• A person who leaves one country to live in another is called an emigrant.
• A person who comes to live in one country from another is called an immigrant.
• For example, an Irish person who moves from Ireland to Australia is an emigrant from Ireland and an immigrant to Australia.
Travel He's an emigrant! He's an immigrant!
: Figure 19.1 Emigration is also immigration
( Figure 19.2 Irish emigrants: the Dubai Celts GAA team
Causes of migration
Migration can be caused by economic, social, political or environmental factors.
• Economic migration: moving to find work or follow a particular career path
• Social migration: moving somewhere for a better quality of life or to be closer to family or friends
• Political migration: moving to escape political persecution or war
• Environmental migration: causes include natural disasters such as flooding or famine. Someone who feels they cannot return to their country because they might be persecuted can apply for refugee status in another country. This is also called seeking asylum. A refugee cannot be forced to return to their home country under the United Nations convention on the status of refugees. Political and environmental migrants are often refugees.
: Figure 19.3 Political migration: refugees from Syria arriving at a Greek island, 2015
When people have to flee their homes for one reason or another, they often end up in refugee camps until they can return home or find a host country to live in.
Go to page 76 of your Portfolio to research and write a report on a refugee camp. PORTFOLIO ACT VITY 19.1
