Migration: The threat or the chance of development for the city?

• Author: Bronislaw Sitek
• Pages: 173-182

173

BRONISŁAW SITEK*

MIGRATION

THE THREAT OR THE CHANCE

OF DEVELOPMENT FOR THE CITY?

1. Great migrations from a historical perspective

Population movement is the phenomenon immanently linked with

the history of mankind. People have moved for ages, usually searching

the better living conditions. However, there have been also the other

reasons of migration of nations, like a plunder, a conquest of the new

territories, or providing for the religious needs. The migrations were

undertaken by the whole nations, but also by the smaller groups or tribes,

which later became the origin of big national groups.

The oldest, known mainly from the archeological excavations, was

the Indo-European migration of nations towards the west of Europe,

which took place between IV and V millennium Before Christ. That

event had the determinative influence on the ethnic, and indirectly,

cultural form of the contemporary Europe. Though, together with those

nations came the Italics, German people, Celts, Hittites, Medes, Persians,

or Greek people1. The following great migrations took place in III and IV

centuries AD, when the territories of the Roman Empire were invaded by

the barbaric nations: Vandals, Huns and German people, contributing

considerably to the fall of the empire2.

The most famous migration of the smaller tribal groups is the

peregrination by Abraham, from Charan to Canaan, in other words, to the

territories of contemporary Israel, which was inhabited then by different

tribes. The group of people was relatively small. According to the Bible

message, the head of that group was Abraham together with his nephew

Lot and their dependants, who, in this case, should be understood as the

members of the tribe3. They became the origin of the Chosen People.

* Dean of Faculty of law in University of Warnia and Masuria in Olsztyn / Alcide

De Gasperi University of Euroregional Economy in Józefów.

1 See. R. LOPÉZ MELERO, D. PLÁCIDO, F. PRESEDO, Historia Unive rsal. Edad

Antigua. Grecia y Orinte Proximo, Barcelona 1992, p. 5 and following.

2 E. GIBBON, Fall of the Roman Empire on the West, translation from English, I.

Szymaska, Warszawa 2000, p. 50.

3 Chapter 12,4-5.