Study On Social Adaptation And Social Integration Of Spontaneous Migrants

With severe natural environment and low productivity level, Xiji, Haiyuan and Guyuan in the central and southern regions of Ningxia (jointly known as "Xihaigu") are known as "the most impoverished land in China". Since the early 1980s, the government has arranged poor peasants to migrate from "Xihaigu" with severe natural conditions to relatively better regions through reclaiming land and constructing new homes. Such large-scale, planned migration is called "policy migration". As the government organizes and implements its migration projects, a special group of people-spontaneous migrants came into being. Spontaneous migrants refer to migrants who make their own decisions to migrate without relying on government organizations or enjoying any subsidy offered by government sectors. As a relatively special social group in China, spontaneous migrants came into being along with policy migration under the background of China’s reform and opening up, poverty relief and development. From the start of migration to settlement and the formation of several residential areas where spontaneous migrants live, spontaneous migration is usually loosely managed by the government or even without any management at all. Those residential areas have their own unique governance structures. With weak construction of infrastructure, spontaneous migrants are not able to receive a fair share of public services and products and to a certain extent they have become a marginalized group. Whether spontaneous migrants can adapt to and fit in the local mainstream society not only determines the survival and development of spontaneous migrants themselves but also determines the realization of the anti-poverty goal and the social stability of the immigrant areas. With Laochi Village, Xingjing Town, Xixia District, Yinchuan City as the research base and object, and with social adaptation as the principal line, this study analyzes and explores the relationship between spontaneous migration and policy migration, social adaptation of spontaneous migrants, social network of spontaneous migrants and their utilization and restructuring of social capital, legitimacy of spontaneous migrants, social governance structure of residential areas where spontaneous migrants live.The study probes into the specific historical background and social environment of the formation of spontaneous migration. That spontaneous migrants do not receive the support from the government in social resources and they are usually regarded as "illegal"are the two major distinctions that differentiate them from the policy migrants.In comparison with migrant workers who move to cities and towns for work, spontaneous migrants are characterized by two significant features:First of all, the migration strategy for spontaneous migrants is migration of the whole family rather than just one person; secondly, unlike the majority of migrant workers who flow from rural areas to cities, spontaneous migrants move from one rural area to another.The case study of the village reveal that spontaneous migrants have made positive contributions to the modernization construction and played an important role in the poverty alleviation development of the whole society.Spontaneous migrants of the Hui nationality carry forward the precious unyielding spirit of the Hui people and view the land transfer phenomenon during the spontaneous migration process from a historical perspective. Such a "transfer" not only makes up the deficiencies of policy migrants, namely weak economic foundation and insufficient fund, but also provides spontaneous migrants with a place to stand. Therefore, land transfer does have certain positive significances.Through analysis and discussion, the study maintains that the social adaptation and integration of spontaneous migrants is integral, active, restrictive, uncertain, different, isolated etc.