The Movement of people Migration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Movement of people Migration - Essay Example (Cohen 1997) Though the African contribution to America's exponential explosion of multiculturalism may be little known, the recent expansion of social variety in America is widely acknowledged. The United States and New York City are the principal destinations of recent documented and undocumented African immigrants. As far as new groups of recent immigrants have settled communities, many urban, suburban, and even rural areas have become "unexpectedly" varied and diverse. The appearance of differences has undermined the myth about American "melting pot". It has made, for some Americans, the specter of new immigration a bitter political issue of national scope. It was also obvious that the new immigration has raised much political debate in local contexts. (Global diasporas: An introduction 1997) Attracted by the global lights of the United States of America, many African immigrants came to New York in order not to settle, but to earn as much money as possible. And then they were going to return home. And, of course, they faced a great number of problems. After arrival they soon pointed out that their bad English, limited technological knowledge, and shadowy immigration status made working in the sphere of economy practically impossible. Having faced this brute reality, they entered the informal economy, as a result of which many of them became street vendors. It is a matter of fact that the community of African immigrants in America is profoundly fluid. Many of the men who migrated to America in the early 1990s have returned home. (Salzman 1996) Only few of the African immigrants aspire to American citizenship. They also feel practically no social connection to the communities they live in. As a result they contribute little to community life. The sociocultural, legal, and political tensions of living in the United States have also deepened negative impressions that many Africans hold of American society. Many African immigrants identify America as a violent, insensitive, time-constrained place in which morally exhausted people have no time to visit one another. To buffer themselves from social deprivation and cultural isolation, Africans have formed informal credit groups or more formal mutual assistance groups like the Guinean Association of America African immigrants in American have little social stability and few formal institutions. (Foner 2001) African immigrants also have to confront and resolve medical problems, regulatory dilemmas, and cultural alienation. These problems are inextricably linked. For the great majority of African immigrants, evasion of public hospitals doesn't mean that they distrust Western medicine. They are frightened with the INS. Although the great majority of African immigrants in the United States express intense approval for the economic opportunities they enjoy and exploit in the United States, they consistently complain of loneliness, sociocultural isolation, and alienation from mainstream American social customs. These conditions, which lead to a decreased sense of control over one's life, have had an influence on the subjective well-being of