User:Carl Bradshaw/sandbox

History - General for now

Three Waves of Migration,

The history of migration to the GCC (Gulf cooperation Council) countries can be categorized into three waves. The first wave consists of migration to the region prior to the British presence in the so called Trucial States, being modern day Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, in 1820. The second wave may be defined as the migration taking place after the British arrived, while the third wave took off due to the rapid economic growth as oil was discovered in the region (4).

Although oil was discovered in GCC-region already during the beginning of the 20th century the economic effect of the oil resources on the economy showed itself properly in the 1960s and 1970s, as the GCC-countries officially gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1971. The third wave of migration in the GCC can be attributed to the 1960s but intensified during the 1970s. The oil revenue led to plans of industrialization and modernization. There was a high demand for labor in order to implement these plans but the GCC-countries did not possess the manpower to accommodate for these laborers themselves (3-5).

While seven of the Trucial States decided to unite and form the United Arab Emirates after independence from the United Kingdom, an initiative taken by Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi and Sheikh Rashid of Dubai, both Qatar and Bahrain decided to found their own independent states (Gornall 2011).

Where do migrants come from in these waves?!!! Especially first wave. More explicit!!

Subheading for every wave!!

Demographic Shift of Migrant Workers 3rd wave

The dependence from the United Kingdom had other effects as well. While Arab migrants, from countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq and Syria had dominated the migration flow during the second wave, Asian migrants became a more lucrative option for the GCC- countries during the third wave (Babar 2014). This demographic shift, sometimes referred to as the “Asianization” of migrant labor (Kamrava and Babar, 2012) was dependent on a variety of factors. The GCC-countries had previously been sympathetic towards Arab migrants, as Arabs were seen as sharing a similar culture and a similar language. However, the political aspect of Pan-Arabism, which viewed the Arab world as one single entity, became regarded as a revolutionary hazard which had the potential to destabilize the GCC-countries. Asian workers on the other hand were regarded as less political and therefore less of an ideological threat (Babar, 2014).

The naturalization programs directed at migrants in the GCC-region had been dissolved during the 1970s (Babar, 2014). Instead the leaders of the GCC countries launched welfare programs with a variety of benefits for their citizens. Only nationals had the legal privilege to take part of these benefits. The influx of Asian migrant workers also made it possible to decrease salaries and while the Arab migrants often had brought their families with them, the Asian migrant workers generally often left their families in their country of origin (5).

The Historic Ties with Asia

While the oil discovery in the GCC-countries became a catalyst for Asian migration to the region the GCC-countries had a long history of trading relations with modern day Iran and India (Vora 2013, 54)

http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2762&context=utk_chanhonoproj

Demographic composition historically. Subheading!!!

Age, gender, job type, origin, religion, (language), level of education/wealth.

Country specifics!!!

Prevalence and demographics - Attractiveness, why are people going there?

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 * 1) one
 * 2) two
 * 3) three