Collective Remittances and Integration: North African and North Indian Comparative Perspectives (original) (raw)
Related papers
2013
Diasporic communities that advance their ancestral homelands through forging links with it can be best examined in the context of the history of migration of these communities and the culture of developing stakes in the homeland through material and emotional investments of various kinds. While globalization of migration has facilitated diasporas of various kinds, there has been a marked turn of gaze towards the homeland by diasporic members. What ties the emigrant/diasporics with the places of origin are collective mesostructures of village communities/associations and hometown networks which integrate and manage the changes induced by migration, in maintaining and constructing boundaries, villages spaces, resources, hierarchies, norms and practices. While migration encompasses a whole range of social, political and economic factors, the focus of this study in a village in North Gujarat, western India is not on why people migrate nor on why people give but rather on the effects and meanings that migration and collective remittances would hold for individuals or groups in 'places of origin'. This search for meanings would entail an understanding of the values, structures and expectations that inhere in acts of giving. While reconstructing the local community's reception of the emergent dual character of diasporic giving, which is, charitable 'sacred' giving-the Indian equivalent of 'dan' on the one hand and 'non-sacred' giving-towards development works in a village setting on the other, what impingements they may have on local development processes and on the formation of 'village collectives' will be further interrogated.
Transnationalism and Development: The Example of Moroccan Migrant Networks
The transnational paradigm is now a dominant approach in migration studies. This approach is rooted in the belief that the dense mobility of migrants has created social fields that differ significantly from the sedentary societies bounded by state borders. From the 1980s, transnational practices of migrants have been perceived as challenging integration dynamics and boundary construction. The analysis of development projects carried out by Moroccan migrants for the benefit of their home villages tells a very different story. This case study exemplifies the fact that transnationalism is rooted in migrant/non-migrant relationships. Moroccan transnational development networks are shaped not only by the expectations of the home villages but also by the co-funding policies implemented by different stakeholders. The case of the French co-development policy is examined here.
Migrant Transnationalism and Modes of Transformation1
International Migration Review, 2006
Much of the literature on migrant transnationalism focuses on the ways that specific sociocultural institutions have been modified in the course of being stretched across the globe. Yet migrant transnational practices are involved in more deep-seated patterns of change or structural transformation. Such modes of transformation concern: 1) an enhanced ‘bifocality’ of outlooks underpinning migrant lives lived here-and-there; such dual orientations have considerable influence on transnational family life and may continue to affect identities among subsequent post-migration generations; 2) heightened challenges to ‘identities-borders-orders’ stemming from migrants’ political affiliations in more than one nation-state; these particularly arise around questions of dual citizenship and nationality; and 3) potentially profound impacts on economic development by way of the sheer scale and evolving means of remittance sending; money transfer services, hometown associations and micro-finance i...
Journal of ethnic and migration studies, 2001
The article discusses the ambivalent experiences of Senegalese migrants within the`transnational' spaces uniting Italy and Senegal. It is argued that to name transnational what was previously called`ethnic group' does not necessarily prevent a rei® ed conceptualisation of migratory phenomena. With the aim of providing an ethnographic representation which is respectful of the complexity and the multiplicity of trajectories characterising a transnational community, I describe practices as well as narratives from both the context of origin and the context of migration. I show that there are various ways of being transmigrant and that transnational migration, rather than being a homogeneous system, encompasses a wide range of different and situationally varied practices. I also try to convey the ambivalences and tensions shaping representations and self-representations. Contradictory yet coexisting narratives inform Senegalese self-representation and their different attitudes towards Italians: some more open to negotiation, others more inward and critical.
Transnationalism and the Migrants' Identity Formation Dynamics
Asian Studies International Journal
This article is a theory-focus paper that argues that in the process of migrants‟ transnational living, the children of migrants/ 1.5G eventually create a culture of their own which is argued to be different from the culture their own parents have. The author of this paper maintains that this happens by virtue of the children of migrants'/1.5G's exposure to the milieu of their parents' work destination and their socialization with people whose cultural, social, political, and religious orientation is far from theirs. More specifically, this paper asserts that with transnational living, bottom-up and top-down trajectories of agents of transformation highly influence the formation of identities of the children of migrants/1.5G. To clearly illustrate this phenomenon, the author of this paper used two bipolar views illustrating the effects of transformative agents: from a bottom-up perspective is Herrera-Lima's view called transnational social networks (2005) and from a top-down view is the commonly held one which is a combination of all other influences outside Lima's framework. The author believes that the interplay of the two opposing trajectories can most likely impinge on the identity-formation dynamics of the children of migrants/ 1.5G. Keywords: 1.5G, transnationalism, transnational networks, identity-formation
Migrant Integration Between Homeland and Host Society Volume 1
Global Migration Issues, 2017
This book series contributes to the global discussion about the future of migration policy through the publication of a series of books on emerging migration issues. Most reports on migration policy tend to focus on national or regional perspectives; books in this series will focus on global policy challenges, such as the impact of climate change or the global economic crisis, on migration. This series is closely linked to the production of IOM's World Migration Report. Some of the books in this series will be based on research which has been prepared for the World Migration Report. The series also includes a special focus on the linkages between migration and development, and the themes discussed each year at the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), given the growing policy interest in harnessing the benefits of migration for development.
TRANSNATIONAL MIGRANT COMMUNITIES AND DIASPORAS
TRANSNATIONAL MIGRANT COMMUNITIES AND DIASPORAS, 2023
Exploring new dimensions in the study of migrant communities and diasporas involves delving into uncharted territories and discovering new perspectives. It is a journey beyond conventional borders, seeking to understand the intricate layers that contribute to the fabric of these transnational communities. This effort involves considering a spectrum of perspectives, from the micro-level dynamics of interpersonal relationships to the macro-level influences of global economic and political forces. The aim is to capture the richness and diversity inherent in the lives of migrants and those who are part of the diaspora. This exploration is not simply about breaking new academic ground; It is an intellectual and empathetic journey that seeks to resonate with the lived experiences of people within these communities. It involves acknowledging and accepting the myriad narratives, cultural expressions, and social interactions that contribute to the intricate tapestry of migrant and diaspora experiences. At its core, exploring new dimensions is an invitation to think beyond the familiar, challenge preconceived notions, and foster a deeper understanding of the ever-evolving dynamics within migrant communities and diasporas.
Journal of Identity and Migration Studies
2009
This article provides an account of socialisation strategies among two African communities, the Congolese and Somali, in Britain. It looks at the ways in which the refugees attempt to may sense of new social realities in the host country and rebuild lives. This involves a process of psychological healing which leads the African refugees to adopt various strategies with varying degree of success. Among such strategies, involvement in educational, community and religious activities as well as marrying and founding a family will take unprecedented importance.
Introduction: Migrations and Diasporas—Making Their World Elsewhere
Migration, Diaspora and Information Technology in Global Societies
cultural adaptation process of migrants in a taken-for-granted community of practices of the host society. The host society, as well as migrants, is considered as a kind of fixed cultural reality which is not subject to any internal or external process of change and with which "the other" has to come to terms. Although widespread, the term integration does not reach a large consensus: sometimes it is connected to desegregation, other times to the attempt of bringing minorities' cultures into the mainstream of cultures and their social structures, including rights and services. Our stance in this book is that one should talk of co-construction, which starts from the presupposition that each society is a dynamic system which meets and maybe clashes with other cultures, but in so doing enriches itself and consequently changes. The coconstruction is a process in which locals and migrants give life to a different society in which both cultures are considered in their interaction and where both cultures have the concrete possibility to learn, reflect on and modify particular aspects of their everyday life. This concept develops the term "cultural co-traditions" advanced by Ferrarotti (1999, 158), in which the acceptance and coexistence of different cultures in a society is seen as the only way out of the problems posed by migrations. In particular, our glimpse is on the socio-technical systems that migrants and natives co-construct inside contemporary societies.