A Qualitative Study on Internal Migrants in Ethiopia: Causes, Experiences, Perceptions, Challenges and Future Life Orientations
Journal Title: Journal of Social Economics - Year 2016, Vol 3, Issue 2
Abstract
This study was aimed at investigating migrant youths life experience in a city. Specifically, the study explored the major reasons for abandoning rural areas, migration process, challenges encountered, their perceptions about city life, and their future life orientation. The study employed qualitative research methods; hence, the participants of the research were selected purposively. Unstructured in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussion guidelines were used for data collection. Accordingly, the migrant youths from Wolayta rural areas working around the premises of Addis Ababa University Main Campus were selected as the research participants. The study found out small amount of land holding, landlessness, lack of employment opportunities in their respective rural areas, high family size, household food insecurity, inability to pursue education and skill development and inability to afford medical services are among the major reasons for their migration as reported by the participants. High needs for self-reliance, high expectation of urban employment opportunities were also among the major reasons to migrate. In the process of their migration, the migrants got the information from either relatives or friends who had migrated before. The migrants, obtained information through phone communication and in the occasions of ‘Meskel’ or ‘Holy cross’ Holiday, the occasion migrant youths come back to their respective villages for the celebration, through face-to-face communications with those who had migrated before. The major challenges the migrant youths encountered after their arrivals were the inabilities to find jobs, high cost of living, inability to pursue education, inability to afford skill development trainings, and lack of comprehensive guides to facilitate easy settlements in the city. Nevertheless, the migrants have satisfied with their current living conditions. Above all, their independences and self-reliance’s created a sense of confidence and positive future life orientation. The government of Ethiopia has the five year Growth and Transformation Plan (2015-2020), to industrialize and solve sporadic ethnic conflicts among various ethnic groups. Migration can play a vital positive role in this regards. Encouraging migration through creating conducive situations in the city has paramount importance. It can easily provide skilled labor to industries as industries are available at large numbers in Addis Ababa and outskirts of Addis Ababa. It can also be an avenue to create inter-ethnic contact among various ethnic groups which will lead to integrations. The implication of the study demonstrates, the positive impacts of migration on the migrant youths life experiences’ and the country at large. The government should encourage the migrants by providing with services which help them cope up with urban life. This includes programs targeting the rural migrants in helping to have access to affordable housing scheme, education and skill development centers, medical services and job opportunities so that the migrants can settle permanently in the city.
Authors and Affiliations
Tesfatsion Dominiko
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP28678
- DOI -
- Views 262
- Downloads 7
A Prospective Study of Forms of Adolescent-Parent Conflicts and Effective Counselling Resolution Strategies
This paper studied contemporary forms of adolescent-parent interpersonal conflicts and patterns of their resolution. The aim is to examine how counselling could be effectively utilized in resolving adolescent-parent co...
Relationship between Inflation and Money Supply in Kenya
Inflation is an inevitable property of any economy in the world. Inflation has been a topical issue since the early 1970s when oil prices soared to record high figures. Ever since, controlling the inflation rate has bee...
The ‘People’ Element and Service Quality at the Zimbawe Banking Corporation (2003-2005): Debunking the Effectiveness of the Bank’s Internal Marketing Strategy
This study sought to establish the effectiveness of the ‘people’ strategy at ZIMBANK, that is whether ZIMBANK employees (people) were effectively trained and motivated and whether they were in a position to offer quali...
Finding a Balance between Substantive Equality and Sustainable Economic Growth: A Zimbabwean Perspective Compared To Other Countries
Purpose: the paper seeks to establish if substantive equality has an impact on economic growth. The paper shall draw comparisons from other countries in Africa which have substantive equality programmes that were desig...
Globalization, Culture and Development
The world‟s struggle on development has become major issue of concern to all, against the contrary opinion that only the third world countries are moving within the circle of poverty underdevelopment and economic backw...