Time to ditch the elite term expat?
Most expats are white. That said, the term can be extended to other wealthy people (Blacks, Arabs, and Asians) who speak English well and have professional jobs with white friends that include them in their social circles. Africans? Sorry no.
So what exactly is the difference between expats, immigrants, and migrants? The answer is practically nothing, except the elite perception of the term.
What are the definitions?
Immigrants are defined as those who move to another country and plan to stay. Think of the people crammed into a ship trying to reach Europe. Or refugees from Syria wading through the snow on the Canadian border to escape the United States before being deported. “They” don’t want to go back to where they came from. And “they are often perceived as poor, uneducated and desperate.”
Expats, on the other hand, have status. They may be married to a local or have plans to start a business. And, yes, they accept jobs that might otherwise go to a national.
What about the migrants? They are people who move from one place to another in search of work. The migrants are Mexicans who pick fruit in California and then return to the other side of the border, nannies from the Philippines who have employment contracts, or workers in Saudi Arabia who return to Thailand when their manual skills are no longer needed.
Expats, however, move from one contract to another in different countries or return “home” with a good bank balance.
In short, being an expat is desirable, exciting, and attractive. Being an immigrant or migrant is not.
Why should I worry about that?
The issues of prejudice, discrimination, classism, sexism and racism must be exposed at all levels.
When I went to work at the University of Waikato as a lecturer, for example, I was not an immigrant. Instead, I was simply a Canadian who had moved to New Zealand.
When I crossed into Australia, a “permanent visa” was stamped in my New Zealand passport at customs.
In both countries, I mixed with people, many of whom came from England or other European countries. We never refer to ourselves, nor do we think of ourselves, as expatriates, immigrants, or migrants. Why should we have? We lived in cultures that did not question us for being white.
Historically, the majority of people in North America, Australia, and New Zealand were economic immigrants or migrant workers. However, when they took over the countries, they did not invite indigenous peoples, blacks, or Mexicans to join them. Instead, they marginalized these people. So even if a Mexican family has lived in the United States for a couple of generations, they are still considered and treated as immigrants.
What is my situation?
I am a migrant who wants to become an immigrant in Colombia. Since I left Australia at the end of 2008 I have lived in Morocco, Chile, Argentina, Cambodia, Colombia and Peru. The time periods vary from four to 18 months. I stay in teaching and writing. Although I prefer the second to the first, we are all prostitutes when it comes to work. But that’s a topic for another article.
I currently live in Medellín, where the locals refer to me as Boston gringa – The name of neighborhood – since there are no other foreigners here. Or if there are, they are hidden.
Although I want to become an immigrant, the visa rules hinder the process as I can only stay in the country 180 days per calendar year as a tourist. The options for changing my status are limited. The first is to marry a local. Although I had several volunteer friends, it could get complicated and there is no absolute guarantee.
The second option is to invest 200K USD (cough, cough) and start a business or buy real estate. Another possibility is to pay horribly expensive fees and study Spanish for five years at a licensed university. The least attractive option is to teach 48 hours a week for ridiculously low wages at a school that will help English speakers obtain visas.
In the other countries, the rule for migrants like me was that I had to leave the country every 90 days and then re-enter. The exception was Cambodia, where I could have stayed forever and a travel agency could have processed my visa for a year at a time.
When I was living in Morocco, for example, I once crossed the border in Ceuta at the entry line and then walked to the exit line. I’d only been out of the country for 15 minutes, but it was good enough for a 90-day stamp.
But the only reason I could do it was because I was white and they considered me an expat. Immigrants and migrants from Africa did not receive the same treatment and were often turned away.
Whats Next?
Generally, I avoid people who call themselves expats. However, from time to time I will attend an InterNations event to remind myself why I don’t do it more often.
From now on, when I meet Westerners, I am going to ask them if they are immigrants or migrants.
I suspect that the investigation will not be very well received, as it questions the romantic illusion of “living the dream.”
If you agree that the word expat should be dropped, feel free to use the question. Some people may begin to think about narrowing the divide between “them” and “us.” And in the end we are all “immigrants” or “migrants”.