The Exclusion and Marginalisation of Immigrants in the Welfare Society - Literature review Example

Immigrants Name Institution Course Lecturer Date Immigrants face a crisis since moving in another country is not an easy thing. The people have to leave property, family and friends behind. One the main reason for immigration is the need or search for better livelihood. Some other people may choose to move seek asylum or due to personal reasons. However, it is not always easy and the foreseen financially secured future, high-standard of living, education, political reasons and need to meet with different personalities may soon be frustrated by the realities of the new county. The time of transition for immigrant may be stressful due to unexpected challenges increasing immigrants’ internal crisis on whether they would have lived in their former country or settle in the new one. After migrating, it might become obvious to people that the realities of the new countries would have necessitated living in the homeland. As observed in Uzzi & Dunlap (2005), moving is stressful and the first problem faced by immigrants is the lack of close relationships. After leaving the family and friends from homeland, immigrants move to new countries where they do not know anyone. Human beings depend on network of relationship to access information, diverse skills and power. In addition, human beings have many facets through which they derive fulfillment from the developed relationships. Immigrants find it necessary to develop many types of relationships. Different types of relationships contribute a lot to the life of an immigrant and contribute to nurture and fulfillment. If immigrants fail to get fulfilled in all or one of the most important facets of relationship, a sense of longing for relationship in the homeland might grow and become source of distress or internal crisis. Depending on cultural differences, people differ in the way they depend on social networks. Immigrant who leaves a society where people are more dependent on each other may experience stressful circumstances in the new land. Stress is a social determinant of health and can increase feelings of worry, inability to cope and anxiety. In addition, stressful circumstances can be damaging to immigrants’ general health and specifically mental health. The resulting social exclusion denies the immigrant the chance to live with social groups that mean a lot in the person’s life. The duration of time a person spend in such disadvantaged circumstances; due to inability to adjust can increase the likelihood of suffering from a range of mental and health problems (Uzzi & Dunlap, 2005). Immigrant’s experiences in the new country depend on differences in personalities. Different personalities have different needs. Work-oriented and extroverts personalities in most cases immigrate alone. In turn, they find it easy to maneuver in the new environments by concentrating on work only or by building supportive networks fast. Those that depend on shared activities principle are able to forge and connect with diverse others through high-stake activities. The extroverts are also able to build rapport and trust fast and van have immediate benefits from team, community, and associations and come up with initiatives to build networks. Introverts may find it hard to cope under new changes as they mostly depend on self-similarity principle where networks are too inbred. They tend to choose people that resemble them in line with experience, worldview, training and so on (Uzzi & Dunlap, 2005). However, it is very hard to find people with close characteristics and particularly when one moves to a country with vast geographical distance from their homeland. If the introverts do not immigrate with their families or as a group, they may find it necessary to return to their homeland. As Waters (2000) observes, some of the problems that might aggravate relationships and connection problem may arise from stereotyping and prejudices based on differences along the ethnic, racial, economic status and color. Though language barriers is in most cases minimal, the person might find the macro culture in the new county as being defined by forces that are beyond their control. These factors may end up leading the person to opt for choices against their expectations. For instance, an immigrant may end up living in a house, getting a job and living in conditions that are similar or close to those in the homeland. At times, the place settled might not be even secure for an immigrant and the prospects of stability, higher wages and lifestyle may not be reached. Rather than settling for less, the immigrant may feel that homeland would also be a comparable choice (Niessen, 2000). In some case, people move due to political reasons and wide-range of political reasons lead to immigration. Some people might free persecution, instability, torture or due to failed human rights. However, many may find it hard to get the necessary protection and support from the new country. Some countries may offer protection and ensure justice to their citizen appearing more appealing to settle in. However, the situation for refugees might be dire. In Australia for an example, asylum seekers who arrive on boats are held in detention as they wait for review and processing of their visas. The need and longing for a new identity for such immigrants can be frustrated. Political concerns on immigrant affect the way they are perceived (Vargas, 2002). Those from some instable countries may be suspected as terrorist and may end up living highly controlled lives that deny them their rights. It might also become very hard for them to secure a job or a means of livelihood. In turn, they might contemplate returning to their homeland based on increased challenges that ends up making survival and living hard. Many immigrants irrespective of the reason as to why they move in a new country find it necessary to get a job. A job in a new country comes with a notion of better life. There might be many jobs in the country but there are still many challenges that exist in securing one. In most case, the need for specialized training may lead the immigrant to have to go back to school for training which might still be challenging. Before then, they may have to settle for manual job and other activities. Ultimately, they settle for lowered status and work in areas where they might not feel motivated at all. Another challenge might be corruption where one has to pay a fee to acquire a certain job or highly-profile status. Considering all these challenges, an immigrant may see the need to have settled in the homeland (Perkins, 2000). As seen in Chang-Muy & Congress (2008), institutional challenges might make it hard for immigrants and increase their longing to return to their countries. In some countries, social policies and benefits may not be accorded to the immigrants. For instance, health care might not be evenly distributed among all and immigrants may have to pay a lot to access them. Institutional arrangements and procedures may put the immigrant at a disadvantaged point (Rousseau et al, 2008). For instance, the need for legal representation to secure to sue or raise a claim can challenge the immigrants. That may mean that the immigrants would not enjoy fully in the new land and will often feel isolated and discriminated against. Access to health, legal and social benefits may be challenging due to financial demands that eventually endanger the lives of immigrants. An immigrant may find it hard to successfully sue or get the right judgment when in collision with a citizen or organizations in the new country. For instance, in areas of intellectual property, an immigrant may not get the necessary protection exposing them to exploitation and frustration. In turn, they might consider to practice at home where their rights to intellectual properties are guaranteed. The way immigrants enjoys and secures freedom in their own country can differ a lot with the new experiences in the new country. Some countries hinder the immigrant freedoms and where there are sentiments related to religion, beliefs and traditions. The freedom to form inter-group associations with close friends or members of one community may end up frustrating immigrants. Some countries do not give similar rights to all and even in situations where they may allow some members to form such groups, they might limit their actions, goals and aspirations. Groups may increase someone power and promote them to achieve their common goals and participate as capable members of the community. When regulations denies them such opportunities, the people may fail to achieve their goals on time or might end up being exploited by others (Chung, 2010). In most countries, immigrants might be restricted to participate in decision making, voting or right to be voted to lead a group and assume authority. Restricted representation may also end up frustrating their aspirations and achievement. The immigrants may in turn not use their leadership skills to leverage opportunities in life or defend others in unprivileged situations. Immigrants who pressure for inaccessible or limited positions might end up being threatened or suffer other losses by conflicting with the authorities and significant others (Papademetriou & Terrazas, 2009). . Such immigrant may consider it better to have lived in their former countries where some opportunities are more predictable. References Andersen, J., Larsen, J. E., & Møller, I. H. (2009). The exclusion and marginalisation of immigrants in the Danish welfare society: Dilemmas and challenges. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 29(5/6), 274-286. Chang-Muy, F., & Congress, E. (2008). Social work with immigrants and refugees: Legal issues, clinical skills and advocacy. SOCIAL WORK WITH IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES: LEGAL ISSUES, CLINICAL SKILLS, AND ADVOCACY, Springer Publications, 09-01. Chung, I. (2010). Changes in the sociocultural reality of Chinese immigrants: challenges and opportunities in help-seeking behaviour. International journal of social psychiatry, 56(4), 436-447. Niessen, J. (2000). Diversity and cohesion: New challenges for the integration of immigrants and minorities. Council of Europe. Papademetriou, D. G., & Terrazas, A. (2009). Immigrants and the current economic crisis: Research evidence, policy challenges, and implications. Migration Policy Institute. Perkins, L. M. (2000). The New Immigrants and Education: Challenges and Issues. Educational Horizons, 78(2), 67-71. Rousseau, C., et al. (2008). Health care access for refugees and immigrants with precarious status: public health and human right challenges. Can J Public Health, 99(4), 290-92. Uzzi, B., & Dunlap, S. (2005). How to build your network. Harvard business review, 83(12), 53-60. Vargas, S. R. L. (2002). Missouri, the War on Terrorism, and Immigrants: Legal Challenges Post 9/11. Mo. L. Rev., 67, 775. Waters, M. C. (2000). Immigration, intermarriage, and the challenges of measuring racial/ethnic identities. American Journal of Public Health, 90(11), 1735. Read More