Limelight: Desperately seeking happiness By Lubna Abdel-Aziz has occupied man since the dawn of history. Often it meant moving from one area to another in search of a better food supply, more agreeable weather, or a more secure shelter. To modern man awareness of migration probably started with the discovery of the New World. Historically however human migration began with the movement of Homo erectus out of Africa, across Asia and across Eurasia, about one million years ago. Why do we migrate? Why do some of us pack up and leave roof, hearth and home to seek an unknown land and an uncertain future. Scholars of migration believe that people decide to leave their homeland when conditions are no longer tolerable. The promise of economic advantages or higher standard of living, are more attractive. Some migrants escape political turmoil, war, religious persecution or social discrimination. Some leave while others stay behind. Psychologists explain that migrants are less traditionally bound to their native culture, more restless and nurture more aspirations. Migrants dream dreams that can only be fulfilled in the promised land. Once there, dreams seem to evaporate as they struggle to cope with the new and alien environment. It was left to the learned Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) to include in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...." For whatever reason, whether the hunters and farmers of early time, or the students and scientists of today, all migrants share one common goal -- the pursuit of happiness. Be it health, wealth, freedom, education, equality, religion or justice, all are factors that help raise our souls to a state of happiness. Among his many writings Jefferson believed: "'expatriation' to be a natural right and acted on as such by all nations in all ages." He queried: "Shall oppressed humanity find no asylum on this globe? Our ancestors possessed a right, which nature has given to all men, of departing from the country in which chance not choice has placed them." This unusual inclusion of happiness by the Founding Fathers of the American Constitution has singled out the US as the most attractive nation for immigrants from every corner of the globe. Nations inviting immigrants include Australia, Canada, America and South Africa. Some colonial European powers had immigration thrust upon them, such as the UK, France and Holland. Germany invited Turkish labourors to help rebuild their country after WWII and found themselves dealing with a great number of unwanted immigrants. Was it a bed of roses fulfilling every dream? Did the native citizens receive them with open arms? Was it easy for them to assimilate them socially and culturally in their chosen land? Studies show that immigrants tend to cluster by groups in particular neighbourhoods, cities and regions. They establish their own markets, food, and places of worship. Preserving cultural identity is essential, especially in the early years. Migrants feel strongly about their need to maintain their ideas and beliefs, despite their strong desire to adopt the practices and customs of their new society. To preserve a sense of self is also an undeniable right for which they are often criticized. It is not simply a failure to integrate, but a need to maintain the spirit of their roots. Most migrants integrate into their new societies, but still remain close to their origins. Consider the wandering Jew. For thousands of years Jews have been dispersed in every country, but have maintained their religious traditions. Greeks are known to be the greatest shopkeepers, Indian hang on to their saris and curry wherever they may be, yet they have distinguished themselves in their various new homes, reaching economic peaks, unheard of in their own native land. According to a Duke University study, Chinese and Indians seem to be the fastest to assimilate into the economic fabric of the US, or in any country they are found. They still have preserved their unique cultural, religious and social customs. Migrants are anxious to leave their homes, only to build them again in a new territory. They move only to improve their lot and assure their happiness. Maintaining their basic beliefs completes the happiness they seek. Most of the North Africans who have moved to France, about 6.5 million, are on the whole an angry lot, rebelling against restrictions, French laws, and constant ID checks by police. Would they return to their homeland rather than tolerate such blatant discrimination? Only small percentages do. Turks in Germany share the same fate as North Africans in France. Over half the Turks feel unwelcome and find it hard to assimilate or even learn the language. While Jews assimilate and worship freely, Muslims stand apart, wearing special garbs, unacceptable to Western societies. As the Muslim population grows outside the Arab world, so does their desire to impose some of their cultures on those Western societies they have chosen to live in. Migratory patterns carry a certain irony as scholars have observed. Migrants tend to choose areas that are close in character and climate to the homes they left behind. Swedes escaping the severe endless winters of their homeland chose to immigrate to Minnesota with its severe winters. Mexicans stay close to warmer climates choosing the five states bordering Mexico. The number of illegal Mexican immigrants is estimated at 12-18 million, depleting the American taxpayer who pays for their schools, health care, food and shelter. Five American presidents have been unable to solve this problem. The Latinos compose the biggest minority group in the US, making the Latino coalition an important one politically. President Obama is reluctant to touch the issue and opposes laws by individual states, in order to appease the Latino coalition and earn their votes. Do illegal immigrants also possess the inalienable right to pursue happiness? Some born in the US can hardly speak English. How it will end is anyone's guess. What often eludes us, whether it is a human right or not, happiness by definition is a temporary condition, as George Bernard Shaw put it so well:: "A lifetime of happiness, no man alive could bear it; it would be hell on earth." I thought that success spelled happiness. I was wrong. Happiness is like a butterfly which appears and delights us for one brief moment, but soon slips away. -- Anna Pavlova, Russian Ballet dancer (1881 -- 1931)
