In Search of a Better Life: Perspectives on Migration from the Caribbean

(Hardback)

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This volume examines the phenomenon of mass population migration from the Caribbean to North America and the United Kingdom and the social, cultural and economic adaptation of the immigrants to their new environments. A central theme of this volume is that Caribbean migration in the 20th century is more than the migration of labour in search of jobs; it is also a movement of households and thus affects not only the well-being of family members but also their social relationships. The contributors provide new analytical perspectives on the factors that motivate this movement, and the social, cultural and economic impact of the movement on the household itself. The volume is divided into three parts. Part 1 examines the historical movement to the United States and the United Kingdom. The chapters in this section explore the relationship between the character of Caribbean development and the factors motivating the migration of households, the beginnings in the 19th century of mass Caribbean migration, and the social and economic experiences of the post-World War II Caribbean immigrants in Britain. Part 2 looks at the problems of settlement and adaptation in the major urban centres where Caribben immigrants have tended to concentrate, giving special attention to the status of Caribbean women in the Unites States and the role of social networks in helping immigrants to adapt to their new surroundings. The final section looks at the problem of illegal migration from the Caribbean to the United States, drawing on data from the annual reports of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Reviews

An elegant, brief introduction by Gordon Lewis gets this volume off to a nice start. Contributions are organized around the themes of origins and destinations, settlement and adaptation, and illegal migration. On the first subject, editor Palmer argues that a household's migration cycle, if it is not stopped at the outset, will continue indefinitely. A.H. Richmond and A. Mendoza demonstrate that educational deficiencies and needs put West Indians at a disadvantage in the UK and Canada vis-a-vis immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. Women migrants and their adaptability under stress provide the focus for studies by M.H. Gordon (CUNY) and A.W. Bonnet. The volume closes with studies of illegal migration by Palmer and L.S. Roney of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.-Choice
"An elegant, brief introduction by Gordon Lewis gets this volume off to a nice start. Contributions are organized around the themes of origins and destinations, settlement and adaptation, and illegal migration. On the first subject, editor Palmer argues that a household's migration cycle, if it is not stopped at the outset, will continue indefinitely. A.H. Richmond and A. Mendoza demonstrate that educational deficiencies and needs put West Indians at a disadvantage in the UK and Canada vis-a-vis immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. Women migrants and their adaptability under stress provide the focus for studies by M.H. Gordon (CUNY) and A.W. Bonnet. The volume closes with studies of illegal migration by Palmer and L.S. Roney of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service."-Choice

Author Bio

RANSFORD W. PALMER is Graduate Professor of Economics at Howard University. He is the author of Caribbean Dependence on the United States Economy (Praeger, 1979), and Problems of Development in Beautiful Countries: Perspectives on the Caribbean (1984).