Migration Between Past Patterns and Present Challenges: From Villages to Cities

By Abdulwahab Affan

Since humans first inhabited the Earth, migration has been an integral part of their experience. It was never merely a physical move from one place to another but a movement imbued with hopes for salvation, a search for livelihood, or the desire for safety.

Throughout history, migration has marked turning points for nations, from the migration of prophets and righteous figures to the movement of peasants from their small villages to the crowded cities of today.

Ammar and the Void

It is said that a simple man from a village, named “Ammar,” would rise at dawn, take his hoe, and head to the field. He was raised on the land and tended his crops with sweat and effort. Yet, over the years, he noticed that the village was no longer as it once was: young people were leaving one by one, schools were empty, shops were closed, and even weddings had become rare.

Ammar wondered: Why do they leave the land we inherited from our ancestors? The answer was simple yet complex at the same time: the search for better opportunities in the city.

Migration in the Past (Historical Patterns)

Migration is not a new phenomenon. Early humans migrated in search of water and grazing land. Prophets migrated in defense of their faith or for safety, as Abraham did, or as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) migrated from Mecca to Medina, changing the course of history.

Those migrations had noble purposes, adding new meaning to life and building civilizations. They were part of humanity’s struggle against the harshness of nature or the injustices of others.

Migration in the Present (Rural Exodus)

Today, the motives for migration are not much different from the past, yet its form has changed. In Algeria, as in many countries, villages are being emptied, and fields wither as their owners abandon them.

Migration from rural areas to cities has become a powerful current driven by several factors:

• The search for work and education.

• Lack of infrastructure in villages (hospitals, roads, entertainment facilities).

• Media portraying city life in an idealized manner.

However, this migration carries significant losses:

• Loss of agricultural land and leaving it barren.

• Disintegration of social and familial ties.

• Overcrowding of cities and the emergence of fragile neighborhoods.

Connections Between Past and Present

Successful migration in the past was linked to creating new values: religion, civilization, knowledge. Today, migration often constitutes merely a physical move—from the open spaces of land and countryside to the crowded confines of the city.

Modern migrations often lack deeper meaning; they carry no clear project beyond “searching for a livelihood,” whereas past migrations built identity and purpose.

The Human Dimension

The story of Ammar and others like him is not just individual detail but a reflection of thousands of families. There is a deep longing for the old land, a nostalgia for mud houses and green fields, yet necessity pushes hands away, and the allure of cities deceives the eyes.

The painful question remains: What if our youth realized that migration is not always the solution? What if villages were revitalized, with job opportunities, schools, and markets restored?

Conclusion

Migration is a recurring human phenomenon spanning past and present, but the difference lies in its purposes. If migrations of the past built civilizations, today’s migrations risk the disappearance of our villages and the loss of our lands.

Change is not always achieved through departure; sometimes it comes through staying and building in place. Perhaps the greatest migration of our era is to abandon despair and return to hope, to leave flight behind and return to reconstruction.

Dr. Abdulwahab Affan – Algerian writer and researcher, expert in entrepreneurship and financial awareness.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not represent the views of Nisaba Media.