Immigrants from Eritrea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Immigrants from Eritrea - Essay Example Immigration occurs when the nationals of one country cross over to a foreign nation with a view to settle there permanently; this involves that they become nationals of the new territory that they are now part of however the process is tough because legally it is extremely tough to immigrate from one country to another. Immigrants may be both legal and illegal; some undergo the proper process of moving elsewhere however others might not have a home to live in and thus cross the border illegally in order to find a place to stay or escape from the lives that they have been leading in that country. Immigrants flee their countries because of the oppression and lack of opportunities that they are presented with; this is one of the main reasons as they might not be happy with the government or the ruling party and not being able to get anything substantial out of their lives. Thus they feel that in order for their families, children and future generations to lead a better lifestyle, they c an start afresh in another country. There are various terms to describe the different kinds of immigrants; an economic immigrant is that which flees one country in search of a job opportunity somewhere – in order to make a livelihood and produce and give back to the society. A refugee on the other hand maybe an individual suffering a persecution and flees the country of his nationality in order to avoid that – he may do so due to the pressure on him and his family or the lack of financial resources to support himself and may feel that his family can live a better life somewhere else rather than die in the territory where they have been living. The definition of a refugee according to the Convention of the United Nations is â€Å"a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself o f the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution.†Ã‚  In a different country, people are able to gain different perks from the manner in which the government has been existing there. They may adjust their lifestyles to a better form of government, gain access to education and health resources and in this fashion, lead a happier and more fulfilling life. Other reasons for immigration might be relocating families due to natural disasters, re-unifying with families living elsewhere, and political reasons or social reasons like poverty. According to immigration statistics, Eritrea, in Africa, has till date had a large outflow of refugees, almost 377,000 people with an inflow of only about 4,100 refugees into the country. The worst problem that immigrants face is not being able to settle their lives in the new country – even though they might have relocated to a better place, it is tough to find a job and emerge out of the socially deprived state of affairs, especially for an illegal immigrant. Even if the immigrants have the skill to work, they would have to produce proper documentation in order to be able to sign contracts and be part of legal proceedings in a proper workplace. However, since they are not able to produce these, they mostly tend to get into illegal forms of working like drug and human trafficking; they are used as servants in homes and paid meagre amounts of money, just enough to get them by with minimum food and shelter. Immigrants consist of both men and women and out of the two, the women face a much higher risk of not being able to survive especially as illegal immigrants; this is because of the gender disparity created between the two on a social and political level. Socially speaking, women immigrants may be sold to others as slaves or workers in people’s homes in order to earn their daily bread and thus are at the receiving end of improper treatment and even sexual abuse many a times. Men on the other hand, are better equipped to get jobs