AEMI

MARIA BEATRIZ ROCHA-TRINDADE
The Polysemy of Two Multi-sided
Concepts
Portugal’s history reveals the mobility
of its people who consistently left the
country either voluntarily or compelled
by various reasons. It is estimated that a
number equivalent to half of those residing
in Portugal are residing abroad
(Rocha-Trindade, 2000:22-9; 2014:72).
The migratory movements led to many
and diverse locations in flows of variable
volume, smaller groups or even isolated
individuals who, for one reason or another,
had to make such a choice. Although
they have gained more interest
and therefore required greater attention,
movements of an economic nature are
the primary subject of research projects
developed and their consequent publications.
It is therefore important to
try to position the departures from the
country and the motivations caused by
other circumstances.
The consensus is that the migration
concept covers both the point of view
of the country of origin of the migrants,
in a conceptual situation of emigration,
and the receiving country, diverging to
an immigration perspective, as two sides
of the same coin.
Regarding issues such as the root
causes of departure that lead to expatriation,
there has been a certain conceptual
enlargement. A few decades ago,
the idea of international migration was
mainly associated with economic reasons,
while today we have to include
other distinct cases. It could be risking
the establishment of a business; in loco
monitoring of investments; having national
or multinational interests (of diplomatic,
industrial or service providing
kind) represented in an international
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space; the search for an environment
conducive to the acquisition of a qualification
or a degree outside the country
of origin; or the establishment of residence
abroad by retirees, due to a milder
climate, better quality of life or greater
security.
All these aspects are now included in
the very broad and inclusive concept of
migration. It should be noted, however,
that there is no coincidence between
this expansion, which touches a multiplicity
of sociological meanings, and
the context of their legal or regulatory
contents. In fact, there is a certain time
lag between the evolution of its meaning,
in the strictly scientific plan and its
translation in legal terms, which is due
to the significant inertness of both the
national and international legislative apparatuses.
As a trivial example, quite a few diplomats,
who are in every aspect a special
case of temporary migrants, would
certainly be vigorously opposed to being
included in the migrant category, for social
prestige reasons. If a legal inclusion
in that social category was attempted, it
would assume some parity with the profiles
assigned to other forms of mobility,
namely the labour motivated ones.
Unlike the previous case, in which
migrations tend to be taken in a broader
sense, having precise meanings both in
social and legal terms, the notion of
exile has a much more restricted meaning,
currently almost stripped of legal
content and even sometimes, instead,
related with feelings and emotions of
individual character.
In its wide-ranging context, the condition
of exile is virtually coincident
with the condition of the expatriate, i.e.