Two Forms Of Migration And Immigrants

There are two forms of migration - emigration and immigration. Immigration is the movement of people into a country to which they are not native in order to settle there permanently or temporarily, whereas emigration is the act of leaving one's own country to settle permanently in another. Migrants typically seek a better life in their new host countries, and for most migrants, they also seek to escape the poor living conditions back home. There are up to 150 million migrants and displaced persons all over the world, one third of whom migrate for work. (CIA, n.d.) These people are normally transient workers, who migrate temporarily for work purposes. The driving factor for them is usually the prospect of a better paying job which will improve …show more content…
This is because more families will be able to escape the vicious poverty cycle, and are able to spend and consume more in benefit of the country’s economy. In 2010, 31.5% of the population was under the poverty line. (CIA, n.d.) Families who are unable to make ends meet due to low wages resort coming to Singapore to earn a living, and will have more money to send back to their families. Many workers are relatively satisfied about working here, saying that wages are higher than those back home, and employers pay them on time. Workers from Bangladesh also said that if they had not come here to work, they would likely be jobless back home. Mr Sharif Islam, a Bangladeshi worker who has A-level qualifications, earns $2000 a month. He got promoted to being a chemical plant supervisor after six years, since he was able to upgrade his skills. This shows that migrating to Singapore is ultimately beneficial as it is a source of income for them, or else they would still be living in poverty back in …show more content…
To overcome misconceptions like the workers being “disturbances” and “dirty”, the government must take action to ensure that the social conditions are suitable to accept these workers. (Oh, et al., 2008) In addition, they can roll out campaigns that will hopefully make Singaporeans realise the importance of these transient workers to not just our infrastructure but our economy as well. In order to improve their living and working conditions, stricter conditions can also be set in place by the government, and they could even implement a minimum wage to make sure that workers get sufficient money. Bangladeshi workers also have their part to play in ensuring that they are not nuisances, and do not pose a problem to Singaporeans. They should set out to prove that the stereotypes of them are untrue. However, the government and the workers can only do so much - Singaporeans must also change their attitudes and perceptions. Through personal interactions with the Bangladeshi workers, Singaporeans who previously had negative perceptions of workers will change their views on them and learn that life for them is not easy. They will also realise that the workers are different from their expectations and first impressions, thus allowing Singaporeans to change their