Migration and refugees

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another. These people are called migrants. They might move to another town or city, or even to another country.

Why do people migrate?

There are many reasons why people choose to migrate. They might move to find:

• better education and schools
• more job opportunities
• a better climate
• a safer area to live

Large numbers of people moved from one place to another to find work during the industrial revolution. They moved from the countryside to growing cities such as Manchester and to the industrial areas of Wales.

From the end of the 19th century onwards, Italians who had migrated to Wales looking for a better life started opening cafés, ice cream parlours and fish and chip shops. Many of these can still be seen today.

Migrants from the Caribbean came to Britain after the Second World War because there was a shortage of workers. The Empire Windrush was the first major ship to bring people from Jamaica in 1948. Many of the men and women took jobs on the transport systems. The women also went to work as nurses in the new National Health Service.

Refugees are migrants who are forced to leave their homes. They have to flee because of:

• natural disasters
• famine and hunger
• war and conflict

Refugees usually have to leave most of their things behind, their friends, belongings and everything they hold dear - but they do so, in order to be safe.

Refugees might end up in refugee camps in neighbouring areas or countries. Some end up living in new and unfamiliar countries where they are not accepted by everyone as they can be judged for appearing different or frightened.

In 2011, a civil war broke out in Syria, when people there started fighting each other. This made the country a dangerous place for many. Millions of Syrians have been forced to move - to another part of Syria or to the countries that are next to it.

In March 2023 the United Nations Refugee Agency said that 14 million Syrians had been forced to flee their homes. Many of them are in nearby countries such as Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt.

The refugees face many problems including the poor conditions in overcrowded refugee camps and not knowing when they may return to Syria.

Refugees arrive in the UK every year. While not everyone is happy to see them, other people welcome them and they see most refugees as ordinary people, who are in need of help and support. They try to help them in a variety of ways such as:

• donating to charities that provide aid to people and countries in need
• making refugees welcome by speaking to them, or offering support
• donating items like clothes, toys and books to charity shops that help refugees

Diary entry

Imagine that you are a refugee. Write a diary entry describing how you have had to leave your own country because of a danger to you and your family. You can focus your writing on your journey to a new home, or your experiences once you have arrived.

Your work should:

• be written in the first person, and in the past tense
• use informal, and natural language, as though you are speaking to your diary
• contain adjectives which describe your feelings
• describe key events that are having an effect on your life

If you had to leave your home tomorrow, and you were only allowed to pack five items, what would you take with you, and why?