ABSTRACT
Migration is a term that refers to both the temporary and more permanent movement of people both within and across national borders. Migration has been a key feature of the human experience throughout our history. Indeed, for most of human history migrating has been the norm, while living as settled communities in one place is a somewhat recent feature of human experience (only several thousand years out of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years). Human societies emerged as small hunter-gatherer communities that relied on near constant migration to nd and/or follow sources of food (and freshwater). The discovery and development of agriculture and animal husbandry, in particular, altered the dynamics of human survival allowing communities to settle and live in one place for long periods of time (rarely indenitely though). Still, a myriad of reasons continued to encourage people to move from one place to another. At times some factors ‘push’ people away, for example, due to lack of food, environmental insecurity, conict, and political disputes; and at others, people move because factors ‘pull’ them to relocate to another area. These ‘pull’ factors can include abundant food supplies, economic opportunities and welfare, environmental security, and peace and stability.
