Rivers in Asia

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					                                      Rivers in Asia

      Dozens of rivers are found in the Middle East (Asia). Most are small, so here we highlight
      the four major ones, and offer a brief description.

      Amu Darya:
      This river flows from a high plateau in the Pamir Mtns. of central Asia, across southern
      Tajikistan, forming its border with Afghanistan, then northwest, forming parts of the borders
      between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and on into the Aral Sea. It's (1,578 miles) (2,539
      km) in length. In ancient times the Amu Darya was called the Oxus. It was part of Persia,
      and played a significant role in the military campaigns of Alexander the Great.

      From the Caucasus Mtns of Armenia, it flows southwesterly across east-central Turkey, then
      generally southeast through Syria and Iraq, ending in the waters of the Persian Gulf. It joins
      with the Tigris in southern Iraq, and from that junction continues on as the Shatt al Arab.
      Overall it's (2,235 miles) (3,596 km) in length, and is certainly the longest river in the
      Middle East. Historically important in ancient history, the once great city of Babylon stood
      on its banks.

      It begins in the high mountains of Tibet (southwestern China), flowing northwest through
      the Jammu & Kashmir region of India and Pakistan, then generally south through Pakistan,
      ending in the Arabian Sea. The Indus, through a series of dams and canals, provides much
      of the irrigation and power for central Pakistan. It's (1,800 miles) (2,896 km) in length.

      Rising in the mountains of southern Turkey, the Tigris flows southeast through Iraq, where
      in the southern part of that country it merges with the Euphrates to become the Shatt al
      Arab, which then flows to the Persian Gulf. The river has numerous small tributaries running
      from its eastern bank, and is (1,180 miles) (1,899 km) in length.


"Map of Middle East Rivers - Indus River Map, Tigris River Map, Euphrates River Map - World

      Atlas." World Atlas. Web. 01 Mar. 2012.

                             Mountains in Asia

                                     Map by Vertebrate Graphics/S.Norris

The diversity of these mountain ranges is           Mountains of Asia Selector
immense, mainly due to the climate, which is
profoundly affected by the mountains
themselves. The great barrier of the Himalaya
prevents the summer monsoon from crossing it,
so Nepal to the south is lush and forested, while
Tibet to the north is a high altitude desert.
Expeditions to the Himalaya usually take place
either side of the monsoon, in the spring or
autumn. The Chinese Pamirs and the Tien
Shan are barely reached by the monsoon, and
it is colder, so the summer months are the best
time to go there.

Our expeditions to the great Asian mountain
ranges are mostly tried and tested objectives.
The easier climbs sich as Stok Kangri and Mera
Peak are best described as treks culminating in
the ascent of a non-technical peak. At the other
end of the scale, we have some major
undertakings which are only available to
accomplished climbers, such as Baruntse,
Everest and Ama Dablam. In between, we offer
the widest choice of expedition objectives

Climb a Himalayan Trekking Peak

                     You don't have to be an
accomplished mountaineer to join an expedition
to the Himalayas. Our trips to Mera Peak (3
weeks) in Nepal and Stok Kangri (2 weeks) in
India are designed for fit walkers and trekkers
who are looking to extend their experience to
higher altitudes. You will gradually trek in to the
mountain, taking time to acclimatise, before the
ascent to the summit from a high camp. Both
climbs are on low angled snow slopes, where
basic crampon and ice axe techniques, a lot of
effort and some luck with the weather are
required for success.

PHD Mountain Software make specialist
clothing suitable for mountaineering
expeditions, including lightweight shells, wind
suits, down jackets, salopettes and sleeping
bags. Visit the 6,000m and 7,000m Himalayan
pages of their Gear Advisor.

"Expeditions to the Mountains of Asia." JG Expeditions. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jagged->.

                             Major migrations in Asia
               International migration in East, South-East and South Asia at the beginning of
       the new millennium presents a complex typology. Perhaps the best way to convey
       the idea of complexity is by quoting some recent newspaper headlines, all dated 5
       November 2002: “700,000 foreigners in sectors shunned by locals” was an item in
       the New Straits Times in Kuala Lumpur. “Returnees tricked into signing forms”,
       stated the Bangkok Post in referring to the repatriation of 63 people to Myanmar.
       In reference to the Republic of Korea, the Kyodo News Service stated: “Japan to
       ease visa restrictions”. The Financial Times reported: “Smugglers see Afghans as
       potential prey”. From a few newspaper headlines on a day chosen at random, one
       may observe the gamut of the various migration flows of concern in Asia: labour
       migrants, immigrants, unauthorized migrants and potential asylum seekers.
       Missing were articles on the migration of highly skilled people, because that is a
       type of migration which does not often make newspaper headlines.
       The variety of headlines also conveys the idea that migration has become an
       important social phenomenon in Asia. Its importance refers not only to the number
       of people involved, but also to the implications for societies and economies in the
       countries concerned. What was said about migration in general, that “political
       decisions about international migration will be among the most important made
       over the next two decades” (Massey and others, 1998, p. 58), is certainly
       applicable to Asia. However, international forums of Asian policy makers treat
       migration with benign neglect. Among the reasons for such neglect is the
       stabilization of migration patterns over the previous 30 years, ensuring some level
       of predictability as migration most probably will not change drastically in the near the


       The various subregions of Asia have been characterized by specific migratory
       movements. Traditionally, South Asia is identified as a subregion of origin of
       migration, East Asia as a subregion of destination and South-East Asia as a
       subregion of both origin and destination. Such a characterization maintains its
       validity as the issue of migration can then be inserted into the larger social and
       political discourse of the various subregions. At the same time, however,
       migration flows have developed in different directions, particularly within the
       various regions, so that it is difficult to maintain the traditional characterizations.
In East Asia, for instance, migration from China, although unauthorized, has
become important in Japan and the Republic of Korea, and Koreans continue to
enter Japan. South Asia cannot be considered just a subregion of origin, in view of
the substantial migration from Bangladesh and Nepal to India. The recent project
to include China and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in
one free trade area, although still 10 years away, hints of possible consequences
for human mobility and the blurring of regional distinctions. This paper, therefore,
describes migration flows by their characteristics, rather than separately by
geographic subregion. Nonetheless, geographic areas remain useful for a general
description of size and directions of flows.

Labour migration
The first characteristic is the diversification of direction and composition of
flows determined, to some extent, by migration policies. The origin of overseas
International Migration in Asia
work from Asia is traditionally set at the beginning of the 1970s, when workers
from India and Pakistan were hired for the booming construction projects in the
Persian Gulf countries. They were later joined by the Philippines and then
Bangladesh, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. During the previous 30 years, the flow of
migrant labour towards Western Asia (sometimes referred to as the Middle East)
went through some important changes: first, it expanded from occupations
to the construction of facilities and infrastructure to occupations related to
maintenance and services; second, it became more diversified in its gender
composition, with the increasing presence of women among the migrants; third, it
witnessed a progressive decline in wages, as competition among countries of
origin and migrant recruiters led to acceptance of lower conditions; finally, this
flow met official opposition from the Persian Gulf countries, trying to substitute
migrant labour with local workers.
Declining opportunities in Western Asia, sometimes because of force majeure,
as in the case of the Persian Gulf war in 1991 and increasing opportunities in
and South-East Asia, led migrant labour flows to take new routes. Singapore has
adopted a pragmatic approach to migrant labour since the early 1970s,
periodically adjusting its measures to respond to the demands of a fast-growing
economy. Originally limited to workers from Malaysia, employers in Singapore
were allowed in 1978 to hire migrants from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand and in 1984 from what is now Hong Kong,
China; Macao, China; the Republic of Korea; and Taiwan Province of China
(Wong, 1997). Expansion led to the current situation of approximately 560,000
workers being employed in Singapore. Facing the need to control the influx of
       Chinese from the mainland (150 a day), Hong Kong, China looked for migrant
       workers from other countries, mostly for specific projects. At the same time, it
       allowed the hiring of foreign workers in the domestic sector, opportunities seized
       mostly by the Philippines (136,000) and more recently by Indonesia (54,000) and
       Thailand (27,000).
       The opposition of Japan and the Republic of Korea to the import of migrant
       labour should have kept migrant workers out of those countries. However, labour
       demands were met in different ways. Japan utilized workers of Japanese descent
       from Brazil (254,394 in 2000) and Peru (46,171) (Migration News, November
       2001) and established a training programme where trainees also functioned as
       workers. The Republic of Korea also had recourse to training; however, the high
       demand for foreign labour inadequately met by trainees led to a spillover from
       training to unauthorized migration. As of August 2000, of 267,627 foreign
       workers, trainees comprised 29.5 per cent and unauthorized migrants 65.6 per

Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <>.



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