Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Guest
This photo shows the damage caused by the 1995 eruption of the Sourfriere Hills volcano on the
Caribbean Island of Montserrat. In the foreground you can see the gray volcanic ash clogging the
roadbed, and in the background the abandoned capital city of Plymouth. Many buildings cannot
even be entered because the ash has buried their fi rst fl oors or caved in their ceilings. This scene
illustrated for me the complexities of migration in the face of natural disasters. Many Montser-
ratians fl ed to the United States when Plymouth was destroyed and were given “temporary pro-
tected” immigration status. The U.S. government told Montserratian refugees to leave in 2005—
not because the volcanic crisis was over or because the housing crisis caused by the volcano was
solved. Rather, the U.S. government expected the volcanic crisis to last at least 10 more years; so,
the Monsterratians no longer qualifi ed as “temporary” refugees.
Credit: Jason Dittmer, University College London
Field Note
Plymouth, Montserrat
Figure 3.10
Technological Advances
For some migrants, emigration is no longer the dif-
fi cult and hazardous journey it used to be. Although
most migrants, especially refugees, still move by foot,
some use modern forms of transportation and commu-
nication, the availability of which can itself encourage
migration.
of Hindus migrated from Pakistan to secular India—an
estimated 8 million in all. In the 1990s after decades of
Soviet obstruction, more than 2 million Jews left the
former Soviet Union for Israel and other destinations.
The decline in minority white power and uncertain
political conditions in South Africa during the mid-
1990s impelled many whites to emigrate to Australia,
Europe, and North America.
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