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Immigration is a natural process. Humans are instinctively looking for a better place. This is due to their desire to live in better conditions for their livelihood, especially a productive climate for their agricultural planning and health, plus other justified reasons, such as proximity to a business centre or health facilities; anything that relates to their survivability.
The motives to move will be even stronger when their home is actually under conflict or experiencing major climate change, so it is impossible to find food or shelter in their home country. In our globalized world, horizontal and vertical conflicts might happen. Even so, the conflict escalates to violent conflicts, such as in several states like Russia and Ukraine. Critical to note that the civil war is going to exist in the years to come. The certainty in such a place cannot be guaranteed, and then the desire to move for many people is even higher than before.
This situation is predictable, as mentioned by Zygmunt Bauman. Zygmunt Bauman mentioned that modernity happened due to people’s movement. The Mongols triumphed all over the world at one point because they were nomads. The Roman Empire was built by conquering independent kingdoms as far as Egypt. The list is getting longer if we include the Byzantine Empire and others. In short, human beings have been explorers since the beginning.
Concerningly, the pattern here is clear: the relationship between the migrant and the settlers is mostly about conquering and the conquered. Truthfully, immigrants often move for a single primary reason: to improve their quality of life or to survive, without realizing that the new place will have its own culture and established conditions. Migrants tend to promote their own culture because it makes them feel more comfortable in a new place. Naturally, it is understandable if someone wants to live in a place where they can be comfortable. Nevertheless, Migrants often ignore that the destination country has its own culture, making interactions there complex and intense, leading to escalated conflicts. Most of the time, conflicts escalate abruptly, so security fails to minimize their impact. The conquering-conquered relationship is often a part of failure to agree and assimilate. This is a fact that has been concerning people for so long, yet at the same time, there is evidence that the antagonistic relationship does not always happen. Migrants can integrate peacefully, too.
Chinese migrants’ existence, for instance, is proven as the case of successful integration. They influence the food, the way people do rituals, and even add their own rituals to enrich the already rich culture. Chinese influence is very positive, even noodles and rice, their staple food, are becoming the food for everybody and recognized as national food, such as Pad Thai in Thailand or Mee Goreng in Indonesia. The case of Chinese migrants proves that people can actually assimilate without conflicts. Surely, there is a reason why the Chinese can naturally integrate into society. Surely, the absence of the conflict is not true. There is a conflict, but it is managed properly, and every conflict is actually a chance for one another to reconcile and build a new form of customs and society. In the present day, conflicts are often responded to in an exaggerated way, and conflict resolution is no longer about improving the situation but about backlash and harshness.
The evidence is real; it finally comes down to one point: managing the integration. The integration policy should be based on cultural facts, with the foundation of scientific findings, and experience that strengthen with dialogues. People are always on the move, but somebody should take responsibility for the betterment of everybody. This is not a complex algorithm, but it needs some attention and priority. There is a link between culture and humanity. From this point, we are able to go further in order to help people in need. If we talk about authority, there is no better example than the government as the leaders of the integration process.
Unluckily,the authority actually has limited choice based on their preference and de facto position. The main issue is that the government often prioritizes economic considerations when it welcomes migrants without cultural filters, which is actually essential in preventing horizontal conflicts. The government might not want to be a moral police due to its controversial nature and to avoid accusations of discrimination. Notwithstanding, the reality of migration policy is always about cultural diplomacy and politics of cultural interaction. The government needs to step up, as it is the only authority with the power to address potential cultural conflicts. The government might not adopt a popular policy to address cultural conflicts. Considering the potential detrimental effects later, it is necessary.
Migration is actually not a complex task if people start to accept it as a natural process, and the government, based on trust, confidence, and understanding, becomes the authority to govern the immigration process.
