Humans have always migrated

The fact of migration is as old as mankind. But, the UN reports that there are more people on “the migration move” now than ever before. They say that 244 million people are in the process of migrating.

I have observed migration in my office. Collaborating with people during this process, I have seen that it is not easy. Some migration processes fail. The reasons why someone migrates are still a huge question. What makes it work and why it fails are topics that some of us find interesting to investigate.

That there is a connection, a cognitive-emotional bond between us humans and our settings, is a fact. This attachment to what we call home is a common human experience. This is why moving isn’t as easy as it sounds. Ignoring this fact or minimizing its effects makes the emigration process harder.

Attachment to a place

It is no secret that people develop a strong attachment to what we call home. People do not associate home with a specific place. This is related to a sense of control, predictability, and stability. To leave this place called home and go somewhere new generates stress and puts all our systems on guard. Generates anxiety, which works as fuel. We need to revert to stable mode, which implies an effort.

Migrating became easier to pursue. Traditional theories have become somewhat redundant. Moving has become more fluid, circular, and frequent. Various intersecting motivations are more appropriate in explaining people’s contemporary mobility. Hence, an “intersection of motivations” is relevant about decisions to stay or go back “home”.

The UN reports that the number of people who return has been increasing. They say that return migration has increased, with numbers ranging between 20% and 50%. There are many studies around what makes a person migrate. Nevertheless, there are few investigations on what makes a person return. I have not found precise data on this either. According to the same source, these immigrants leave their host family within five years of their arrival.

Return migration

I have observed a small part of people. Sometimes what happens is that the person who has left their country doesn’t find what they expected abroad. It just isn’t worth the effort of being away from the known. So, they decide to go back. Reasons are many and different as people are. Are they right or wrong, <not ready to say? The reason that makes one person return to their homeland not be valid for someone else…Io leave or come back is a personal choice.

On both, the issue I see is that when they go back to their homeland, it feels new. It feels like a new journey. It seems like a new migration. When they return, it feels like starting over. The person who comes back is not the same. The people and the place are no longer the same. Change is part of the game. They will have to readjust to this new place. It’s a new move..This is what is called return migration and as I mentioned before, growing and understudying

Should or leave or should I stay

For me, home is where my heart is. I see a home as a part of my self-definition. So, I made a home in every place where I lived. I considered each of those places my home at one time or another. Whether it was for months or years, I made it mine. Home then was where I was, where my heart is. Me myself, that was my home.

If you have decided to emigrate, you have chosen to move to another country. Just remember to allow yourself the time to make that place you choose your home. This does not mean you regret what you left; it means your home is where your heart is.