Objective
This assignment is to enhance students’ insight into the causes and experience of migration
from the perspectives of those who find themselves in situations of voluntary or involuntary
migration.
Learning Goal
The goal is to gain an understanding of the experiences of migrants by:
• Analyzing the causes of voluntary and involuntary migration;
• Reflecting on the challenges and opportunities entailed in the settlement of voluntary
and involuntary migrants in a country like Canada; and
• Offer suggestions on how to address the difficulties faced by voluntary and involuntary
migrants in country such as Canada.
Detailed Instruction
The assignment has two components—(a) Country Profile and Causes of Migration and (b) The
Immigrant Experience: Settlement and Integration. Each component centers on a Table—i.e.,
Tables 1 and 2 for Sections A and B, respectively.
A: Country Profile and Causes of Migration (5 points)
First, choose one country from Africa or the MENA region, as your source or origin country, and
provide five socioeconomic and demographic indicators of that country, together with their
corresponding data for Canada, or any advanced country as your destination country, to
complete Table 1. Examples of indicators that you can use include: Human Development Index
(HDI); Infant Mortality Rate; Life Expectancy at Birth; Crime Rate; Gross National Income (GNI);
Unemployment Rate; Literacy Rate; and Maternal Mortality Rate. Your choice of an indicator
should be based on the arguments you want to make about the causes of voluntary or
involuntary migration from your selected country. You can use other indicators that are not
suggested here, depending on the arguments you want to present. Second, drawing on the
data you have compiled in Table 1, discuss the factors that might prompt people to leave your
selected source country as voluntary or involuntary migrants, moving to Canada or any advance
country you select to be your destination. If, for instance, you want to make the case that
people in Uganda might want to move to Canada because of the lack of jobs, then it will be a
good idea to find the Unemployment Rate of Uganda, as one of your five indicators, and
compare it with that of Canada or your destination. You do not have to make the case for only
voluntary migrants or for only involuntary migrants.
Note: Use about 500 words, excluding your table and references for this section of the
assignment. You can use as many sources as you want as long as the word count of your answer
is not more than 500 words.
2
Table
1:
Coun
try
Profil
e:
Indic
ators
B: The Immigrant Experience: Settlement and Integration (5 points)
This is a reflective exercise to help you appreciate the challenges and opportunities entailed in
immigrants’ settlement and integration. Reflect on the problems and opportunities that
immigrants from your chosen African or MENA country might have in settling in Canada or your
selected destination country. More specifically, you are to assume the identity of an immigrant
from your selected African or MENA country (in Section A), and address the questions
presented in Table 2. If you have migrated across national boundaries before, bring your own
experience to bear: How did you (and your family) go about settling in your new destination?
What challenges did you face in finding housing and employment, for instance? What
opportunities were open to you as an immigrant? Of course, individual situations are different,
but be creative and put yourself in the shoes of the immigrant from Africa or MENA,
considering the potential causes of migration and displacement that you discussed in Section A.
If you have never migrated across national boundaries, take a closer look at the Recommended
YouTube videos (see the Section on Resources), and you will get useful insights into the
common challenges and opportunities involved in settling in a new country. Combine ideas
from the videos, course materials, recommended resources, and your discussion in Section A to
address the questions in Table 2.
Table 2: Immigrant Settlement and Integration
Key Issues
1: Settlement
Opportunities
What are the potential opportunities that are open to you, as an
immigrant from Africa or MENA settling in Canada (or your selected
destination) in terms of education, employment, personal freedom,
friendship, language, and cultural identity?
- Settlement What are some of the potential challenges and anxieties that you, as
Indicators Canada or Any
Advanced Country
(Destination)
Selected African or
MENA Country
(Source)
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
3
Challenges an immigrant from Africa or MENA settling in Canada, or your
selected destination, might encounter in terms of housing,
employment, school, friends, language, and cultural identity etc.?
3: Policy
Suggestions
In your view, what can be done by individuals, groups, and
governments, either individually or collectively, to improve the lives
of immigrants in Canada or your destination?
Note: Use a maximum of 500 words for Section B of the assignment
Resources
A: Recommended Data and Information Sources - For Human Development Index data
United Nations Development Program: http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/HDI - For Gross Domestic Income data
World Bank Data on GNI: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.PP.CD - For Population Data
Population Reference Bureau:
https://www.prb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/letter-booklet-2020-worldpopulation.pdf - Canadian data on immigrants: For instance, you can get the number refugees from
countries around the world that settle in different parts of Canada. - https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dv-vd/imm/indexeng.cfm
- For information useful to Newcomers in Ontario:
This website has information on how newcomers can find housing, employment, health
care, schools etc.
https://settlement.org/
B: Recommended YouTube Video
1: There are several videos labelled Immigrant Experiences in Canada at the following website
https://www.youtube.com/user/uwosocialscience#Immigrant%20Experiences%20in%20Canad
a
2: Life as an immigrant: I am a migrant (14:58 minutes)
https://iamamigrant.org/life-immigrant
This video is on two immigrants in London, UK: one of whom is a young Canadian man, while
the other is a young Venezuelan woman. They talk about how they settled in London; the
challenges they encountered, and how they dealt with these challenges. The video is, perhaps,
too jovial at first, but they provide some very good points later on.
C. Recommended Reading Materials
4 - George, U. & Chaze, F. (2009) “Tell me what I need to know: South East Asian women, social
capital and settlement” Journal of International Migration and Integration, Vol 10 (3): 265-282
https://rdcu.be/cd8G0 - Grenier, Gilles and Xue, L. (2011). “Canadian immigrants’ access to first job in their intended
occupation” Journal of International Migration and Integration, Vol 12 (3): 275-303.
https://rdcu.be/cd8Sr - Vibha, Kaushik and Drolet, Julie (2018) “Settlement and integration needs of skilled
immigrants in Canada” Social Sciences 7 (5) 76. (Online—open access):
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/7/5/76
Additional Recommended Resources
The following are other sources of information about settlement experiences in Canada that
you can consult to firm-up your thinking about this assignment.
1: Immigration stories
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/campaigns/immigrationmatters/stories.html
2: Government stories about contributions of immigrants
Journey to Canada: Stories of Refugees – short videos on IRCC website
www.cic.gc.ca
4: Journey of Migration, Western University
https://www.youtube.com/user/uwosocialscience#Immigrant%20Experiences%20in%20Canad
a
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