Migration, immigration and emigration Books

Book SynopsisAs the plight of refugees around the world looms large as one of the central problems facing the international political community at the beginning of the 21st century, the situations facing displaced persons in Africa are both acute manifestations of this global trend, and unique in their particularities.As the powerful nations of the world are mobilised to tackle domestic conflicts and their ensuing refugee problems in the Balkans, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and elsewhere, African societies have typically been abandoned by the international community to resolving their own conflicts through their own means. The authors of this volume examine both causes and effects of displacement in terms of both local and global politics, environmental risks, socio-economic costs, and policy and identity issues. Combined, these papers provide a powerful if not comprehensive overview of the variety and complexity of circumstances concerning displaced persons.

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Book SynopsisWith a focus on Brazilian migrant workers in Japan, this study produces a comprehensive picture of the forces driving transnational labour migration, both in the countries of origin of foreign workers and within Japan. How are Japan's labour institutions changing under globalisation? What are the implications of these changes for the lives of people in Japan?Asking these and other questions, the book demonstrates how Japan's labour shortage has established a 'trans-national employment system' and shows that globalisation is 'the very cause of the breaking up of Japan as a middle class society'. It also discusses the impact of concepts of nationality and family registration on the lives of foreign-born workers of Japanese descent within Japan.

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Book SynopsisJapan's national identity associates the 'Japanese people' with the Japanese land, making the farmer the backbone of the nation. Others in Japanese Agriculture challenges this mythology, revealing the changing faces of Japanese farmers during the colonial and post-war eras. First, it traces the tangled trail of Koreans brought into farming villages as a result of war mobilization and capitalist development. Second, it discusses the plight of those who evacuated from cities as they attempted to eke out a living on marginal land. Third, it points out that settlers repatriated from the colonies were met with hostility from villagers and indifference from authorities. Finally, it explores how those who were encouraged to emigrate for 'the good of the nation' in post-war Japan, found themselves victims of agrarian reforms, which severed their ties. In sum, despite being lauded as the 'backbone of the nation' Japanese farmers have been repeatedly marginalized and othered.Table of Contents Figures Tables Photos Acknowledgements Introduction 1 The ethnic problem in Japan's farming villages 2 Evacuation, return to farming and postwar settlement 3 Farmers' lived experience of borders from Manchuria to postwar settlement 4 Japanese expatriate 'others': Postwar land reform and migration 5 Putting down roots: Postwar administration of overseas agricultural emigration and farmers Conclusion Notes Glossary Bibliography Name Index Subject Index

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Book SynopsisRefugees from the Middle East and Asia who have fled famine and violence and resettled in the US too often are isolated, disconnected, living in despair. Will their lives disintegrate? Enter a group of ordinary Americans who recognized the need, created a solution, got resultsand found their own lives uplifted in the process. Author Patricia Martin Holt reports on Peace of Thread, a non-profit founded by Denise Smith, who lived near Atlanta and had previously learned Arabic during six years of mission work in Lebanon. Smith befriended refugee women and built on the fabric skills that many women brought with them. Now the women are creating handbags and accessories and selling them on ESTY and in several specialty shops. They have new confidence, feel more at home, and are finding purpose in their lives. Patricia Martin Holt demonstrates that good-hearted people can overcome the national climate of fear and bigotry toward refugees. It turns out that we can work for world peace simply by lending a hand to those in needin the same cities, counties, and neighborhoods where we live.

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Book Synopsis

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