Note a margine del fenomeno migratorio

In: Lingue e Linguaggi; Volume 16 (2015) - Special Issue; 19-45

Abstract

Abstract – The phenomenon of migration is one of the things which has had the greatest influence on the history of humanity, involving millions of people. Today men and women of all ages, mostly young people from economically disadvantaged areas of the planet, migrate from one continent to another, for economic, political or religious reasons. They move towards geopolitical areas which are economically and politically less troubled, leaving others where the living conditions are no longer possible. In some cases, it is a question of looking for better conditions of existence (economic causes); in other cases of mere survival (political and religious causes). Both for operational reasons and of interpretation, it is necessary to distinguish between the causes of expulsion and the consequent migration types. It is important to understand whether we are facing migration of a political or an economic nature, but it should be noted, also, that it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between politics and economics. It is a movement that creates upheaval and irreversible processes in both the countries of departure and destination. We are therefore facing a historical process of enormous importance that contributes to change the human geography and the international scene. We are facing two large economic and political areas: one of expulsion and another of attraction, with two very different types of living conditions. Every generation enjoys a condition of life and existence merely because it is born in one place rather than in another; an ascribed status that can even prevent attempts at all forms of mobility. A geographical area that is seeing its attractiveness increase is that of the EU; partly because of its colonial history, but also because of its geo-economic-political position, and also recently because of the upheavals following the fall of regimes in Eastern Europe and in the Middle East.