Workers in the USA and in the UK

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(1)Judit Molnár University of Washington & University of Glasgow 2009.

(2) About the project  European Commission , Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship  Project title:  Between Segregation and Social Immigration: Recent Immigrants and Foreign. Workers in the USA and in the UK.  Target group:  immigrants from the former Soviet Union from 1990.  Project coordinator:  Prof. David Smith, University of Glasgow, CEES, head of department.  Project mentor at the UW:  Prof. Matthew Spark, Department of Geography.  Links:  http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/centralandeasteuropeanstudies/research/researc. h%20projects/betweensegregationandsocialintegrationrecentimmigrantsandforeign workersusaanduk/  http://www.uni-miskolc.hu/~ecomojud/integration.html  http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=FP7_PROJ_EN&ACTION=D&DOC=179&CA T=PROJ&QUERY=0123e4c122f7:b10e:4c454458&RCN=90812.

(3) Surveys Interviews Conversation with immigrants for the reason to design the questionnaire. Questionnaire survey Among local American residents (who were born in the USA and whose parents were born there too. Among immigrants from the former USSR.

(4) Selecting survey areas •Using the map, where they are. in Washington state •They have tight relationship with religious: visit churches •Many of them are refugees: visit different organisations which support refugees •World relief •Lutheran Community Services •Russian Oregon Social Services •Schools – ESL teachers •UW.

(5) International Migration „The fact that we have such a wonderfully diverse population here, a very, very good thing for this community, and for the young people in this community to be in school with people from all over the world. That’s amazing. And so you’re sitting next someone from somewhere else in the world; what a great geography lesson; what a great sociology lesson; what a great history lesson. So, so I think that our children are having the opportunity to be more accepting, to have a bigger world view. I see this as extremely positive for our community, on every level that I can possibly think of.” (Foundation leader, In: E. P. Kraly, ed. R. C. Jones , 2008). picture: http://news.ronatvan.com/2008/02/11/whites-to-become-minority-in-us-by-2050/.

(6) The foreign born population from 1850 to 2007 – former USSR source: US Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0029/tab04.html. 1,800,000 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0 1850. 1870. 1890. 1910. 1930. 1950. former USSR. 1970. 1990. 2010.

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(10) Russian population in Washington State.

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(20) What do you think - generally which elements or factors have an effect on the process of integration for immigrants anywhere in the world?.

(21) Integration and assimilation processes of immigrants (Woltman - Newbold, 2009; Hardwick, 1993) Segmented assimilation framework. Nature of immigration. Voluntary Forced. Resources and characteristics of immigrants. savings, human capital, culture, nationality, ethnicity, religion, race, etc.. Host country reception. Time and spatial factors. policy, immigration law,. Period of arrival (regional, national forces: labor markets, economic opportunities). level of discrimination, racism culture, etc.. Place of resettlement (rural or urban area).

(22) Immigration: Voluntary or forced?. Q: Why did they leave Russia and would they like to return? (%) men. women. 33.3. 11.5. 0. 34.7. Ethnic discrimination. 25.0. 30.8. Better economic stiation in the USA. 41.7. 15.4. Better future for their children. 33.3. 34.6. Family unification. 16.7. 19.2. No. 50.0. 65.4. Yes. 8.3. 3.8. Maybe. 41.7. 26.9. Unfavourable economic circumstances Religious discrimination Why did they leave Russia?. Would they like to return to Russia?.

(23) Resources and characteristics of immigrants Q: Their English skills and educations, %. English skills and educations. men. No English when they entered. 75.0. 84.6. 55.6. 92.9. Good English now. 50.0. 57.7. 44.4. 46.2. They had a university degree when they entered the US. 58.3. 48.0. 66.7. 50. They did study in the USA. 66.7. 76.9. 25. 30. 11.1. 25.0. They studied in the language school. 41.7. 34.6. 33.3. 25.0. They speak with their spouses Russian. 83.3. 68.0. They speak with their spouses R & E. 8.3. 24.0. They speak with their kids Russian. 58.3. 64.3. They speak with their kids R & E. 8.3. 21.4. They studied at the university / college. women Spouses / F Spouses / M. •Selective migration – high education standard •More women studied in the USA •Among female respondents they use English at home in their communication with their husbands and children.

(24) Resources and characteristics of immigrants (HARDWICK, S. W. 1993).  Russians have not been typical of other Euroamerican immigrant groups in North America  Russian residential enclaves have. been relatively slow to disperse through time – slow assimilation  They live and they tend to live in isolated enclaves  because of their religion(Orthodox, Old Believers, Doukhobors, Molokans, Baptists, Pentacostals)  because of their experience at home (persecution, discrimination, etc.).

(25) Host country reception Level of discrimination (HARDWICK, S. W. 1993).  Russians have not been typical of other Euroamerican immigrant groups in North America  Russian residential enclaves. have been relatively slow to disperse through time – slow assimilation  They had to bear the burden of negative perception  because of Communism  because of the perception that Russia is not truly European.

(26) Host country reception Q: Their experiences of being discriminated (scale 0 – 10). •Low level of discrimination, •Main disadvantage because of the lack of English especially among female respondents.

(27) Host country reception Policy, immigration law (HARDWICK, S. W. 1993). Four waves of Russian migration after the first movement to Alaska in 1867:  1880-1917 . Russians migrated to the Pacific Rim of North America for religious, political, and socioeconomic reasons. Almost 50.000 Russians settled in the region by the beginning of the Russian Revolution in 1917..  1917-1945 . . At the end of the Russian civil war in 1922, thousands who were fleeing the Soviet regime arrived in the US and Canada. A last percentage of them were from the aristocratic classes or were professionals, military officers, Orthodox clergy, and other opposed to the Soviet regime. Most newcomers had to accept employment at the lowest level when they first arrived. There were also many Jews among émigrés who had to left Russia to escape religious and political persecution. 1924: restrictive immigration laws were passed and became effective in 1929. The National Origins Act established the annual immigration quota at 150,000, with total number per country dependent on percentages of population already living in the United States. These calculations were based on the 1920 census, and the large numbers of Russians had settled in the US after 1922, so the total number of people permitted entry from the Soviet Union was minimized.. Source: http://www65.statcan.gc.ca/acyb05/acyb05-09/acyb05-09_0001-eng.htm.

(28) Host country reception Policy, immigration law (HARDWICK, S. W. 1993).  1945-1987 . . . A variety of Russian religious groups arrived on the North American Pacific Rime after World War II. Many Russians lived in China. During the Chinese civil war from 1946 to 1949 tens of thousands of Russians who had been living in China were forced to leave the country. Close to 15,000 Russians were transported to Tubabao, in the Philippines, by the International Refugee Association in May, 1949. Due to the restrictive US immigration laws, Russians could not qualify as immigrants for admission into the US. Senator Knowland sponsored a bill in Congress that expanded the US refugee quota to include Russians. Because of these changes in American immigration restrictions, Russians came to this country in large numbers in 1950-51. No large scale exodus occurred until the late 1980s from the former Soviet Union..  After 1987 . 1987 President Gorbachev met with President Reagan: residents of the USSR were free to leave. This announcement triggered the first large scale emigration from the Soviet Union since the early years of the socialist revolution..

(29) Host country reception. Policy, immigration law Q: Their opinion about the immigration policy (scale -10 - +10). •Male respondents’ attitude is more distributive and more categorical •Equal opportunity for immigrants from different parts of the world and for employees.

(30) Time and spatial factors Questionnaire Survey. Respondents. Men. Women. Age /mean. 47.3. 43.7. Age when they entered / mean. 38.6. 35.0. •The average years they have spent in the USA : 9 years •More than 76% of them came directly to this area •More than 84% of them had friends or relatives in this area before they. came •More than 71% of them had recieved help to settle down (financial support 75%, and information 50%) •Everyone has friends now in the area where they live •Around 73% of them live in the area where other Russians live •7 months after they entered the US they found a job.

(31) Integration or segregation?.

(32) Q: How satisfied they were living in the USA when they first arrived and how they like it now? (scale -10 - +10). •Improvement since they entered •Gender difference: male respondents like living in the USA better.

(33) Q: Opinion about the USA, % men. women. Good career and living standard. 41.7. 46.2. Learn English. 16.7. 15.4. Why it is beneficial Religious freedom living in the USA Independence. 8.3. 11.5. 16.7. 7.7. Education system. 16.7. 7.7. Language. 58.3. 69.2. Different custom. 8.3. 15.4. Hard to get the best position. 8.3. 15.4. The best. 83.3. 73.1. Lots of opportunity (economic, edu.). 33.3. 19.2. Mentality of people. 33.3. 23.1. Freedom. 25. 23.1. High living standard. 8.3. 23.1. Tranquility. 16.7. 11.5. The greatest challenges living in the USA General opinion about the USA. What they like the best in the USA.

(34) Q: Citizenship, identity Their citizenship. Their national identity. men. women. Russian. 50.0. 34.6. American. 33.3. 38.5. Russian and American. 8.3. 11.5. Russian. 58.3. 65.4. 0. 3.8. No. 8.3. 7.7. Russian with Jewish roots. 16.7. 3.8. 8.3. 15.4. 8.3. 30.8. 41.7. 19.2. 75.0. 60.9. 58.4 (F). 64.3 (M). Russian American. Only Russians Their friends’ Russians, Americans, other European mixed nationalities Russians, Americans, other Europeans and other nationalities mixed Their closest friends’ nationalities. Russians and/or Russian Americans their spouses’ : Russians and/or Russian Americans.

(35) Continue our project work •Gathering more data •Carrying out in-depth interviews •Observation •Final analysis of the US part of the research •Comparative research in the UK, Scotland http://www.kedry.org/photos/view.php?go=20091003_Urozhai&shot=h46.jpg&size=small.

(36) Further literature about the topic HARDWICK, S. W. 1993: Russian Refuge: Religion, Migration, and Settlement on the North American Pacific Rim. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 237p. ZELINSKY, W. – LEE, B. A. 1998: Heterolocalism: An Alternative Model of the Sociospatial Behaviour of Immigrant Ethnic Communities. International Journal of Population Geography 4, pp. 281-298 JONES, R. C. 2008: Immigrants Transform and Are Transformed by the U.S. Heartland. (in) Immigrants outside Megalopolis : Ethnic Transformation in the Heartland. ed. Jones, R. C. Lanham, MD : Lexington Books 322p. WOLTMAN, K. – NEWBOLD, K. B. 2009: Of Flights and Flotillas: Assimilation and Race in the Cuban Diaspora. The Professional Geographer, 61:1, pp. 70-86.

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