Immigration today is much easier than it was in the 19th and 20th century, when immigrants arrived and had to carve out their own destiny, often while trying to learn a new language. Today there are social services which help immigrants to integrate into their new communities – and provide language skills as well.

Australia is an interesting country to look at in terms of immigration, as the first ‘immigrants’ were prisoners who had been sentanced for ‘crimes’ in England (some of these crimes were as serious as stealing a pocket handkerchief or a loaf of bread) and, once their sentance in the penal colony had been served, no provision was made for returning them to their homeland, so they simply stayed and learned to live in their new environment.