immigration effects for major sending and host economies in terms of the overall economic activity, empowering the business enterprise sector and labour market, as well as on economic (labour force) and non-economic (humanitarian, asylum seekers) migration. Labour mobility within the European Union is an important coordinate of the economic integration process and one of the freedoms granted to the member states, with significant consequences upon their economies. Nevertheless, the international labour migration mainly resides from wage differentials, working conditions or opportunities between sending and host economies, thus proving to be an important symbol of global economic inequality. Taking into consideration all these aspects, our analysis is based on developing various double-log fixed (LSDV) and random (ECM) effects models, using a panel structure that covers five main EU destination countries and ten New EU Member States, respectively a complex set of indicators compiled during 2000-2014 and 2006-2015. The models are processed through OLS and GLS methods of estimation, as well as by using the correlated panels corrected standard errors (PCSE) method, being completed by in-sample and out-of-sample predictions. The results show that immigration flows have important economic consequences leading to significant changes in labour market performances both for natives and foreign population (decreases in employment rates and lowering wage levels). Still, one of the most important positive effects of immigration reflected by the results obtained is represented by an increase in the number of innovative enterprises in the host country, thus confirming the theories linking migration to innovation. In terms of labour emigration, there is evidence to attest that it generates positive effects on the main sending economies from Central and Eastern Europe on the GDP per capita, earnings and exports, especially through remittances, but the overall negative impact is predominant.
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10

Салем, Д. Н. "The Middle East as a reserve for migration to Western countries and the migration center in Asia." Grani 22, no. 4 (June 26, 2019): 25–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.15421/171940.

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Migration is the most common social phenomenon in the modern world. First of all it helps people to improve their financial situation and living conditions. Besides, the decision on migration can be taken due to the unstable safety in the country. The paper presents the migration process from and to the Middle East, in particularly the process of emigration to Western Europe (mainly illegal emigration of refugees, emigration of elite and religious minorities). Moreover, it shows the migration process to the countries of the Middle East, especially in the context of economic migration in the Persian Gulf, taking into consideration features, forms, sources and consequences of this phenomenon. The main hypothesis of the presented concept is the assumption that migration directly affects international relations and is often associated with risk. The issue of migration in many Western countries has become an important and urgent issue related to security and terrorism. Therefore, the European Union began to perceive the flow of illegal migrants as a source of risk that could be a threat to European safety. One should realize that analyzed phenomenon affects almost all aspects of the functioning of society. Moreover, we should emphasize the inestimable economic potential brought by immigrants, especially because of the society aging in Western Europe. Consequently, it is necessary to establish agreements between EU countries and countries-exporters of immigrants, not only on a bilateral basis, but also at a multilateral level. In the countries of emigrants there is no elaborated migration policy, besides there are no signs of improvement in the political, economic and social situation in the Middle East – on the contrary the situation is worsening, that will certainly contribute to an increase of emigrants who want to leave the region.
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11

Naulickaitė, Indrė, and Borisas Melnikas. "THE PROCESSES OF EMIGRATION FROM LITHUANIA IN THE CONDITIONS OF ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION / EMIGRACIJOS IŠ LIETUVOS PROCESAI EKONOMIKOS GLOBALIZACIJOS SĄLYGOMIS." Mokslas – Lietuvos ateitis 7, no. 2 (May 28, 2015): 221–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/mla.2015.750.

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International migration is an integral part of globalization: the twenty-first century is even called the “age of migration”. Although international migration has existed for a long time before the age of globalization, global migration volume, speed and complexity during this time, has become unprecedented. Lithuania is attributed to countries where migration flows are particularly large currently. The country’s negative international net migration for 1000 persons is one of the largest in the European Union. Assessing the impact of emigration on the country, researchers express ambiguous attitude and identifies both positive and negative aspects of this phenomenon. However, it is emphasized that intensive growing emigration threatens both the social and economic stability of the country. So both scientific and practical aspect is important to investigate the emigration from Lithuania processes and assess determinants of emigration from Lithuania. Using the scientific literature analysis, comparison, systematization, classification, generalization it was found that there are no single definitions of migration and emigration. Concepts of these phenomena vary depending on the context, in which they are interpreted. There is no single universal theory of migration which would fully explain the process of migration and determinants of emigration. Migration theories investigate this process at different levels, certain parts, emphasizing one or another aspect. It should be noted that migration theories should be seen not as alternatives, but as complementary theories. Determinants of emigration are very diverse and can be classified into various groups. Using the analytical method of dynamic lines, it was found that the migration situation in the European Union countries has been quite uneven for the period of 1998–2013. Higher number of emigrants than immigrants in Lithuania was every year of analyzed period. The analysis of emigration dynamics showed that emigration flows from Lithuania were uneven. Tarptautinė migracija – neatskiriama globalizacijos dalis: XXI a. net vadinamas „migracijos amžiumi“. Nors tarptautinė migracija ilgą laiką egzistavo ir prieš globalizacijos amžių, pasaulinės migracijos apimtis, greitis ir kompleksiškumas jo metu tapo beprecedentis. Lietuva priskiriama šalims, kuriose šiuo metu vyrauja itin dideli emigracijos srautai. Šalies neigiamas tarptautinės migracijos saldo, tenkantis 1000-iui gyventojų – vienas didžiausių Europos Sąjungoje. Vertinant emigracijos poveikį šaliai, mokslinėje literatūroje išreiškiamas nevienareikšmiškas požiūris ir nurodomi tiek teigiami, tiek neigiami šio reiškinio aspektai. Vis dėlto pabrėžiama, kad intensyviai augantys emigracijos mastai kelia grėsmę tiek socialiniam, tiek ekonominiam šalies stabilumui. Tiek moksliniu, tiek praktiniu aspektu svarbu tirti emigracijos iš Lietuvos procesus ir įvertinti pagrindinius veiksnius, lemiančius sprendimą emigruoti. Naudojant mokslinės literatūros analizę, lyginimą, sisteminimą, klasifikaciją, apibendrinimą nustatyta, kad nėra vieno sąvokų migracija ir emigracija apibrėžimo, o šių reiškinių sampratos kinta priklausomai nuo konteksto, kuriuose yra aiškinamos. Nėra vienos universalios migracijos teorijos, visapusiškai paaiškinančios migracijos procesą ir migraciją lemiančius veiksnius. Migraciją aiškinančios teorijos šį procesą nagrinėja skirtingais lygmenimis, tam tikromis dalimis, akcentuodamos vieną ar kitą aspektą. Pažymėtina, kad migracijos teorijas reikėtų vertinti ne kaip alternatyvas, o kaip viena kitą papildančias teorijas. Emigraciją lemiantys veiksniai yra labai įvairūs bei gali būti klasifikuojami į įvairias grupes. Nustatyta, kad migracijos situacija Europos Sąjungos šalyse 1998–2013 metų laikotarpiu buvo gana nevienoda. Didesnis emigrantų nei imigrantų skaičius Lietuvai buvo būdingas kiekvienais analizuojamo laikotarpio metais. Emigrantų iš Lietuvos srautai analizuojamu laikotarpiu kito gana netolygiai.
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Novicic, Zaklina. "Freedom of movement for persons in the European Union Law." Medjunarodni problemi 55, no. 1 (2003): 57–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/medjp0301057n.

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In this article the author analyses the evolution of complex corpus of legislation concerning the freedom of movement for persons in European Union Law. The article deals with the subject in two aspects: the first part of the analysis considers the conceptual development of free movement of persons by way of deliberation of building-up the authority of Union in that area, and the second part analyses the contents of the right of the Union citizens to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member State. The freedom of movement for people includes the right of Union citizens to enter, move and reside in another Member State and, in that context prohibition of any discrimination based on nationality. Conceived originally as primarily an economic phenomenon, the free movement of persons was closely linked to the pursuit of an occupation. It was the mobility of human resources as a factor of production, which inspired the chapters of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957) relating to the free movement of workers, freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services. In that sense, freedom of movement is a part of a wider concept, that of the common/internal market. Since then, through the combined effect of secondary legislation and the case law of the Court of Justice, the concept has been broadened and it tends, from the Maastricht Treaty (1992), to form one of the fundamental and individual rights of Union citizens generally. Also, the amendments of EEC Treaty, which were made by the Single European Act (1985) and specially by the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and the Treaty of Nice (2001), have formalised the external aspect of freedom of movement. Namely, it was recognised that freedom of movement for persons could not take place at the expense of security, protection against crime and illegal immigration. The abolition of internal controls has generated the need of the transferring checks to the external frontiers of the Union and, in this connection, the gradual establishment of an area of freedom, security and justice. In the first part of the article the author presents and analyses the development of the Union power in the policies of freedom of movement: in facilitating of free movement of people as a principle of the common/internal/single market, in achievement of the right to free movement for Union citizens, and also in the fields related to the external aspect of freedom of movement, or, actually, the issues pertaining to visas, asylum and immigration. The second part presents the specific contents of freedom of movement for persons that consists of the corpus of individual rights enjoyed by Union citizens on the territories of EU Member States that are not countries of their origin. These are the right to entry and residence and the right to engagement in gainful activity as well as the related social rights. This part of the article also explores the freedom of movement restriction regime as well as the corresponding Union legislation in preparation.
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13

Voytyk, Oleksandra, and Nataliia Mazii. "Labor market amid the crisis and ways to improve its governmental regulation." Democratic governance 30, no. 2 (December 31, 2022): 144–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.23939/dg2022.02.144.

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Statement of the problem. Employment of the population and reduction of unemployment rate are priority objectives for economic recovery in the country suffering from the hybrid war for many years, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic for two years, and involved into the full-scale war since February 24, 2022 that results in joblessness for thousands of people, destruction of the businesses, equipment and facilities, as well as the natural resources of Ukraine. These and other factors are undermining the normalfunc- tioning of the labor market that currently features high unemployment rate, essential territorial differentiation in the area of employment in connection with the temporary occupation of the territories and warfare, imbalances between the vacancies and the qualifications in demand, negative demographic processes (increase in the rate of mortality, disability, migration within and outside the country). Today, governmental regulation of the labor market is a necessity because coordination between the interests of the workforce and the employers has to be supported and monitored by the government to enable fast recovery from the crisis and integration of Ukraine into the world economic space, increase of the economic competitiveness and acceptance of Ukraine as the member of the European Union. Analysis of the latest researches and publications. The war in Ukraine that has caused social and economic crisis has also adversely affected the national labor market and employment industry. The vacancies have been curtailed as a result of emigration of people and relocation of businesses, employment has become problematic or impossible, accordingly, there is increase in unemployment rate stemming from the pandemic and economic crisis emerging before the war. That is why a lot of scientists have started researching this problem, namely, N. Balashova, O. Bokov, M. Butko, V. Vasylchenko, R. Voitovych [4], S. Honcharova, K. Dubych [4], M. Kravchenko, O. Krainyk, E. Libanova, Y. Marshavin, L. Novak-Kaliaieva, V. Onikienko, N. Savchenko, K. Suprun [5], N. Titchenko. Addressing the previously untouched points of the general problem. The subject of the research constitutes study of the particulars of formation of offer and demand in the labor market of Ukraine amid improvement of its governmental regulation, with due regard to the European Integration ambitions of Ukraine. Presentation of the basic research material. Employment of the population is one of the most important criteria influencing the state of economy and efficiency of public administration in any country. The purpose of the governmental policy in this area is to ensure the fullest involvement of the population in the socioeconomic development processes. Public administration of employment includes ensuring balance between the labor offer and demand for the people with different occupational qualifications, increase of the income and improvement of the quality of life of the people, facilitation of staff support in order to generate and fulfill the creative and business ideas. Public administration of employment plays an important rolein the socioeconomic development policy, offersso- lution to the multidimensional problems, and not only furthers achievement of quantitative target values, but also encourages qualitative economic changes, human capital development, especially in the context of the European integration. Based on the completed analysis, the key measures aimed at improvement of the governmental regulation of the labor market amid the crisis are creation of equal opportunities for the unemployed in the Employment Center of the region, provision of access to the training programs and job offers, introduction of the mechanisms of cooperation and interaction among the State Employment Service and private employment agencies; elimination of imbalance between the workforce offer and demand revealed while analyzing the number of vacancies and unemployed in the labor market of Ukraine, which is especially necessary in times of war, by achieving the balance between the workforce offer and demand in the market through generation of the system of monitoring and forecasting, and estimation of the numbers of the state order in the educational institutions; career guidance organization and promotion, training and re-training of staff; harmonization of the legislative regulation of labor relations of the market participants; in view of the experience gained from the developed countries, prioritization of the social protection of the unemployed population (financial aid, unemployment benefits, unemployment insurance, etc.), which shall definitely decrease emigration of the staff and reduce the criminal rate; generation of the competitive environment, both in the labor market and in the businesses, with due regard to the economic and regional aspects; increase of motivation among the unemployed, etc. Conclusions. The research addresses the evident lack of balance between the offer and demand in the labor market occurring as a result of the pandemic, as well as substantial worsening of this situation since February 24, 2022. In 2018–2019, the difference between the vacancies and the unemployed was not essential, in 2020, the number of unemployed exceeded the number of vacancies 1.5 times, in 2021, 1.7 times, and in 2022, 2.7 times. In addition to the social crisis when the war destroys the life of people and families, ruins or paralyzes the state and private economy sector, the governmental regulation of the labor market is required both at the state and the regional levels. Today, the worst situation is in the occupied territories or the area affected by fighting, and despite partial relocation of businesses, many companies are staying in the danger area any putting the life of their employees at stake every day due to impossibility to move their business to another area, desire to keep the jobs or for other reasons, for stabilization of economic processes and the future without war.
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De Wit, Hans. "Internationalization of Higher Education." Journal of International Students 10, no. 1 (February 15, 2020): i—iv. http://dx.doi.org/10.32674/jis.v10i1.1893.

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Universities have always had international dimensions in their research, teaching, and service to society, but those dimensions were in general more ad hoc, fragmented, and implicit than explicit and comprehensive. In the last decade of the previous century, the increasing globalization and regionalization of economies and societies, combined with the requirements of the knowledge economy and the end of the Cold War, created a context for a more strategic approach to internationalization in higher education. International organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the World Bank, national governments, the European Union, and higher education organizations such as the International Association of Universities placed internationalization at the top of the reform agenda. Internationalization became a key change agent in higher education, in the developed world but also in emerging and developing societies. Mobility of students, scholars, and programs; reputation and branding (manifested by global and regional rankings); and a shift in paradigm from cooperation to competition (van der Wende, 2001) have been the main manifestations of the agenda of internationalization in higher education over the past 30 years. International education has become an industry, a source of revenue and a means for enhanced reputation. Quantitative data about the number of international degree-seeking students, of international talents and scholars, of students going for credits abroad, of agreements and memoranda of understanding, as well as of co-authored international publications in high impact academic journals, have not only been key manifestations of this perception of internationalization, but also have driven its agenda and actions. This perception has resulted in an increasing dominance of English in research but also teaching, has createdthe emergence of a whole new industry around internationalization, has forced national governments to stimulate institutions of higher education going international, and hasgenerated new buzz words such as “cross-border delivery” and “soft power” in the higher education arena. In the period 2010–2020, we have seen not only the number of international students double to 5 million in the past decade, but also we have noticed an increase in franchise operations, articulation programs, branch campuses, and online delivery of higher education. There is fierce competition for talented international students and scholars, and immigration policies have shifted from low-skill to high-skill immigration. National excellence programs have increased differentiation in higher education with more attention for a small number of international world-class universities and national flagship institutions that compete for these talents, for positions in the global rankings, for access to high impact journals, and for funding, at the cost of other institutions. There is also an increasing concern about the neo-colonial dimension. In the current global-knowledge society, the concept of internationalization of higher education has itself become globalized, demanding further consideration of its impact on policy and practice as more countries and types of institution around the world engage in the process. Internationalization should no longer be considered in terms of a westernized, largely Anglo-Saxon, and predominantly English-speaking paradigm. (Jones & de Wit, 2014, p. 28) Internationalization became defined by the generally accepted definition of Knight (2008): “The process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions and delivery of post-secondary education,” describing clearly the process in a general and value neutral way. Some of the main trends in internationalization in the past 30 years have been: More focused on internationalization abroad than on internationalization at home More ad hoc, fragmented, and marginal than strategic, comprehensive, and central in policies More in the interest of a small, elite subset of students and faculty than focused on global and intercultural outcomes for all Directed by a constantly shifting range of political, economic, social/cultural, and educational rationales, with increasing focus on economic motivations Increasingly driven by national, regional, and global rankings Little alignment between the international dimensions of the three core functions of higher education: education, research, and service to society Primarily a strategic choice and focus of institutions of higher education, and less a priority of national governments Less important in emerging and developing economies, and more of a particular strategic concern among developed economies In the past decade, however, one can observe a reaction to these trends. While mobility is still the most dominant factor in internationalization policies worldwide, there is increasing attention being paid to internationalization of the curriculum at home. There is also a stronger call for comprehensive internationalization, which addresses all aspects of education in an integrated way. Although economic rationales and rankings still drive the agenda of internationalization, there is more emphasis now being placed on other motivations for internationalization. For example, attention is being paid to integrating international dimensions into tertiary education quality assurance mechanisms, institutional policies related to student learning outcomes, and the work of national and discipline-specific accreditation agencies (de Wit, 2019). Traditional values that have driven international activities in higher education in the past, such as exchange and cooperation, peace and mutual understanding, human capital development, and solidarity, although still present in the vocabulary of international education, have moved to the sideline in a push for competition, revenue, and reputation/branding. Around the change of the century, we observed a first response to these developments. The movement for Internationalization at Home within the European Union started in 1999 in Malmö, Sweden, drawing more attention to the 95% of nonmobile students not participating in the successful flagship program of the EU, ERASMUS. In the United Kingdom and Australia, a similar movement asked for attention to internationalization of the curriculum and teaching and learning in response to the increased focus on recruiting income-generating international students. And in the United States, attention emerged around internationalizing campuses and developing more comprehensive approaches to internationalization as an alternative for the marginal and fragmented focus on undergraduate study abroad on the one hand and international student recruitment on the other. These reactions were and are important manifestations of concern about the competitive, elitist, and market direction of internationalization, and are a call for more attention to the qualitative dimensions of internationalization, such as citizenship development, employability, and improvement of the quality of research, education, and service to society. A wide range of academic scholars and international education practitioners have pushed for change with their publications and presentations. A study for the European Parliament on the state of internationalization in higher education gave this push an extra dimension. Not only did the study provide a comprehensive overview of the literature and the practice of internationalization in higher education around the world, but also—based on a global Delphi Exercise—it promoted a new agenda for internationalization for the future, by extending the definition of Knight (2008), defining internationalization as follows: The intentional process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions and delivery of post-secondary education, in order to enhance the quality of education and research for all students and staff and to make a meaningful contribution to society. (de Wit et al., 2015) This definition gave a normative direction to the process by emphasizing that such a process does not proceed by itself but needs clear intentions, that internationalization is not a goal in itself but needs to be directed toward quality improvement, that it should not be of interest to a small elite group of mobile students and scholars but directed to all students and scholars, and that it should make a contribution to society. Over the past 5 years this new approach has received positive attention, and at the start of a new decade it is important to see if this shift back to a more ethical and qualitative approach with respect to internationalization is indeed taking place and what new dimensions one can observe in that shift.
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Mermanishvili, Tamar. "Migration to the EU: Some Aspects of Georgian Population Attitude and Baltic States Experience." Filosofija. Sociologija 33, no. 2 (June 4, 2022). http://dx.doi.org/10.6001/fil-soc.v33i2.4711.

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Migration is one of important aspects of modern global world development, that includes many interrelated factors such as political, economic, social, cultural, etc. With recent trends, international migration is on the rise. Georgia has experienced a significant outflow of population caused by a sharp economic decline since the collapse of the Soviet Union in early 90s of 20th century. Many Georgian citizens migrated to the EU as labour migrants. After gaining the visa-free regime with the EU in 2017, the migration of Georgian citizens to the EU has increased. The reasons for emigration and immigration in Georgia do not differ from the rest of the world and are mainly caused by economic nature. The article presents the analysis and conclusions based on recent data gained by means of the sociological survey, which proves that the attitudes of Georgians towards migration mainly coincide with the approaches of Baltic States’ citizens. The survey results confirm that the experience of the Baltic States is valuable for Georgia. The outcomes demonstrate that it is more productive for Georgia to encourage the circular migration, which means promoting the employment of Georgian workers in the host countries, and later to support and facilitate their subsequent return to Georgia in order to apply the work experience and skills acquired abroad in Georgia.
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Pavlenko, Valerii, and Mykola Polovin. "ЕЛЕКТОРАЛЬНА ІСТОРІЯ ПОПУЛІСТСЬКИХ ПРАВИХ ПАРТІЙ АВСТРІЇ, ФРАНЦІЇ ТА НІДЕРЛАНДІВ (1980-2017 рр.)." FOREIGN AFFAIRS, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.46493/2663-2675-2021.

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The article addresses the electoral history of the right-wing populist parties in Austria, France and the Netherlands in the period from the beginning of 1980s till 2017, as well as features inherent in these parties. Similarities and differences between the nationalist, anti-immigrant parties of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, French Republic and Austria have been shown. Analysis of historical underpinnings of the creation of the nationalistically-oriented parties – French Front National (“National Front”, from June 1st 2018 Rassemblement national – “National Rally”), Austrian Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (“Freedom Party of Austria”) and Dutch Partij voor de Vrijheid (“Dutch Party for Freedom”) has been conducted. Influence of various problems present in these countries’ societies on the electoral performance of the mentioned above parties has been analyzed. Research on the electoral trends and main reasons for the surge in popularity of the right-wing populist parties in Austria, France and the Netherlands has been carried out. Direct influence of the issue of illegal immigration (especially so – from the Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East) on electoral preferences of the Austrians, French and Dutch has been demonstrated. History of the creation of the modern-day leading right-wing populist political parties, as well as their ideological evolution has been thoroughly analyzed. The parties’ differences in terms of political, social and economic aspects have been shown. Reasons for the right-wing populist parties’ popularity in Austria, France and the Netherlands have been identified – among them, the most important ones are the increasing immigration of Muslims to these countries, as well as the growing distrust of the citizens of Austria, France and the Netherlands towards the governing bodies and policies of the European Union. It is demonstrated that the causes of such electoral performances are not only the historical underpinnings that have shaped both countries throughout centuries, but also the differences in Scotland’s and Wales’ economic development and the ideological distinctions within the Scottish and Welsh independence movements. Influence of internal rows and ideological divergencies within the National Rally, Freedom Party of Austria and Dutch Party for Freedom on the parties’ performance has been demonstrated.
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Antia, Khatia, Astrid Berner Rodoreda, and Volker Winkler. "Parental migration and left-behind children in Georgia – school teachers’ experience and perception: a qualitative study." BMC Public Health 22, no. 1 (November 14, 2022). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14516-8.

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Abstract Introduction Georgia, like other Eastern European countries, showed a dramatic increase of international labour emigration after becoming independent in 1991. The collapse of the Soviet Union caused economic instability, unemployment and poverty resulting in labour migration. Since then, thousands of children have been left behind in the care of extended family members while their parents work abroad. The aim of this study is to explore schoolteachers’ perceptions on parental migration and left-behind children (LBC) in Georgia as schoolteachers are the main contact persons for LBC and their caregivers. Methods We conducted six focus-group discussions with public school teachers, namely class-tutors and six in-depth interviews with school principals from two migrant sending regions. We applied reflexive thematic analysis to systematically analyse the data and identify main and sub-themes. The contextual model of family stress underpins this study. Results We identified the following themes expressed by both, teachers, and school principals: social and economic impact of migrant labour and relationships between schools and migrant families. School teachers and principals acknowledged some positive aspects of migrant labour, but primarily perceived parental migration as a negative experience for children leading to problems in mental health, well-being, and academic performance. Structural factors, lack of support and lack of community involvement were expressed to further worsen the situation. Teachers saw themselves as one of the main supporters for LBC while they described the role of caregivers ranging from caring to unhelpful or even destructive. School principals stated mitigating the situation by regular meetings with class tutors, extra-tutoring for LBC, psychological counselling, and developing/enacting internal guidelines. Conclusions Our findings suggest that LBCs and transnational families could benefit from the provision of psychological services at schools.
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Scantlebury, Alethea. "Black Fellas and Rainbow Fellas: Convergence of Cultures at the Aquarius Arts and Lifestyle Festival, Nimbin, 1973." M/C Journal 17, no. 6 (October 13, 2014). http://dx.doi.org/10.5204/mcj.923.

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All history of this area and the general talk and all of that is that 1973 was a turning point and the Aquarius Festival is credited with having turned this region around in so many ways, but I think that is a myth ... and I have to honour the truth; and the truth is that old Dicke Donelly came and did a Welcome to Country the night before the festival. (Joseph in Joseph and Hanley)In 1973 the Australian Union of Students (AUS) held the Aquarius Arts and Lifestyle Festival in a small, rural New South Wales town called Nimbin. The festival was seen as the peak expression of Australian counterculture and is attributed to creating the “Rainbow Region”, an area with a concentration of alternative life stylers in Northern NSW (Derrett 28). While the Aquarius Festival is recognised as a founding historical and countercultural event, the unique and important relationships established with Indigenous people at this time are generally less well known. This article investigates claims that the 1973 Aquarius Festival was “the first event in Australian history that sought permission for the use of the land from the Traditional Owners” (Joseph and Hanley). The diverse international, national and local conditions that coalesced at the Aquarius Festival suggest a fertile environment was created for reconciliatory bonds to develop. Often dismissed as a “tree hugging, soap dodging movement,” the counterculture was radically politicised having sprung from the 1960s social revolutions when the world witnessed mass demonstrations that confronted war, racism, sexism and capitalism. Primarily a youth movement, it was characterised by flamboyant dress, music, drugs and mass gatherings with universities forming the epicentre and white, middle class youth leading the charge. As their ideals of changing the world were frustrated by lack of systematic change, many decided to disengage and a migration to rural settings occurred (Jacob; Munro-Clarke; Newton). In the search for alternatives, the counterculture assimilated many spiritual practices, such as Eastern traditions and mysticism, which were previously obscure to the Western world. This practice of spiritual syncretism can be represented as a direct resistance to the hegemony of the dominant Western culture (Stell). As the new counterculture developed, its progression from urban to rural settings was driven by philosophies imbued with a desire to reconnect with and protect the natural world while simultaneously rejecting the dominant conservative order. A recurring feature of this countercultural ‘back to the land’ migration was not only an empathetic awareness of the injustices of colonial past, but also a genuine desire to learn from the Indigenous people of the land. Indigenous people were generally perceived as genuine opposers of Westernisation, inherently spiritual, ecological, tribal and communal, thus encompassing the primary values to which the counterculture was aspiring (Smith). Cultures converged. One, a youth culture rebelling from its parent culture; the other, ancient cultures reeling from the historical conquest by the youths’ own ancestors. Such cultural intersections are rich with complex scenarios and politics. As a result, often naïve, but well-intended relations were established with Native Americans, various South American Indigenous peoples, New Zealand Maori and, as this article demonstrates, the Original People of Australia (Smith; Newton; Barr-Melej; Zolov). The 1960s protest era fostered the formation of groups aiming to address a variety of issues, and at times many supported each other. Jennifer Clarke says it was the Civil Rights movement that provided the first models of dissent by formulating a “method, ideology and language of protest” as African Americans stood up and shouted prior to other movements (2). The issue of racial empowerment was not lost on Australia’s Indigenous population. Clarke writes that during the 1960s, encouraged by events overseas and buoyed by national organisation, Aborigines “slowly embarked on a political awakening, demanded freedom from the trappings of colonialism and responded to the effects of oppression at worst and neglect at best” (4). Activism of the 1960s had the “profoundly productive effect of providing Aborigines with the confidence to assert their racial identity” (159). Many Indigenous youth were compelled by the zeitgeist to address their people’s issues, fulfilling Charlie Perkins’s intentions of inspiring in Indigenous peoples a will to resist (Perkins). Enjoying new freedoms of movement out of missions, due to the 1967 Constitutional change and the practical implementation of the assimilation policy, up to 32,000 Indigenous youth moved to Redfern, Sydney between 1967 and 1972 (Foley, “An Evening With”). Gary Foley reports that a dynamic new Black Power Movement emerged but the important difference between this new younger group and the older Indigenous leaders of the day was the diverse range of contemporary influences. Taking its mantra from the Black Panther movement in America, though having more in common with the equivalent Native American Red Power movement, the Black Power Movement acknowledged many other international struggles for independence as equally inspiring (Foley, “An Evening”). People joined together for grassroots resistance, formed anti-hierarchical collectives and established solidarities between varied groups who previously would have had little to do with each other. The 1973 Aquarius Festival was directly aligned with “back to the land” philosophies. The intention was to provide a place and a reason for gathering to “facilitate exchanges on survival techniques” and to experience “living in harmony with the natural environment.” without being destructive to the land (Dunstan, “A Survival Festival”). Early documents in the archives, however, reveal no apparent interest in Australia’s Indigenous people, referring more to “silken Arabian tents, mediaeval banners, circus, jugglers and clowns, peace pipes, maypole and magic circles” (Dunstan, “A Survival Festival”). Obliterated from the social landscape and minimally referred to in the Australian education system, Indigenous people were “off the radar” to the majority mindset, and the Australian counterculture similarly was slow to appreciate Indigenous culture. Like mainstream Australia, the local counterculture movement largely perceived the “race” issue as something occurring in other countries, igniting the phrase “in your own backyard” which became a catchcry of Indigenous activists (Foley, “Whiteness and Blackness”) With no mention of any Indigenous interest, it seems likely that the decision to engage grew from the emerging climate of Indigenous activism in Australia. Frustrated by student protestors who seemed oblivious to local racial issues, focusing instead on popular international injustices, Indigenous activists accused them of hypocrisy. Aquarius Festival directors, found themselves open to similar accusations when public announcements elicited a range of responses. Once committed to the location of Nimbin, directors Graeme Dunstan and Johnny Allen began a tour of Australian universities to promote the upcoming event. While at the annual conference of AUS in January 1973 at Monash University, Dunstan met Indigenous activist Gary Foley: Gary witnessed the presentation of Johnny Allen and myself at the Aquarius Foundation session and our jubilation that we had agreement from the village residents to not only allow, but also to collaborate in the production of the Festival. After our presentation which won unanimous support, it was Gary who confronted me with the question “have you asked permission from local Aboriginal folk?” This threw me into confusion because we had seen no Aboriginals in Nimbin. (Dunstan, e-mail) Such a challenge came at a time when the historical climate was etched with political activism, not only within the student movement, but more importantly with Indigenous activists’ recent demonstrations, such as the installation in 1972 of the Tent Embassy in Canberra. As representatives of the counterculture movement, which was characterised by its inclinations towards consciousness-raising, AUS organisers were ethically obliged to respond appropriately to the questions about Indigenous permission and involvement in the Aquarius Festival at Nimbin. In addition to this political pressure, organisers in Nimbin began hearing stories of the area being cursed or taboo for women. This most likely originated from the tradition of Nimbin Rocks, a rocky outcrop one kilometre from Nimbin, as a place where only certain men could go. Jennifer Hoff explains that many major rock formations were immensely sacred places and were treated with great caution and respect. Only a few Elders and custodians could visit these places and many such locations were also forbidden for women. Ceremonies were conducted at places like Nimbin Rocks to ensure the wellbeing of all tribespeople. Stories of the Nimbin curse began to spread and most likely captivated a counterculture interested in mysticism. As organisers had hoped that news of the festival would spread on the “lips of the counterculture,” they were alarmed to hear how “fast the bad news of this curse was travelling” (Dunstan, e-mail). A diplomatic issue escalated with further challenges from the Black Power community when organisers discovered that word had spread to Sydney’s Indigenous community in Redfern. Organisers faced a hostile reaction to their alleged cultural insensitivity and were plagued by negative publicity with accusations the AUS were “violating sacred ground” (Janice Newton 62). Faced with such bad press, Dunstan was determined to repair what was becoming a public relations disaster. It seemed once prompted to the path, a sense of moral responsibility prevailed amongst the organisers and they took the unprecedented step of reaching out to Australia’s Indigenous people. Dunstan claimed that an expedition was made to the local Woodenbong mission to consult with Elder, Uncle Lyle Roberts. To connect with local people required crossing the great social divide present in that era of Australia’s history. Amy Nethery described how from the nineteenth century to the 1960s, a “system of reserves, missions and other institutions isolated, confined and controlled Aboriginal people” (9). She explains that the people were incarcerated as a solution to perceived social problems. For Foley, “the widespread genocidal activity of early “settlement” gave way to a policy of containment” (Foley, “Australia and the Holocaust”). Conditions on missions were notoriously bad with alcoholism, extreme poverty, violence, serious health issues and depression common. Of particular concern to mission administrators was the perceived need to keep Indigenous people separate from the non-indigenous population. Dunstan described the mission he visited as having “bad vibes.” He found it difficult to communicate with the elderly man, and was not sure if he understood Dunstan’s quest, as his “responses came as disjointed raves about Jesus and saving grace” (Dunstan, e-mail). Uncle Lyle, he claimed, did not respond affirmatively or negatively to the suggestion that Nimbin was cursed, and so Dunstan left assuming it was not true. Other organisers began to believe the curse and worried that female festival goers might get sick or worse, die. This interpretation reflected, as Vanessa Bible argues, a general Eurocentric misunderstanding of the relationship of Indigenous peoples with the land. Paul Joseph admits they were naïve whites coming into a place with very little understanding, “we didn’t know if we needed a witch doctor or what we needed but we knew we needed something from the Aborigines to lift the spell!”(Joseph and Hanley). Joseph, one of the first “hippies” who moved to the area, had joined forces with AUS organisers. He said, “it just felt right” to get Indigenous involvement and recounted how organisers made another trip to Woodenbong Mission to find Dickee (Richard) Donnelly, a Song Man, who was very happy to be invited. Whether the curse was valid or not it proved to be productive in further instigating respectful action. Perhaps feeling out of their depth, the organisers initiated another strategy to engage with Australian Indigenous people. A call out was sent through the AUS network to diversify the cultural input and it was recommended they engage the services of South African artist, Bauxhau Stone. Timing aligned well as in 1972 Australia had voted in a new Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. Whitlam brought about significant political changes, many in response to socialist protests that left a buoyancy in the air for the counterculturalist movement. He made prodigious political changes in support of Indigenous people, including creating the Aboriginal Arts Board as part of the Australian Council of the Arts (ACA). As the ACA were already funding activities for the Aquarius Festival, organisers were successful in gaining two additional grants specifically for Indigenous participation (Farnham). As a result We were able to hire […] representatives, a couple of Kalahari bushmen. ‘Cause we were so dumb, we didn’t think we could speak to the black people, you know what I mean, we thought we would be rejected, or whatever, so for us to really reach out, we needed somebody black to go and talk to them, or so we thought, and it was remarkable. This one Bau, a remarkable fellow really, great artist, great character, he went all over Australia. He went to Pitjantjatjara, Yirrkala and we arranged buses and tents when they got here. We had a very large contingent of Aboriginal people come to the Aquarius Festival, thanks to Whitlam. (Joseph in Joseph and Henley) It was under the aegis of these government grants that Bauxhau Stone conducted his work. Stone embodied a nexus of contemporary issues. Acutely aware of the international movement for racial equality and its relevance to Australia, where conditions were “really appalling”, Stone set out to transform Australian race relations by engaging with the alternative arts movement (Stone). While his white Australian contemporaries may have been unaccustomed to dealing with the Indigenous racial issue, Stone was actively engaged and thus well suited to act as a cultural envoy for the Aquarius Festival. He visited several local missions, inviting people to attend and notifying them of ceremonies being conducted by respected Elders. Nimbin was then the site of the Aquarius Lifestyle and Celebration Festival, a two week gathering of alternative cultures, technologies and youth. It innovatively demonstrated its diversity of influences, attracted people from all over the world and was the first time that the general public really witnessed Australia’s counterculture (Derrett 224). As markers of cultural life, counterculture festivals of the 1960s and 1970s were as iconic as the era itself and many around the world drew on the unique Indigenous heritage of their settings in some form or another (Partridge; Perone; Broadley and Jones; Zolov). The social phenomenon of coming together to experience, celebrate and foster a sense of unity was triggered by protests, music and a simple, yet deep desire to reconnect with each other. Festivals provided an environment where the negative social pressures of race, gender, class and mores (such as clothes) were suspended and held the potential “for personal and social transformation” (St John 167). With the expressed intent to “take matters into our own hands” and try to develop alternative, innovative ways of doing things with collective participation, the Aquarius Festival thus became an optimal space for reinvigorating ancient and Indigenous ways (Dunstan, “A Survival Festival”). With philosophies that venerated collectivism, tribalism, connecting with the earth, and the use of ritual, the Indigenous presence at the Aquarius Festival gave attendees the opportunity to experience these values. To connect authentically with Nimbin’s landscape, forming bonds with the Traditional Owners was essential. Participants were very fortunate to have the presence of the last known initiated men of the area, Uncle Lyle Roberts and Uncle Dickee Donnely. These Elders represented the last vestiges of an ancient culture and conducted innovative ceremonies, song, teachings and created a sacred fire for the new youth they encountered in their land. They welcomed the young people and were very happy for their presence, believing it represented a revolutionary shift (Wedd; King; John Roberts; Cecil Roberts). Images 1 and 2: Ceremony and talks conducted at the Aquarius Festival (people unknown). Photographs reproduced by permission of photographer and festival attendee Paul White. The festival thus provided an important platform for the regeneration of cultural and spiritual practices. John Roberts, nephew of Uncle Lyle, recalled being surprised by the reaction of festival participants to his uncle: “He was happy and then he started to sing. And my God … I couldn’t get near him! There was this big ring of hippies around him. They were about twenty deep!” Sharing to an enthusiastic, captive audience had a positive effect and gave the non-indigenous a direct Indigenous encounter (Cecil Roberts; King; Oshlak). Estimates of the number of Indigenous people in attendance vary, with the main organisers suggesting 800 to 1000 and participants suggesting 200 to 400 (Stone; Wedd; Oshlak: Joseph; King; Cecil Roberts). As the Festival lasted over a two week period, many came and left within that time and estimates are at best reliant on memory, engagement and perspectives. With an estimated total attendance at the Festival between 5000 and 10,000, either number of Indigenous attendees is symbolic and a significant symbolic statistic for Indigenous and non-indigenous to be together on mutual ground in Australia in 1973. Images 3-5: Performers from Yirrkala Dance Group, brought to the festival by Stone with funding from the Federal Government. Photographs reproduced by permission of photographer and festival attendee Dr Ian Cameron. For Indigenous people, the event provided an important occasion to reconnect with their own people, to share their culture with enthusiastic recipients, as well as the chance to experience diverse aspects of the counterculture. Though the northern NSW region has a history of diverse cultural migration of Italian and Indian families, the majority of non-indigenous and Indigenous people had limited interaction with cosmopolitan influences (Kijas 20). Thus Nimbin was a conservative region and many Christianised Indigenous people were also conservative in their outlook. The Aquarius Festival changed that as the Indigenous people experienced the wide-ranging cultural elements of the alternative movement. The festival epitomised countercultural tendencies towards flamboyant fashion and hairstyles, architectural design, fantastical art, circus performance, Asian clothes and religious products, vegetarian food and nudity. Exposure to this bohemian culture would have surely led to “mind expansion and consciousness raising,” explicit aims adhered to by the movement (Roszak). Performers and participants from Africa, America and India also gave attending Indigenous Australians the opportunity to interact with non-European cultures. Many people interviewed for this paper indicated that Indigenous people’s reception of this festival experience was joyous. For Australia’s early counterculture, interest in Indigenous Australia was limited and for organisers of the AUS Aquarius Festival, it was not originally on the agenda. The counterculture in the USA and New Zealand had already started to engage with their Indigenous people some years earlier. However due to the Aquarius Festival’s origins in the student movement and its solidarities with the international Indigenous activist movement, they were forced to shift their priorities. The coincidental selection of a significant spiritual location at Nimbin to hold the festival brought up additional challenges and countercultural intrigue with mystical powers and a desire to connect authentically to the land, further prompted action. Essentially, it was the voices of empowered Indigenous activists, like Gary Foley, which in fact triggered the reaching out to Indigenous involvement. While the counterculture organisers were ultimately receptive and did act with unprecedented respect, credit must be given to Indigenous activists. The activist’s role is to trigger action and challenge thinking and in this case, it was ultimately productive. Therefore the Indigenous people were not merely passive recipients of beneficiary goodwill, but active instigators of appropriate cultural exchange. After the 1973 festival many attendees decided to stay in Nimbin to purchase land collectively and a community was born. Relationships established with local Indigenous people developed further. Upon visiting Nimbin now, one will see a vibrant visual display of Indigenous and psychedelic themed art, a central park with an open fire tended by local custodians and other Indigenous community members, an Aboriginal Centre whose rent is paid for by local shopkeepers, and various expressions of a fusion of counterculture and Indigenous art, music and dance. While it appears that reconciliation became the aspiration for mainstream society in the 1990s, Nimbin’s early counterculture history had Indigenous reconciliation at its very foundation. The efforts made by organisers of the 1973 Aquarius Festival stand as one of very few examples in Australian history where non-indigenous Australians have respectfully sought to learn from Indigenous people and to assimilate their cultural practices. It also stands as an example for the world, of reconciliation, based on hippie ideals of peace and love. They encouraged the hippies moving up here, even when they came out for Aquarius, old Uncle Lyle and Richard Donnelly, they came out and they blessed the mob out here, it was like the hairy people had come back, with the Nimbin, cause the Nimbynji is the little hairy people, so the hairy people came back (Jerome). References Barr-Melej, Patrick. “Siloísmo and the Self in Allende’s Chile: Youth, 'Total Revolution,' and the Roots of the Humanist Movement.” Hispanic American Historical Review 86.4 (Nov. 2006): 747-784. Bible, Vanessa. Aquarius Rising: Terania Creek and the Australian Forest Protest Movement. BA (Honours) Thesis. University of New England, Armidale, 2010. Broadley, Colin, and Judith Jones, eds. Nambassa: A New Direction. Auckland: Reed, 1979. Bryant, Gordon M. Parliament of Australia. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. 1 May 1973. Australian Union of Students. Records of the AUS, 1934-1991. National Library of Australia MS ACC GB 1992.0505. Cameron, Ian. “Aquarius Festival Photographs.” 1973. Clarke, Jennifer. Aborigines and Activism: Race, Aborigines and the Coming of the Sixties to Australia. Crawley: University of Western Australia Press, 2008. Derrett, Ross. Regional Festivals: Nourishing Community Resilience: The Nature and Role of Cultural Festivals in Northern Rivers NSW Communities. PhD Thesis. Southern Cross University, Lismore, 2008. Dunstan, Graeme. “A Survival Festival May 1973.” 1 Aug. 1972. Pamphlet. MS 6945/1. Nimbin Aquarius Festival Archives. National Library of Australia, Canberra. ---. E-mail to author, 11 July 2012. ---. “The Aquarius Festival.” Aquarius Rainbow Region. n.d. Farnham, Ken. Acting Executive Officer, Aboriginal Council for the Arts. 19 June 1973. Letter. MS ACC GB 1992.0505. Australian Union of Students. Records of the AUS, 1934-1991. National Library of Australia, Canberra. Foley, Gary. “Australia and the Holocaust: A Koori Perspective (1997).” The Koori History Website. n.d. 20 May 2013 ‹http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/essay_8.html›. ---. “Whiteness and Blackness in the Koori Struggle for Self-Determination (1999).” The Koori History Website. n.d. 20 May 2013 ‹http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/essay_9.html›. ---. “Black Power in Redfern 1968-1972 (2001).” The Koori History Website. n.d. 20 May 2013 ‹http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/essay_1.html›. ---. “An Evening with Legendary Aboriginal Activist Gary Foley.” Conference Session. Marxism 2012 “Revolution in the Air”, Melbourne, Mar. 2012. Hoff, Jennifer. Bundjalung Jugun: Bundjalung Country. Lismore: Richmond River Historical Society, 2006. Jacob, Jeffrey. New Pioneers: The Back-to-the-Land Movement and the Search for a Sustainable Future. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press, 1997. Jerome, Burri. Interview. 31 July 2012. Joseph, Paul. Interview. 7 Aug. 2012. Joseph, Paul, and Brendan ‘Mookx’ Hanley. Interview by Rob Willis. 14 Aug. 2010. Audiofile, Session 2 of 3. nla.oh-vn4978025. Rob Willis Folklore Collection. National Library of Australia, Canberra. Kijas, Johanna, Caravans and Communes: Stories of Settling in the Tweed 1970s & 1980s. Murwillumbah: Tweed Shire Council, 2011. King, Vivienne (Aunty Viv). Interview. 1 Aug. 2012. Munro-Clarke, Margaret. Communes of Rural Australia: The Movement Since 1970. Sydney: Hale and Iremonger, 1986. Nethery, Amy. “Aboriginal Reserves: ‘A Modern-Day Concentration Camp’: Using History to Make Sense of Australian Immigration Detention Centres.” Does History Matter? Making and Debating Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Policy in Australia and New Zealand. Eds. Klaus Neumann and Gwenda Tavan. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 2009. 4. Newton, Janice. “Aborigines, Tribes and the Counterculture.” Social Analysis 23 (1988): 53-71. Newton, John. The Double Rainbow: James K Baxter, Ngati Hau and the Jerusalem Commune. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2009. Offord, Baden. “Mapping the Rainbow Region: Fields of Belonging and Sites of Confluence.” Transformations 2 (March 2002): 1-5. Oshlak, Al. Interview. 27 Mar. 2013. Partridge, Christopher. “The Spiritual and the Revolutionary: Alternative Spirituality, British Free Festivals, and the Emergence of Rave Culture.” Culture and Religion: An Interdisciplinary Journal 7 (2006): 3-5. Perkins, Charlie. “Charlie Perkins on 1965 Freedom Ride.” Youtube, 13 Oct. 2009. Perone, James E. Woodstock: An Encyclopedia of the Music and Art Fair. Greenwood: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005. Roberts, John. Interview. 1 Aug. 2012. Roberts, Cecil. Interview. 6 Aug. 2012. Roszak, Theodore. The Making of a Counter Culture: Reflections on the Technocratic Society and Its Youthful Opposition. New York: University of California Press,1969. 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19

Kabir, Nahid. "Why I Call Australia ‘Home’?" M/C Journal 10, no. 4 (August 1, 2007). http://dx.doi.org/10.5204/mcj.2700.

Full text
Abstract:
Introduction I am a transmigrant who has moved back and forth between the West and the Rest. I was born and raised in a Muslim family in a predominantly Muslim country, Bangladesh, but I spent several years of my childhood in Pakistan. After my marriage, I lived in the United States for a year and a half, the Middle East for 5 years, Australia for three years, back to the Middle East for another 5 years, then, finally, in Australia for the last 12 years. I speak Bengali (my mother tongue), Urdu (which I learnt in Pakistan), a bit of Arabic (learnt in the Middle East); but English has always been my medium of instruction. So where is home? Is it my place of origin, the Muslim umma, or my land of settlement? Or is it my ‘root’ or my ‘route’ (Blunt and Dowling)? Blunt and Dowling (199) observe that the lives of transmigrants are often interpreted in terms of their ‘roots’ and ‘routes’, which are two frameworks for thinking about home, homeland and diaspora. Whereas ‘roots’ might imply an original homeland from which people have scattered, and to which they might seek to return, ‘routes’ focuses on mobile, multiple and transcultural geographies of home. However, both ‘roots’ and ‘routes’ are attached to emotion and identity, and both invoke a sense of place, belonging or alienation that is intrinsically tied to a sense of self (Blunt and Dowling 196-219). In this paper, I equate home with my root (place of birth) and route (transnational homing) within the context of the ‘diaspora and belonging’. First I define the diaspora and possible criteria of belonging. Next I describe my transnational homing within the framework of diaspora and belonging. Finally, I consider how Australia can be a ‘home’ for me and other Muslim Australians. The Diaspora and Belonging Blunt and Dowling (199) define diaspora as “scattering of people over space and transnational connections between people and the places”. Cohen emphasised the ethno-cultural aspects of the diaspora setting; that is, how migrants identify and position themselves in other nations in terms of their (different) ethnic and cultural orientation. Hall argues that the diasporic subjects form a cultural identity through transformation and difference. Speaking of the Hindu diaspora in the UK and Caribbean, Vertovec (21-23) contends that the migrants’ contact with their original ‘home’ or diaspora depends on four factors: migration processes and factors of settlement, cultural composition, structural and political power, and community development. With regard to the first factor, migration processes and factors of settlement, Vertovec explains that if the migrants are political or economic refugees, or on a temporary visa, they are likely to live in a ‘myth of return’. In the cultural composition context, Vertovec argues that religion, language, region of origin, caste, and degree of cultural homogenisation are factors in which migrants are bound to their homeland. Concerning the social structure and political power issue, Vertovec suggests that the extent and nature of racial and ethnic pluralism or social stigma, class composition, degree of institutionalised racism, involvement in party politics (or active citizenship) determine migrants’ connection to their new or old home. Finally, community development, including membership in organisations (political, union, religious, cultural, leisure), leadership qualities, and ethnic convergence or conflict (trends towards intra-communal or inter-ethnic/inter-religious co-operation) would also affect the migrants’ sense of belonging. Using these scholarly ideas as triggers, I will examine my home and belonging over the last few decades. My Home In an initial stage of my transmigrant history, my home was my root (place of birth, Dhaka, Bangladesh). Subsequently, my routes (settlement in different countries) reshaped my homes. In all respects, the ethno-cultural factors have played a big part in my definition of ‘home’. But on some occasions my ethnic identification has been overridden by my religious identification and vice versa. By ethnic identity, I mean my language (mother tongue) and my connection to my people (Bangladeshi). By my religious identity, I mean my Muslim religion, and my spiritual connection to the umma, a Muslim nation transcending all boundaries. Umma refers to the Muslim identity and unity within a larger Muslim group across national boundaries. The only thing the members of the umma have in common is their Islamic belief (Spencer and Wollman 169-170). In my childhood my father, a banker, was relocated to Karachi, Pakistan (then West Pakistan). Although I lived in Pakistan for much of my childhood, I have never considered it to be my home, even though it is predominantly a Muslim country. In this case, my home was my root (Bangladesh) where my grandparents and extended family lived. Every year I used to visit my grandparents who resided in a small town in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). Thus my connection with my home was sustained through my extended family, ethnic traditions, language (Bengali/Bangla), and the occasional visits to the landscape of Bangladesh. Smith (9-11) notes that people build their connection or identity to their homeland through their historic land, common historical memories, myths, symbols and traditions. Though Pakistan and Bangladesh had common histories, their traditions of language, dress and ethnic culture were very different. For example, the celebration of the Bengali New Year (Pohela Baishakh), folk dance, folk music and folk tales, drama, poetry, lyrics of poets Rabindranath Tagore (Rabindra Sangeet) and Nazrul Islam (Nazrul Geeti) are distinct in the cultural heritage of Bangladesh. Special musical instruments such as the banshi (a bamboo flute), dhol (drums), ektara (a single-stringed instrument) and dotara (a four-stringed instrument) are unique to Bangladeshi culture. The Bangladeshi cuisine (rice and freshwater fish) is also different from Pakistan where people mainly eat flat round bread (roti) and meat (gosh). However, my bonding factor to Bangladesh was my relatives, particularly my grandparents as they made me feel one of ‘us’. Their affection for me was irreplaceable. The train journey from Dhaka (capital city) to their town, Noakhali, was captivating. The hustle and bustle at the train station and the lush green paddy fields along the train journey reminded me that this was my ‘home’. Though I spoke the official language (Urdu) in Pakistan and had a few Pakistani friends in Karachi, they could never replace my feelings for my friends, extended relatives and cousins who lived in Bangladesh. I could not relate to the landscape or dry weather of Pakistan. More importantly, some Pakistani women (our neighbours) were critical of my mother’s traditional dress (saree), and described it as revealing because it showed a bit of her back. They took pride in their traditional dress (shalwar, kameez, dopatta), which they considered to be more covered and ‘Islamic’. So, because of our traditional dress (saree) and perhaps other differences, we were regarded as the ‘Other’. In 1970 my father was relocated back to Dhaka, Bangladesh, and I was glad to go home. It should be noted that both Pakistan and Bangladesh were separated from India in 1947 – first as one nation; then, in 1971, Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan. The conflict between Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) and Pakistan (then West Pakistan) originated for economic and political reasons. At this time I was a high school student and witnessed acts of genocide committed by the Pakistani regime against the Bangladeshis (March-December 1971). My memories of these acts are vivid and still very painful. After my marriage, I moved from Bangladesh to the United States. In this instance, my new route (Austin, Texas, USA), as it happened, did not become my home. Here the ethno-cultural and Islamic cultural factors took precedence. I spoke the English language, made some American friends, and studied history at the University of Texas. I appreciated the warm friendship extended to me in the US, but experienced a degree of culture shock. I did not appreciate the pub life, alcohol consumption, and what I perceived to be the lack of family bonds (children moving out at the age of 18, families only meeting occasionally on birthdays and Christmas). Furthermore, I could not relate to de facto relationships and acceptance of sex before marriage. However, to me ‘home’ meant a family orientation and living in close contact with family. Besides the cultural divide, my husband and I were living in the US on student visas and, as Vertovec (21-23) noted, temporary visa status can deter people from their sense of belonging to the host country. In retrospect I can see that we lived in the ‘myth of return’. However, our next move for a better life was not to our root (Bangladesh), but another route to the Muslim world of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia. My husband moved to Dhahran not because it was a Muslim world but because it gave him better economic opportunities. However, I thought this new destination would become my home – the home that was coined by Anderson as the imagined nation, or my Muslim umma. Anderson argues that the imagined communities are “to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined” (6; Wood 61). Hall (122) asserts: identity is actually formed through unconscious processes over time, rather than being innate in consciousness at birth. There is always something ‘imaginary’ or fantasized about its unity. It always remains incomplete, is always ‘in process’, always ‘being formed’. As discussed above, when I had returned home to Bangladesh from Pakistan – both Muslim countries – my primary connection to my home country was my ethnic identity, language and traditions. My ethnic identity overshadowed the religious identity. But when I moved to Saudi Arabia, where my ethnic identity differed from that of the mainstream Arabs and Bedouin/nomadic Arabs, my connection to this new land was through my Islamic cultural and religious identity. Admittedly, this connection to the umma was more psychological than physical, but I was now in close proximity to Mecca, and to my home of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Mecca is an important city in Saudi Arabia for Muslims because it is the holy city of Islam, the home to the Ka’aba (the religious centre of Islam), and the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad [Peace Be Upon Him]. It is also the destination of the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islamic faith. Therefore, Mecca is home to significant events in Islamic history, as well as being an important present day centre for the Islamic faith. We lived in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia for 5 years. Though it was a 2.5 hours flight away, I treasured Mecca’s proximity and regarded Dhahran as my second and spiritual home. Saudi Arabia had a restricted lifestyle for women, but I liked it because it was a Muslim country that gave me the opportunity to perform umrah Hajj (pilgrimage). However, Saudi Arabia did not allow citizenship to expatriates. Saudi Arabia’s government was keen to protect the status quo and did not want to compromise its cultural values or standard of living by allowing foreigners to become a permanent part of society. In exceptional circumstances only, the King granted citizenship to a foreigner for outstanding service to the state over a number of years. Children of foreigners born in Saudi Arabia did not have rights of local citizenship; they automatically assumed the nationality of their parents. If it was available, Saudi citizenship would assure expatriates a secure and permanent living in Saudi Arabia; as it was, there was a fear among the non-Saudis that they would have to leave the country once their job contract expired. Under the circumstances, though my spiritual connection to Mecca was strong, my husband was convinced that Saudi Arabia did not provide any job security. So, in 1987 when Australia offered migration to highly skilled people, my husband decided to migrate to Australia for a better and more secure economic life. I agreed to his decision, but quite reluctantly because we were again moving to a non-Muslim part of the world, which would be culturally different and far away from my original homeland (Bangladesh). In Australia, we lived first in Brisbane, then Adelaide, and after three years we took our Australian citizenship. At that stage I loved the Barossa Valley and Victor Harbour in South Australia, and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in Queensland, but did not feel at home in Australia. We bought a house in Adelaide and I was a full time home-maker but was always apprehensive that my children (two boys) would lose their culture in this non-Muslim world. In 1990 we once again moved back to the Muslim world, this time to Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. My connection to this route was again spiritual. I valued the fact that we would live in a Muslim country and our children would be brought up in a Muslim environment. But my husband’s move was purely financial as he got a lucrative job offer in Muscat. We had another son in Oman. We enjoyed the luxurious lifestyle provided by my husband’s workplace and the service provided by the housemaid. I loved the beaches and freedom to drive my car, and I appreciated the friendly Omani people. I also enjoyed our frequent trips (4 hours flight) to my root, Dhaka, Bangladesh. So our children were raised within our ethnic and Islamic culture, remained close to my root (family in Dhaka), though they attended a British school in Muscat. But by the time I started considering Oman to be my second home, we had to leave once again for a place that could provide us with a more secure future. Oman was like Saudi Arabia; it employed expatriates only on a contract basis, and did not give them citizenship (not even fellow Muslims). So after 5 years it was time to move back to Australia. It was with great reluctance that I moved with my husband to Brisbane in 1995 because once again we were to face a different cultural context. As mentioned earlier, we lived in Brisbane in the late 1980s; I liked the weather, the landscape, but did not consider it home for cultural reasons. Our boys started attending expensive private schools and we bought a house in a prestigious Western suburb in Brisbane. Soon after arriving I started my tertiary education at the University of Queensland, and finished an MA in Historical Studies in Indian History in 1998. Still Australia was not my home. I kept thinking that we would return to my previous routes or the ‘imagined’ homeland somewhere in the Middle East, in close proximity to my root (Bangladesh), where we could remain economically secure in a Muslim country. But gradually I began to feel that Australia was becoming my ‘home’. I had gradually become involved in professional and community activities (with university colleagues, the Bangladeshi community and Muslim women’s organisations), and in retrospect I could see that this was an early stage of my ‘self-actualisation’ (Maslow). Through my involvement with diverse people, I felt emotionally connected with the concerns, hopes and dreams of my Muslim-Australian friends. Subsequently, I also felt connected with my mainstream Australian friends whose emotions and fears (9/11 incident, Bali bombing and 7/7 tragedy) were similar to mine. In late 1998 I started my PhD studies on the immigration history of Australia, with a particular focus on the historical settlement of Muslims in Australia. This entailed retrieving archival files and interviewing people, mostly Muslims and some mainstream Australians, and enquiring into relevant migration issues. I also became more active in community issues, and was not constrained by my circumstances. By circumstances, I mean that even though I belonged to a patriarchally structured Muslim family, where my husband was the main breadwinner, main decision-maker, my independence and research activities (entailing frequent interstate trips for data collection, and public speaking) were not frowned upon or forbidden (Khan 14-15); fortunately, my husband appreciated my passion for research and gave me his trust and support. This, along with the Muslim community’s support (interviews), and the wider community’s recognition (for example, the publication of my letters in Australian newspapers, interviews on radio and television) enabled me to develop my self-esteem and built up my bicultural identity as a Muslim in a predominantly Christian country and as a Bangladeshi-Australian. In 2005, for the sake of a better job opportunity, my husband moved to the UK, but this time I asserted that I would not move again. I felt that here in Australia (now in Perth) I had a job, an identity and a home. This time my husband was able to secure a good job back in Australia and was only away for a year. I no longer dream of finding a home in the Middle East. Through my bicultural identity here in Australia I feel connected to the wider community and to the Muslim umma. However, my attachment to the umma has become ambivalent. I feel proud of my Australian-Muslim identity but I am concerned about the jihadi ideology of militant Muslims. By jihadi ideology, I mean the extremist ideology of the al-Qaeda terrorist group (Farrar 2007). The Muslim umma now incorporates both moderate and radical Muslims. The radical Muslims (though only a tiny minority of 1.4 billion Muslims worldwide) pose a threat to their moderate counterparts as well as to non-Muslims. In the UK, some second- and third-generation Muslims identify themselves with the umma rather than their parents’ homelands or their country of birth (Husain). It should not be a matter of concern if these young Muslims adopt a ‘pure’ Muslim identity, providing at the same time they are loyal to their country of residence. But when they resort to terrorism with their ‘pure’ Muslim identity (e.g., the 7/7 London bombers) they defame my religion Islam, and undermine my spiritual connection to the umma. As a 1st generation immigrant, the defining criteria of my ‘homeliness’ in Australia are my ethno-cultural and religious identity (which includes my family), my active citizenship, and my community development/contribution through my research work – all of which allow me a sense of efficacy in my life. My ethnic and religious identities generally co-exist equally, but when I see some Muslims kill my fellow Australians (such as the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005) my Australian identity takes precedence. I feel for the victims and condemn the perpetrators. On the other hand, when I see politics play a role over the human rights issues (e.g., the Tampa incident), my religious identity begs me to comment on it (see Kabir, Muslims in Australia 295-305). Problematising ‘Home’ for Muslim Australians In the European context, Grillo (863) and Werbner (904), and in the Australian context, Kabir (Muslims in Australia) and Poynting and Mason, have identified the diversity within Islam (national, ethnic, religious etc). Werbner (904) notes that in spite of the “wishful talk of the emergence of a ‘British Islam’, even today there are Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Arab mosques, as well as Turkish and Shia’a mosques”; thus British Muslims retain their separate identities. Similarly, in Australia, the existence of separate mosques for the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Arab and Shia’a peoples indicates that Australian Muslims have also kept their ethnic identities discrete (Saeed 64-77). However, in times of crisis, such as the Salman Rushdie affair in 1989, and the 1990-1991 Gulf crises, both British and Australian Muslims were quick to unite and express their Islamic identity by way of resistance (Kabir, Muslims in Australia 160-162; Poynting and Mason 68-70). In both British and Australian contexts, I argue that a peaceful rally or resistance is indicative of active citizenship of Muslims as it reveals their sense of belonging (also Werbner 905). So when a transmigrant Muslim wants to make a peaceful demonstration, the Western world should be encouraged, not threatened – as long as the transmigrant’s allegiances lie also with the host country. In the European context, Grillo (868) writes: when I asked Mehmet if he was planning to stay in Germany he answered without hesitation: ‘Yes, of course’. And then, after a little break, he added ‘as long as we can live here as Muslims’. In this context, I support Mehmet’s desire to live as a Muslim in a non-Muslim world as long as this is peaceful. Paradoxically, living a Muslim life through ijtihad can be either socially progressive or destructive. The Canadian Muslim feminist Irshad Manji relies on ijtihad, but so does Osama bin Laden! Manji emphasises that ijtihad can be, on the one hand, the adaptation of Islam using independent reasoning, hybridity and the contesting of ‘traditional’ family values (c.f. Doogue and Kirkwood 275-276, 314); and, on the other, ijtihad can take the form of conservative, patriarchal and militant Islamic values. The al-Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden espouses the jihadi ideology of Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), an Egyptian who early in his career might have been described as a Muslim modernist who believed that Islam and Western secular ideals could be reconciled. But he discarded that idea after going to the US in 1948-50; there he was treated as ‘different’ and that treatment turned him against the West. He came back to Egypt and embraced a much more rigid and militaristic form of Islam (Esposito 136). Other scholars, such as Cesari, have identified a third orientation – a ‘secularised Islam’, which stresses general beliefs in the values of Islam and an Islamic identity, without too much concern for practices. Grillo (871) observed Islam in the West emphasised diversity. He stressed that, “some [Muslims were] more quietest, some more secular, some more clamorous, some more negotiatory”, while some were exclusively characterised by Islamic identity, such as wearing the burqa (elaborate veils), hijabs (headscarves), beards by men and total abstinence from drinking alcohol. So Mehmet, cited above, could be living a Muslim life within the spectrum of these possibilities, ranging from an integrating mode to a strict, militant Muslim manner. In the UK context, Zubaida (96) contends that marginalised, culturally-impoverished youth are the people for whom radical, militant Islamism may have an appeal, though it must be noted that the 7/7 bombers belonged to affluent families (O’Sullivan 14; Husain). In Australia, Muslim Australians are facing three challenges. First, the Muslim unemployment rate: it was three times higher than the national total in 1996 and 2001 (Kabir, Muslims in Australia 266-278; Kabir, “What Does It Mean” 63). Second, some spiritual leaders have used extreme rhetoric to appeal to marginalised youth; in January 2007, the Australian-born imam of Lebanese background, Sheikh Feiz Mohammad, was alleged to have employed a DVD format to urge children to kill the enemies of Islam and to have praised martyrs with a violent interpretation of jihad (Chulov 2). Third, the proposed citizenship test has the potential to make new migrants’ – particularly Muslims’ – settlement in Australia stressful (Kabir, “What Does It Mean” 62-79); in May 2007, fuelled by perceptions that some migrants – especially Muslims – were not integrating quickly enough, the Howard government introduced a citizenship test bill that proposes to test applicants on their English language skills and knowledge of Australian history and ‘values’. I contend that being able to demonstrate knowledge of history and having English language skills is no guarantee that a migrant will be a good citizen. Through my transmigrant history, I have learnt that developing a bond with a new place takes time, acceptance and a gradual change of identity, which are less likely to happen when facing assimilationist constraints. I spoke English and studied history in the United States, but I did not consider it my home. I did not speak the Arabic language, and did not study Middle Eastern history while I was in the Middle East, but I felt connected to it for cultural and religious reasons. Through my knowledge of history and English language proficiency I did not make Australia my home when I first migrated to Australia. Australia became my home when I started interacting with other Australians, which was made possible by having the time at my disposal and by fortunate circumstances, which included a fairly high level of efficacy and affluence. If I had been rejected because of my lack of knowledge of ‘Australian values’, or had encountered discrimination in the job market, I would have been much less willing to embrace my host country and call it home. I believe a stringent citizenship test is more likely to alienate would-be citizens than to induce their adoption of values and loyalty to their new home. Conclusion Blunt (5) observes that current studies of home often investigate mobile geographies of dwelling and how it shapes one’s identity and belonging. Such geographies of home negotiate from the domestic to the global context, thus mobilising the home beyond a fixed, bounded and confining location. Similarly, in this paper I have discussed how my mobile geography, from the domestic (root) to global (route), has shaped my identity. Though I received a degree of culture shock in the United States, loved the Middle East, and was at first quite resistant to the idea of making Australia my second home, the confidence I acquired in residing in these ‘several homes’ were cumulative and eventually enabled me to regard Australia as my ‘home’. I loved the Middle East, but I did not pursue an active involvement with the Arab community because I was a busy mother. Also I lacked the communication skill (fluency in Arabic) with the local residents who lived outside the expatriates’ campus. I am no longer a cultural freak. I am no longer the same Bangladeshi woman who saw her ethnic and Islamic culture as superior to all other cultures. I have learnt to appreciate Australian values, such as tolerance, ‘a fair go’ and multiculturalism (see Kabir, “What Does It Mean” 62-79). My bicultural identity is my strength. With my ethnic and religious identity, I can relate to the concerns of the Muslim community and other Australian ethnic and religious minorities. And with my Australian identity I have developed ‘a voice’ to pursue active citizenship. Thus my biculturalism has enabled me to retain and merge my former home with my present and permanent home of Australia. References Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London, New York: Verso, 1983. Australian Bureau of Statistics: Census of Housing and Population, 1996 and 2001. Blunt, Alison. Domicile and Diaspora: Anglo-Indian Women and the Spatial Politics of Home. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. Blunt, Alison, and Robyn Dowling. Home. London and New York: Routledge, 2006. Cesari, Jocelyne. “Muslim Minorities in Europe: The Silent Revolution.” In John L. Esposito and Burgat, eds., Modernising Islam: Religion in the Public Sphere in Europe and the Middle East. London: Hurst, 2003. 251-269. Chulov, Martin. “Treatment Has Sheik Wary of Returning Home.” Weekend Australian 6-7 Jan. 2007: 2. Cohen, Robin. Global Diasporas: An Introduction. Seattle: University of Washington, 1997. Doogue, Geraldine, and Peter Kirkwood. Tomorrow’s Islam: Uniting Old-Age Beliefs and a Modern World. Sydney: ABC Books, 2005. Esposito, John. The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? 3rd ed. New York, Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. Farrar, Max. “When the Bombs Go Off: Rethinking and Managing Diversity Strategies in Leeds, UK.” International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations 6.5 (2007): 63-68. Grillo, Ralph. “Islam and Transnationalism.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 30.5 (Sep. 2004): 861-878. Hall, Stuart. Polity Reader in Cultural Theory. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1994. Huntington, Samuel, P. The Clash of Civilisation and the Remaking of World Order. London: Touchstone, 1998. Husain, Ed. The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw inside and Why I Left. London: Penguin, 2007. Kabir, Nahid. Muslims in Australia: Immigration, Race Relations and Cultural History. London: Kegan Paul, 2005. ———. “What Does It Mean to Be Un-Australian: Views of Australian Muslim Students in 2006.” People and Place 15.1 (2007): 62-79. Khan, Shahnaz. Aversion and Desire: Negotiating Muslim Female Identity in the Diaspora. Toronto: Women’s Press, 2002. Manji, Irshad. The Trouble with Islam Today. Canada:Vintage, 2005. Maslow, Abraham. Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper, 1954. O’Sullivan, J. “The Real British Disease.” Quadrant (Jan.-Feb. 2006): 14-20. Poynting, Scott, and Victoria Mason. “The Resistible Rise of Islamophobia: Anti-Muslim Racism in the UK and Australia before 11 September 2001.” Journal of Sociology 43.1 (2007): 61-86. Saeed, Abdallah. Islam in Australia. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2003. Smith, Anthony D. National Identity. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1991. Spencer, Philip, and Howard Wollman. Nationalism: A Critical Introduction. London: Sage, 2002. Vertovec, Stevens. The Hindu Diaspora: Comparative Patterns. London: Routledge. 2000. Werbner, Pnina, “Theorising Complex Diasporas: Purity and Hybridity in the South Asian Public Sphere in Britain.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 30.5 (2004): 895-911. Wood, Dennis. “The Diaspora, Community and the Vagrant Space.” In Cynthia Vanden Driesen and Ralph Crane, eds., Diaspora: The Australasian Experience. New Delhi: Prestige, 2005. 59-64. Zubaida, Sami. “Islam in Europe: Unity or Diversity.” Critical Quarterly 45.1-2 (2003): 88-98. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Kabir, Nahid. "Why I Call Australia ‘Home’?: A Transmigrant’s Perspective." M/C Journal 10.4 (2007). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0708/15-kabir.php>. APA Style Kabir, N. (Aug. 2007) "Why I Call Australia ‘Home’?: A Transmigrant’s Perspective," M/C Journal, 10(4). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0708/15-kabir.php>.
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