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Introduction the Cultures of Migration Hey you, you think I’m mojado? You’re the mojado! My family has been here forever. . . .Your families! Your families came here in a boat! —Don Mario, oaxaCa, MexiCo, 1993, in a heateD DisCussion with Cohen Lots of people talk about migration and lots of people talk about migrants. They are intrigued by the process and they want to ask questions about why people move. Many people assume migrants are seeking to escape something that cannot be resolved in their home country. Others figure that migration is a solution to a local economic problem such as the lack of jobs. When a country cannot provide for its citizens, those citizens may choose to migrate to a country where opportunities are present (Goodman and Hiskey 2008). The belief that migration is an important option for people who cannot make a living in their native homes can often promote a fearful reaction among receiving populations. They oppose migration in general and assume that migrants are people who take jobs, bring crime, and access services that are better held for the nativeborn . Ultimately these assumptions about migration can and often do lead to xenophobia, especially in times of economic crisis. Xenophobic reactions include fear of both migration and migrants as well as the belief that migrants bring with them culture and practices that challenge and threaten the fabric of the destination nation’s traditional way of life.1 Discussions of migration and the migrant, of the movements of populations from south to north, east to west, poor to rich, and insecurity toward security fill library shelves. But how should we talk about migration? It isn’t accurate to regard migration as something new and unique. Migration is a historical process, and it has been around for a long time. While contemporary movements might seem extraordinary, the phenomenon shares 2 Cultures of Migration a lot with what has happened before (Massey et al. 1998). Just as importantly , migration is not a solitary process. It isn’t just about a mover and where he or she goes. Migration is about security and escaping dangerous situations. It is about the sending households that are homes to migrants and about the communities where those households are found. Migration is local and follows individual movers to internal destinations. It is also about international flow and global processes. We must look beyond the present and the person to understand the history and sociocultural setting of the mover. Our goal is to frame migration in ways that allow it to be better understood . We want to capture the growth in migration literature and interest in migration among policy makers, academics, and the public, using anthropology, demography, and geography to explain at least a bit of what is going on. Our intent is to clarify definitions and enhance understanding of this complex phenomenon.We aim to continue (not resolve) the debate on the definition and meaning of migration, the dynamic nature of human mobility, the place and role that security plays in movement, and the culture of migration cultivated, created, and recreated through the process of migration. Our definition of migration is rooted in an understanding of the household as the adaptive unit where social actors make active decisions (Wilk 1991). In other words, migrants do not act alone. They come to their decisions in discussions with other members of their households and with friends and relatives at points of origin and destination. Although sometimes they ignore the household, and sometimes the household overwhelms the mover, the household is always present, regardless of the situation therein. Beyond the household, the decision to migrate reflects communal traditions, village practices, and national or even international trends. A critical factor in the discussions concerning migration is security. We have no problem assuming that migrants leave their homes in search of work and economic security. But we also want to push this concept forward and argue that security is more than an economic outcome. It is cultural as well as social. Migrants think about their well-being and their security as individuals as well as members of culture groups and societies. In other words, they are cultural agents and their decisions reflect larger cultural and social debates. Migrants seek to live well, and this means they consider cultural, economic, and social security in their decisions. They want an opportunity to survive and thrive and to practice their culture in a safe environment.They are also thinking about insecurity—what...

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