Sociology: Migration

Migration in the Caribbean

by Jorge Duany.
His argument is that emigration is seen by Malthus as a way to reduce the population excess, and solve a
countrys economic and political problems. Malthus theorized about the need to reduce a countrys
population in order to increase the rate of capital accumulation, but it does not deal with the economic and
social problems of Caribbean in the long term.
Dunay identified six stages in the development of migration in the Caribbean:
Phases
1
2
3
4
5
6

Time period
1791 -1838
1838-1885
1885-1920
1920 &1940-1969
1980& 1990
1990

Movement
Regional migration

Extra-regional

Phase 1
Migration in stage 1 was dominated by political exiles from Haiti who resettled in
Cuba, the United States and other countries. Between 1795 and 1805 more than
30,000 French refugees from Saint Dominique arrived in Santiago, Cuba. The upper
class migrated to Cuba.

Phase 2
1868-1878: This phase involved inter territorial movements of people caused by the
abolition of slavery. The ten years war in Cuba (1868-1878) led to wealthy Cuban
planters moving to the Dominican Republic.
1838: In British Caribbean, large scale emigration began with emancipation of
slaves in 1838. Most of the migrants were temporary workers from Barbados and
Eastern Caribbean especially St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat and Antigua. The
majority went to fill a vacancy in the labour force of the expanding plantations of
British Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago.
1835-1846: About 19 000 persons migrated from the Eastern Caribbean to British
Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago. This period is inter-territorial migration came to an
end around 1885 with the collapse of sugar agriculture in the West Indies. At the
same time new outlets for migration opened up elsewhere In the region.
This period of inter-territorial migration came to an end around 1885, with the
collapse of sugar agriculture in the West Indies. At the same time new outlets for
migration opened up in the region.

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Sociology: Migration
Phase 3
1885-1920: The is a phase characterized by Inter Caribbean migration, the
movement of people from the British and French West Indies to the Spanish
speaking countries of the Caribbean and Central America. Thousands went from
Barbados and Jamaica to Panama, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and
Honduras.
The construction of the Panama Canal and the regional expansion of sugar and
banana plantation create an immense demand for migrant workers. Haitian,
Jamaicans and Puerto Ricans worked in the Cuban sugar industry. Migrants went
from Puerto Rico and the Eastern Caribbean especially St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla,
St. John, St. Thomas to the Dominican Republic. More than 24,000 Jamaican moved
to Panama. More than 24 000 Jamaicans moved to Panama. Around 450 000
Haitians and 121 000 Jamaicans went to Cuba between 1900 and 1930s.

Phase 4
1920 & 1940-1969: The primary movement was directed to the North American and
European metropolis. Caribbean international migration declined due to restrictions
within North America and UK as well as effects of Great depression in the 1930s.
In the 1940s large numbers of people moved from the Caribbean to North America
and Western Europe. In the 1950s and 1960s, 6000-8000 workers per year moved
from Martinique and Guadeloupe to France.
Over 100,000 Surinamese flocked to the Netherlands between 1966 and 1975,
nearly 175 000 Jamaicans went to Great Britain between 1953 & 1962. About 295
000 Puerto Rican migrated to the US in the 1950s.
The main outlet for Caribbean migrants during this period was Venezuela, Curacao
and Aruba. This was due to the establishment of oil refineries in these countries
created new economic opportunities that attracted migrants from nearby countries
such as Trinidad and Barbados. Only about 10 000 Caribbean people migrated to
Venezuela, Curacao and Aruba
A total of over 4 million people left the Caribbean between 1959 and 1980.

Reasons for Migration in this phase:

Departmentalization of the French territories in the Caribbean since 1946

facilitated emigration from Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana to
France.
Duvalier dictatorship led to thousands of Haitians to USA, Canada and
Dominican Republic
Socialist Revolution in Cuba since 1959 unleashed an exodus of more than a
million exiles to the USA and Puerto Rico.
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Sociology: Migration

Commonwealth immigration Act of 1962 effectively halted W.I migration to

Great Britain and redirected it to the US.
Independence of several Caribbean countries in the 1960s allowed for the
establishment of diplomatic relations with the US and for direct migration to
that country.
US immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 liberalized US immigration policy
and permitted large numbers of Caribbean immigrants to enter the country.

Phase 5
1965- Since Caribbean migrants have represented a larger share of international
migration to the US; between 1960 & 1987, nearly 2.4 million people legally
migrated from the Caribbean to the US. In 1980, an estimated 147,000
undocumented immigrants in the US were born in Cuba, the Dominican Republic,
Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. In 1987, about 20% of all immigrants
admitted to the US came from the Caribbean especially Cuba, Dominican Republic,
Jamaica and Haiti. About 72% lived in NY and Florida. Most migrants originate in
Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South east Asia.
There are a number of push factors for the migration in this phase. These are:
1. Economic Crisis in the Caribbean which caused:
a. stagnating agricultural production
b. Declining wages
c. Rising unemployment
d. Rising cost of living
e. Growing external debt
f. Reduction in public spending for social services.
These factors lead more Caribbean households to migrate. Carmen Diana Deere
and her colleagues argue International migration is the bottom-line survival
strategy throughout most of the Caribbean and has been for many years. For the
last 200 yeas, the Caribbean has exported labour in exchange for capital.

Phase 6:
Between 1980s-1990s -This phase continued the earlier trend toward extraregional migration along with smaller movements within the region and return
migration. For example, between 1980 and 1990, migration characterized by the
following:

Emigration to metropolis
Emigration to mainland Latin American countries
Migration within the region
Return migration

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Sociology: Migration
In 1981- over 63 000 Caribbean immigrants lived in Venezuela primarily from
Dominican Republic, Cuba and T&T. Most of the migrants were unskilled workers,
who circulated temporarily across international borders. Many are young women
seeking domestic work abroad
Intraregional migration-Many Grenadian, Vincentians and Barbadians moved to
Trinidad and Tobago. In 1982 about 22,000 immigrants from Dominica, St. Lucia and
Haiti lived in Martinique and Guadeloupe.
There are push factors identified:
1. High unemployment rates
2. Growing external debt
3. Regional inequalities in wages and job opportunities. e.g. St. Lucians to
Barbados, Grenadians to Trinidad, St. Kitts to St. Thomas, Dominican to
Puerto Rico and Haitians to Dominican Republic.
The migration pattern is a stair step hierarchy where the poorest
(countries) send migrants to the less poor countries who n turn
contribute citizens to the advanced countries.
Duany states that the constant movement of people from one Caribbean country
to another suggests that they are not pushed and pulled passively by economy.
Rather they are actively pursuing and creating new opportunities for social
mobility through migration. Such movement suggests the strength of social
networks established by prior migrants in sustaining ethnic communities.

Migration changes
Prior to WW2, migration from the Caribbean had the follow characteristics:

Temporary movement
Migrants going to Cuba and Central America
Migrants were mainly male, who remitted money to their families, worked
and returned home when the jobs finished.

Post WW2, migration from the Caribbean had the following characteristics:

Households who resettled abroad

Entire families migrating
Movement of family members were slow i.e. persons went singly (the US
immigration and Nationality Act 1965 encouraged migration of spouses and
children).

Phase 6
Contemporary migration is extremely complex. Many countries have
experienced both emigration and immigration
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Sociology: Migration
Who are the migrants in Contemporary Caribbean?
Caribbean migrants comprise a select population by age, sex, residence and
occupation:
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Young adults between the ages of 20-39. In 1980 young adults ranged form
1/3-3/5 of Caribbean immigration admitted ot the US. This is due to the
1)demand of workers in the receiving country. 2) Households find it more
cost-effective to send younger members abroad than dependent and ageing
parents 3) Visa regulations in receiving countries favour younger migrants
under family reunification programme.
Sex- Since the 1970s more women than men migrate from the Caribbean to
the US. on the hand recent migration flows express the tendency to reunite
migrants families, initially established by men who left their wives and
daughters behind.
Location- most migrants live in large uran areas of their home society e.g. 3
out of every 4 Dominican migrant to the US in the 1970s came from urban
areas.
Education- Caribbean migrants are well educated by standards of their
societies. About 56% of migrants from St. Kitts and Nevis in the 1980s have
had secondary school education. A sizeable minority of Caribbean migrants
has a college degree. Hence, Caribbean migration is strongly selective of the
middle or higher educational levels of the population.
Socioeconomic group-Migrants over represent the middle and upper
occupational groups. In 1987, 22% of all employed Trinidadians and over 18%
of all Jamaicans admitted to the US had upper status white collar jobs.
Professionals and managers accounted for more than 12% of all Dominican
workers who migrated to the Us. On average Caribbean migrants had better
paying and more skilled occupations than non migrants in their country of
origin. The Caribbean has exported a large share of its skilled labour force.
As many as 4000 Caribbean professionals, such as doctors, engineers,
teachers and nurses form part of the annual brain drain for the region.

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Sociology: Migration
Migration Patterns Today
by James Ferguson
According to the 1998 report This region is the only one in the developing world
where women predominate in the migration stream. The changing face of the
Caribbean economy, with the shift towards tourism and other service sectors, has
provided more opportunities for female migrants, not less in domestic service where
employers are keen to find low cost labour

Caribbean Net News Thursday August 21, 2008

by Donald Sanders
IMF fund reveals that a majority of Caribbean countries have lsot more than 50% of
its people who have been education beyond secondary school. The reports says that
the tertiary educated labour force (people with more than 12 years of schooling)
has reduced by 89% in Jamaica and 82% in Guyana. Almost all the Caribbean
countries are among the top 20 nations on the world with the highest tertiary
educated migrants. The rank is as follows:
1st Haiti
2nd Suriname
3rd Jamaica
4th Guyana
5th Trinidad.
This means that the region is loosing a large number of its most educated people.
The richest nations are the beneficiaries of the scarce financial resources that
Caribbean countries particularly Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, spend on
educating their brightest people. Recently over the last few years US and UK have
been actively recruiting skills that are required in a number of fields e,g, teaching,
health care and computer technology. Both Guyana and Jamaica have already lost a
large number of nurses and teachers to US and Britain.
The lost of significant number of its ablest and brightest people impact
economically. It would result in
1.
2.
3.
4.

lost of talent
Decline in official government assistance
Slow down in economic growth of national economies
Poverty and unemployment would increase

Factors that contribute to migration of skills from the Caribbean regions:

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Sociology: Migration
PULL FACTORS are better salaries and wider opportunities to work in your chosen
field
PUSH FACTORS are political discrimination and victimization, lower salaries and
limited opportunity for personal growth.

What can we do to stem the tide?

1. Create jobs that compensate them for low salaries and which allows
adequate space for their creative abilities. CSME with free movement would
expand the area of opportunity for skilled nationals within the region
2. In financial terms there are many benefits. These are remittances. The IMF
noted that the Caribbean is the largest recipient of worker remittances in
proportion to its GDP. In 2002, total remittances constituted about 13% of the
regions GDP in comparison Foreign Direct Investment was 60% of official
development. Remittances rose between 1990 and 2002 while Foreign Direct
Investment declined.

Benefits of remittances
1. Money sent home alleviates poverty and supports unemployment
2. It is spent on the economy. It is used to support businesses and maintain the
jobs of people employed in them.
The article stated that Caribbean governments should try to increase remittances
sent from nationals abroad 1) by allowing nationals abroad to save in domestic
financial institutions at home and at higher rates of interest. This would increase the
capital available in the domestic market to lend to productive purposes. 2)
Investment in Government bonds and private sector projects at a preferred rate of
interest 3) network with other Caribbean national abroad to implement a public
diplomacy with nationals to benefit form their ideas, and their knowledge in their
fields of competence. This information can be used to inform Caribbean interest.

United Nations population division

Migration has been a fundamental part of Caribbean life for centuries. The colonial
period to 1900 has seen the growth of Caribbean community in the US at the turn of
the 20th Century Increasing economic hardship and disenchantment in B.W.I and
simultaneous expanding of the US economy with its relatively high wages and
growing employment opportunity.
The British Caribbean experienced catastrophic decline in the sugar industry unable
to compete against sugar from Cuba, Brazil and against beet producers in Euripe.
Between 1840 and 1900 the price of Jamaican sugar dropped almost 80%. Sugar
estates fell from 670 in 1836 to just 74 by 1910. Dramatically reducing the number
of workers employed in the industry.
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Sociology: Migration
Migration to the UK
1948 with the arrival of Empire Windrush, the large number of migrants to USA are
as follows:
1891- 8689
1901-8680
1911-9189
1921-9054
1931-8585
1951-15 301
1961 -171,800
Source Passage to Britain

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