8 Migration Biographies and
Transnational Social Support
Transnational Family Care and the
Search for ‘Homelandmen’
Désirée Bender, Tina Hollstein, Lena
Huber, and Cornelia Schweppe
MIGRATION BIOGRAPHIES AND TRANSNATIONAL SOCIAL SUPPORT
This chapter focuses on forms and processes of transnational social support in the context of individual biographies of migration. The emphasis is on investigating what forms of transnational support become important at which moments and in which situations during the migration process; and what role they play in the migration process and in the life of a migrant. Thus, the relation between migration biographies and transnational social support is at the centre of this chapter.
To date, biographical analysis has generally been considered a less established approach in research on transnational support. Nevertheless, considering a transnational perspective on biographical developments of migrants is highly significant. In particular, we mention the research of Apitzsch (2003). Following Pries (2008) and Faist (2000b), Apitzsch takes up the concept of transnational space and presents the hypothesis that migration biographies can be described as the accumulated experiences of border crossings. Transnational space takes shape as the parameters and content of migration biographies are established and constantly reconstructed by the subjects of migration. Apitzsch understands biographies to be the locations in transnational space, defining location not in the sense of topos but in the sense of topography (Apitzsch 2003). Consequently, biographies in transnational space are not to be thought of as geographical locations but as invisible structures of state, legal, and cultural transitions interconnected in many ways. Individuals orient themselves in these structures and transitions through their individual biographies, and are collectively enmeshed with them at the same time. Biographies within migration processes as ‘locations’ within transnational spaces are to be understood as the intersection of collective structuration and individual construction. Consequently, according to Apitzsch and Siouti (2008), the study of transnational biographies is not about understanding biographies as a “product of subjectivity,” but rather represents a methodological approach that explores the invisible but nevertheless objective structures of transnational migration spaces. These considerations open up new horizons to analyse the connections between migration biographies and transnational social support.
In general terms, social support refers to “the mechanisms through which a social environment protects individual members from threatening and impairing events and experiences and, in the event of those actually occurring, supports them in their efforts to cope”1 (Nestmann 2001: 1687). Social support encompasses measures, interventions, and social relationships that help ease stressful and life-impairing events, situations, or processes (buffer effect). If there are no burdening influences, social support can also have a preventive function by promoting human well-being and welfare (direct effect). The concept of social support as it is used in this work does not limit support to “an active interplay between a focal person and his or her support network” (Vaux 1988: 29) but further encompasses the specific legal, institutional, and structural context within which people act. This allows us to focus on social processes and situate particular social supports within social and political contexts. It is an analysis that refers not only to coping with individual challenges, but also and particularly to the structural, organisational, and legal framing of scopes and limitations of action (cf. Homfeldt, Schröer, and Schweppe 2006).
In social support research people are considered as agents. With social structures changing, support structures will similarly become modified. Over time, they need to be re-built, actively negotiated, and constantly secured. Considered from a biographical perspective, this process takes place in the context of accumulated life experiences whereby social support also takes on a biographical dimension as it is shaped by the previous life history.
The special characteristic of transnational social support is its border-crossing nature. Transnational social support can be described as a social process of appropriating and constructing social worlds across national borders in which the social actors—migrants, in this case—develop, receive, accept, and provide transnational support within the social context of two or more countries in a direct or indirect manner (Homfeldt, Schröer, and Schweppe 2007). Following Apitzsch (2003), transnational social support therefore can be described as border-crossing experiences, which, from a biographical point of view, are reflected as accumulated experiences in migration biographies.
THE CASE STUDY OF AMARÉ ISSAYU2
These considerations will be analysed in more detail within the following case study, which originates from a project investigating transnational ties of people with migration backgrounds living in Germany under precarious financial conditions. The research considers the importance of these ties for the life situation of the migrants. The following case analysis focuses on a partial aspect of the research in which we examine processes of transnational social support in the course of migration.
METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH
In order to investigate the transnational ties of poor migrants, narrative-generating semi-structured interviews were conducted. Qualitative interviews provide the interviewees with an opportunity to express their world views and their experiences, thus making biographical experiences accessible to research. Qualitative interviews based on a narrative-generating approach are especially suitable to provide access to social reality from the perspective of the social actors, and to capture the many ways in which they experience social reality and how they are involved in creating it. As goals and motives are by no means always reflexively available to the actors involved, direct inquiries become almost impossible, and data collection by way of qualitative interviews proves to be a useful instrument. In the context of investigating transnational support processes within life-courses of migration, these interviews provide the opportunity not only to capture the subjective dimensions of these processes, but also to understand the structural conditions and the available scope of action within which support processes take place.
The interviews were conducted following the principle of theoretical sampling (Glaser and Strauss 1967), meaning that the first cases that were analysed generated a number of codes and categories that were later pursued through the selection of additional cases that could further illuminate this beginning conceptualisation. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Accordingly, dialects and slips of tongue have been considered.3
The analysis of the interviews was carried out according to the procedures of grounded theory as developed by Anselm Strauss (Strauss 1995). Initially, the transcripts of the interviews were interpreted line by line, followed by a comparative analysis aiming at a higher generalisation of concept development. In order to facilitate description and comprehension, this chapter explicitly refers to the case—contrary to the style of research usually used with grounded theory (which typically applies categories and codes abstracting from the case). Thus, the key categories and the relations identified in the course of the analysis are illuminated using the specific case.
A BRIEF PROFILE OF AMARÉ ISSAYU
Our case study relates to the migration biography of Amaré Issayu. He grew up in an Ethiopian village and moved to Germany as a refugee in the early 1980s. Approximately six years later, his wife and their two children followed him to Germany. At the time of the interview, he was living in a small German town with his wife and four children. He worked as a warehouse employee and was fifty years old. In Ethiopia, Amaré Issayu completed a training programme in agriculture and worked in a government-run agricultural company. Due to very hard working conditions, particularly the intense heat when working in the fields, he worked there for only a short time. With the help of his relatives, he was given the opportunity to work as a teacher at a Catholic mission school, where he stayed for several years.
The political situation in Ethiopia was characterised by war, violence, and far-reaching restrictions on personal freedom.4 He relates that at that time people were facing two alternatives: either take part in the war or be arrested. Amaré Issayu did not see any future for himself in Ethiopia and decided to migrate. The country of destination played only a secondary role in his migration process. The most important aspect for the social actor was ‘to get out’ of Ethiopia. Amaré Issayu made several attempts to leave the country legally but was confronted with a multitude of difficulties. The staff at the Italian, British, and Greek embassies that he approached frequently turned a deaf ear to his entreaties. He had to raise considerable funds, and experienced fraud and financial exploitation. For instance, his first attempt at leaving the country with an official letter of invitation to Italy failed as the letter was forged without his knowledge. He finally managed to provide the necessary money and migrated to Greece, although, given his limited funds, he could only migrate alone. His wife, who was pregnant at the time, and his two-year-old son remained in Ethiopia for the time being.
Amaré Issayu stayed in Greece for four months while looking for work. The search for work and an income are of significant importance in the process of migration. Amaré Issayu saw this as the only way to enable his wife and children to migrate as well. However, he was unable to find a suitable gainful employment in Greece and considered resuming the migration to move on to another country. He then made the acquaintance of a UN employee who opened up the prospect of migrating to Germany and helped him arrange all necessary formalities. With her help he obtained the permission to enter Germany.
Once in Germany, Amaré Issayu was first given accommodation in a refugee home. He describes his stay there as a horrible time, characterised by feelings of helplessness and powerlessness, characterised by heteronomy and a lack of options for action. He “was taken” from one refugee home to another, lived with other refugees in one small room without a shower, and worked for 1.50 euro per hour. Amaré Issayu says he had no choice but to submit to these living and working conditions and to endure them. The situation persisted for five years. Then new opportunities came up. The mayor of the town where Amaré Issayu lived at that time offered him a job as a cleaner in a warehouse. Even though he felt the work was degrading, disgraceful, and humiliating, he accepted it and still holds the same job today. His narrative reveals that he accepted both the experience of the refugee home and the humiliation of his work because he felt that this was the only way to have his family join him in Germany, given that regular work with a regular income is prerequisite to obtaining a German passport to ensure an uncomplicated entry into Germany for his family. Amaré Issayu was granted German citizenship in 1990, whereupon his wife and his two children were able to come to Germany.
TRANSNATIONAL SOCIAL SUPPORT WITHIN THE PROCESS OF MIGRATION
The analysis of this case study shows that transnational social support took effect throughout Amaré Issayu's entire migration process. We will describe these moments alongside his migration biography.
Transnational Organisation of Childcare within a Multi-generational Familial Care System
Shortly after his arrival in Greece, at the beginning of his migration process, Amaré Issayu received a letter from his wife informing him about the birth of their second child. Desperate, she let him know that she felt unable to care for and support both children and pleaded for help: “The first child I cannot, I cannot, do all you can, I am not able to hold him.” Amaré Issayu's migration has structural consequences upon the family caused by his physical absence as father and the loss of his income. In this situation, Amaré Issayu's wife felt unable to take on the role of sole caretaker and support both her children. However, Amaré Issayu's absence and the great geographical distance between them did not prevent her from involving him in finding a solution to the childcare problem.
Amaré Issayu was devastated when he received her letter: “I locked my room and on the floor I really cry, cry, cry.” His physical absence from his family prevented him from contributing directly to the problem's solution. Neither could he help by sending money since at the time (after his arrival in Greece) he lacked income from any gainful employment. However, he reacted to his wife's concern and her request for help as follows: “So I send a letter back and I tell her, you can send my first child with my parents because my parents live 800 or 900 kilometers from the capital ( . . . ) and my brother, he live in the capital. I tell her, give the child to my brother, then he send it to my parents, they be happy when they see my kid.”
He thus exercised the role and responsibility demanded by his wife from afar and came up with the suggestion for restructuring the family household to make sure that his children were being cared for. He resorted to a multi-generational family care system by proposing that his own parents take on the care of one of his children. Even the practical implementation of this decision was to be carried out within the family: Amaré Issayu relied on his brother to take his child to his grandparents, who lived 800 km away. Amaré Issayu's wife followed his suggestion and their older child was brought to live with the grandparents for the next six years, until the time when Amaré Issayu's wife and children could join him in Germany.
In describing these support structures, it became clear that their mobilisation did not require any negotiations. The narrative did not reveal any negotiations with the respective family members relating to whether, how, when, and for how long their support was needed. Neither the brother nor the parents were approached about the planned arrangement and asked for their consent. This suggests that support within the context of a three-generation family is a matter of course which is not altered by and does not become an issue due to the father's geographical distance. The ‘naturalness’ with which the support was provided also signifies its reliability. It is unconditional and can be activated at any time, for a short, medium, and even long period of time.
The support processes and structures just outlined can be described as a transnational organisation of childcare, put into effect within transnational family structures involving three generations. The transnational ‘activation’ of fatherhood by Amaré Issayu's wife is based on his initial response. He is able to influence the family structure in the country of origin at a distance and ensure care for his elder child. While his family's problems and the solution to the problem are communicated and organised transnationally, the implementation is carried out by local actors in the country of origin within the national or translocal context.
‘Homelandmen’ as Transnational Actors of Social Support
The initial phase of Amaré Issayu's migration process is not just characterised by alterations of the family structure in the country of origin and coping with challenges resulting from these changes, but is also shaped by the initial situations encountered upon arrival in the respective countries of destination—Greece and Germany—by the immigrant. During these phases ‘homelandmen’—a word created by the social actor—are of central importance as transnational actors for providing support.
Amaré Issayu described the situation upon his arrival in Greece as follows: “and had flown to Greece, and was at the airport in the Greece, I had no idea, no family, no people, nothing, I had no idea of hotel of the country (. . . ), I was alone, no idea, everyone talking Greek, I don't talk Greek.” His description dramatically illustrates the situation of feeling alien and his social disembeddedness from his surroundings. After a short time at the airport he decided to take a taxi to go into town. Halfway to the city, however, he asked the driver to take him back to the airport since he did not trust the driver who wanted to take him to a specific hotel. The taxi driver dropped him off at a small hostel close to the airport where Amaré Issayu stayed for one week until he realised that he was running out of money. After a few days, he told the landlady that he had no money left and had to go to the city to look for ‘homelandmen.’ This is the first indication that the search for ‘homelandmen’ is connected with the search for support in a situation where new means of action are required in order to continue the migration process. This also shows that Amaré Issayu anticipated the presence of ‘homelandmen’ in a special place: the city.
His landlady offered him free accommodation in exchange for helping her clean the rooms and prepare breakfast. After one month, Amaré Issayu realised that although his time there was enjoyable, he had to leave to search for ‘homelandmen’ in the city, or otherwise look for opportunities to migrate to other countries. The work he was doing was not what Amaré Issayu considered to be a long-term possibility. Therefore, meeting ‘homelandmen’ or continuing the migration process to another country were perceived as options to improve his situation.
Amaré Issayu made several attempts to obtain an entry visa to Italy in order to migrate from there to the United States. During this time, Amaré Issayu shared a small basement apartment with four other refugees. After a while, he met a UN employee who made it possible for him to obtain an entry visa to Germany. By opening up new opportunities to migrate—opportunities that Amaré Issayu deemed to be very viable for his future—this staff person came to be of great importance in his migration process. Migrating to Germany meant for him the possibility of improving his life situation, mainly by obtaining more opportunities for gainful employment.
In his narrative, it stands out that in contrast to the housemates who are not described in great detail, Amaré Issayu introduces the UN employee and describes her as having grown up in Greece but having “black skin as I have” and being from Ethiopia. This is the first time in his narrative that Amaré Issayu meets someone who comes close to what he refers to as a ‘homelandman.’ Both her skin color and her country of origin are decisive points of reference. The person who eventually enables him to migrate shares two critical attributes with Amaré Issayu—coming from Ethiopia and having, as Amaré Issayu repeatedly points out, black skin. However, when describing the woman, distinguishing marks seem to set her apart her from a ‘homelandman’: even though the woman is originally from Ethiopia, she grew up in Greece. Another distinguishing mark for the respondent is her gender, a fact which also prevents her from being a ‘homelandman.’
After initiating the second part of the migration with the help of this woman, Amaré Issayu arrived in Germany, where he intended to apply for asylum. Back in Greece, a friend of his had given him the address of a person living in Germany. Amaré Issayu tried to contact this person immediately upon his arrival, but his repeated attempts proved futile. The social actor again feels all alone but it is only for a brief moment that he does not know what to do. He starts wandering the streets of the German town in order to find a ‘homelandman.’ The search for ‘homelandmen’ is initiated in a situation similar to the one in Greece described earlier, when the strategy to deal with the situation he encounters upon arrival proves ineffective. The search for ‘homelandmen’ is consistently conducted in a context where new options are required to continue the migration process.
Considering that Amaré Issayu does not know any ‘homelandmen’ and has no addresses indicating where they might be found, the question arises of how he looks for them and manages to find them. His strategy, described by the actor as “walking around the city and looking for a homelandman,” follows the criteria just described: First of all, the skin color is an identifying mark which enables him to recognise potential ‘homelandmen.’ Since not every person with dark skin is from Ethiopia, and the skin color in itself is not a sufficient distinguishing mark to identify a compatriot, language is the second essential criterion. Amaré Issayu seeks out black men in the streets and starts talking to them in his mother tongue. If the person he addresses understands him and responds, Amaré Issayu can be certain that he has met a ‘homelandman.’ Language and skin color are the identifying marks enabling Amaré Issayu to recognise compatriots. These two features become the symbols of the country of origin these individuals have in common.
After walking the streets of the German town for a while, Amaré Issayu actually found a ‘homelandman.’ He explained to him his situation and mentioned that he had just arrived in Germany and had been unable to meet his sole contact person. Amaré Issayu asked his compatriot: “What can I do now?” and received the answer: “Come with me.” Subsequently, Amaré Issayu received the help and support he needed: he was able to sleep at the home of his compatriot, who accompanied him the following day to the authorities where he applied for asylum. He could also leave his money and passport at this person's house for safekeeping over several weeks. The support he hoped to receive from his compatriots was effectively provided. This man enabled him to initiate the next steps of his migration process.
Against the background of these situations, the support system provided by ‘homelandmen’ can be described in greater detail. Amaré Issayu hoped to receive support based on a person belonging to a certain group of people. Indeed, they actually responded to this expectation. The correspondence between expected and provided support is a central prerequisite for the viability of this support system. The analysis also shows that being personally acquainted with someone is not a necessary condition for the activation of this support system. A long relationship or previous interactions are not necessary in order to expect and receive support. The support system is rather constituted by an imagined community whose members belong to it due to certain ascriptive features.5 Apart from country of origin, they have in common a shared skin color and mother tongue, indicators that the same migration history comes into play. ‘Homelandmen’ are persons who have made the same decision, to leave their common country of origin—Ethiopia—in order to migrate to the same country of destination. The structure of relationships within this support system is characterised by the fact that the supporting party does not expect anything in return, at least not immediately. Relationships seem to be short-term and focused on the purpose of support. Trust is another discernible factor, manifested in the fact that Amaré Issayu felt trusting enough to leave his passport and his money with a hitherto unknown compatriot.
What is essential within this support system is not only that support is provided. It is provided effectively. Difficulties created by the initial situation upon arrival were overcome and Amaré Issayu was able to continue his migration process. The decisive factor for this was the migration history the actors shared in common, although their experiences occurred at different time periods. Their earlier migration had provided Amaré Issayu's compatriots with knowledge and experience regarding the circumstances of life in the respective countries. He also drew on their familiarity with the regulations of the migration process in Germany, including paperwork and administrative formalities. It is precisely this kind of knowledge that was important for Amaré Issayu to orient himself in an environment that was alien to him in order to be able to continue his migration.
Ultimately, ‘homelandmen’ represent a support system that exactly fits Amaré Issayu's needs in dealing with the initial difficulties upon arrival in the countries of destination. In an alien environment, not knowing anyone and lacking country-specific knowledge to orient himself, Amaré Issayu connects with something familiar based on the common country of origin and migration course. He thus constitutes an imaginary group of people, to whom he belongs and whom he trusts. His need for support is met and an appropriate and effective response is made possible based on the previously acquired knowledge and experience of his compatriots. Figuratively speaking, ‘homelandmen’ take on the job of a ‘translator’ or a ‘guide,’ helping him to translate the strangeness around him into something that is understandable, to help him find his way. Consequently, ‘homelandmen’ represent a transnational link for Amaré Issayu. By establishing contact with something familiar from his home country he is given access to the new and unfamiliar countries of destination.
“You always have to help”—the Ambivalence of Financial Remittances
Another form of transnational support is the financial support Amaré Issayu provides for his family in Ethiopia. He did not support his family from the beginning of his migration, but was able to do so only once his situation in Germany had become more or less stable: namely once he had obtained German citizenship, had found work, and had his wife and children follow him to Germany.
Amaré Issayu understands financial support as an obligation: “We have to help because we grew up there and we know the problems people face.” As such, the obligation to help is a commitment and duty for all those who have grown up in Ethiopia and have experienced the problematic conditions of life. The obligation to help is also closely linked to his religious socialisation in Ethiopia: “Religion, when you grow into a religion from when you are a child, and Christ says every Sunday to ‘help’ and ‘do it well’ or, like what the priest say from when you are a child until now, it is always inside.” Amaré Issayu describes the obligation to help as a norm that is internalised (“is inside”), deeply rooted in his biography, and still present in his life today (“until now”). The norm is independent of location and maintains its validity also in Germany.
The norm of having to help is of particular importance within a family and even more so in the intergenerational relationship with his parents. Amaré Issayu recounts in detail the efforts, struggles, and sacrifices his parents have made under precarious living conditions to give their six children a good education and secure a better life for them. In return, Amaré Issayu feels it is his “duty” to help his parents now that he is an adult: “That is duty, because the parents done everything for us there, and now we have better chances, for example go to Europe, house, shower, car.” Their efforts place the children under an obligation to help and tie the generations together.
However, the narration also reveals his ambivalence regarding his religious socialisation and the related obligation to help. Amaré Issayu says: “Religion is often suffocating.” “Suffocating” can be understood in the sense of a threat for one's own life and existence. The following quotation points out the “suffocating” quality of this obligation: “I want a lot, I want save money, I want luxury like the others, but on my back there is a burden, I cannot do this, because half my life is 25 years, now half my life is there and here and I live well (.) I say it no matter if you're on welfare.” Against the background of precarious financial means, the dilemma of having to help results from the desire to improve his own material situation in order to achieve a standard of living similar to that of other people in Germany and to participate in the country's wealth while, at the same time, having to provide financial support to his family. When Amaré Issayu says that half of his life he spent in Ethiopia and the other half in Germany, he places himself in two systems of reference which both demand the improvement of material living conditions. Due to the scarce resources he has at his disposal, these demands can hardly be satisfied simultaneously. In this situation he opts to provide financial support to his family in Ethiopia, a choice that necessarily entails limitations to the improvement of his own life in Germany. Therefore, the “suffocating” character of the obligation to help can be interpreted as a limitation to the improvement of his own material living conditions in Germany. His statement: “I live well, I say it no matter if you're on welfare” may be seen as an attempt to deal with this conflict by rating his living conditions as “good” and qualifying the meaning of potential dependence on social benefits.6
At irregular intervals Amaré Issayu sends money to his parents, sometimes 50 euros, sometimes less. He says: “There (. . . ) 50 euro is a lot of money for them, can buy something, clothes, food, maybe it's not ‘nough but they have the hope ‘look, our child has grown up better, become more an adult (. . . ) now he also thinks for us’.” It is obvious that he emphasises the amount he gives and the contribution it makes to the family's livelihood in Ethiopia, while simultaneously expressing doubts regarding the adequacy of the sum (“maybe it's not ‘nough”). Doubting the adequacy of the remittances is bound to imply doubting the fulfillment of his obligation to help, because he has to not only help, but also provide ‘good help’ as the foregoing quotation indicates (“help and do it well”). The obligation to help thus does not only generate the conflict of wanting to improve his own and his parents’ living conditions at the same time. In addition, he is also confronted with the question of whether the help he provides is appropriate and as such “good” and whether he lives up to the expectations beyond the mere provision of money. When Amaré Issayu then says that even if the money he sends may help his parents keep up the hope that their son has “grown up better” and is “more adult,” he not only attributes a material value to his money transfers but also emphasises their emotional value. In accordance with their efforts to enable their son to have a “good” and— compared to themselves—better life, the remittances will give his parents the impression that their son is doing well. In addition, Amaré Issayu says that the money transfers also show that “now he also thinks for us.” Remittances as a sign of “thinking for the parents” refer to the son taking responsibility for his parents. In an analogy to the responsibility taken for the aging generation, as indicated earlier, Amaré Issayu can demonstrate his concern for his aging parents. The immaterial functions he attributes to his remittances can thus be interpreted as Amaré Issayu's attempt to counteract his doubts about the adequacy of his help.
Transnational Aging in Ethiopia
One day, Amaré Issayu wishes to return to Ethiopia to live there. His desire to return is closely linked to his idea of “home.” Amaré Issayu says: “No matter where you are, home is home.” It becomes clear that home is irrevocable; home is unalterable. Amaré Issayu assumes that home is the place “where you were born, grow up.” The time from birth to young adulthood defines where home is. For Amaré Issayu, home is closely linked to language and to culture: “home is the language, the culture.” Consequently, home is not so much defined by people or interpersonal relationships, but rather by the place of growing up, by learning to speak the respective language, and by being familiar with a certain culture. In his opinion, even long-time experience in other countries does not change the fact that home is where a person has grown up: “You can be in the society or in the culture and the language and you must join in, but that doesn't change your home, your home language or your home sickness, I just want to say 95 percent you don't change where your home is.” He assumes that this understanding of home is universally valid. He believes that people ultimately wish to return to their origins, no matter whether their migration is regional or international, as evidenced in this statement: “I see many people, I hear, home is home, for example also in Germany from German people I hear this home is home, I go home, say just you come here from Bavaria to work, to live, in the end when you retire, you go back, with your relatives, your friends, my opinion is it no matter where you go, home is home.” Later Amaré Issayu says: “Abroad you are always foreign, a foreigner, is always foreigner.” The question arises to what extent his understanding of home can also be seen as a reaction to specific experiences in Germany. Being a foreigner points to experiences of difference, of being different, and of not belonging, while home stands for familiarity and belonging. The wording “you are always a foreigner” (and not “it is foreign to me”) points to interactive processes whereby this foreignness is either created or attributed by others. He is given the status of a foreigner by others, and is made a foreigner in comparison with others. Returning to the home country can also be understood as the search for familiarity and a sense of belonging as well as a desire to end the feeling of being different and not belonging. The universal nature of his statement that abroad a foreigner will always remain a foreigner safely suggests that he believes this experience of difference is not just an individual problem affecting only him.7
The time of his return to Ethiopia depends on two different factors. The first is related to the time of his retirement and to receiving the old-age pension which he needs for his livelihood in Ethiopia. For economic reasons, he rules out returning at the current time: “The problem is what can I take now, how can I live there when I go back, but how can I go back now, what have I in my hands, what have I in the future if I go back, I am in the streets there and have no money there, how can I do that, not possible.” Consequently, the time of his return is tied to his work in Germany and to the German pension system.
The second factor is related to the time when his children will be able to take care of themselves and live independent lives. In accordance with his understanding of home, Amaré Issayu sees his children's future in Germany. The children have grown up in Germany; consequently, he considers Germany their home: “Children for example (. . . ), for them you can say I am born here, I am German, I stay there.” What are the consequences of the different perspectives that Amaré Issayu sees for himself and anticipates for his children? He accepts the anticipated future perspective for his children. He wishes to stay with them in Germany until they are able to take care of themselves. Amaré Issayu tries very hard to get his children onto a “good track” with this aim in mind. He explains that this duty results from the experience he has had with his own parents.
For the spatial separation that will follow his return to Ethiopia, Amaré Issayu has designed a relational model that is almost identical to his current relationship he has with his own parents: “When I go home, my children come visit, or maybe help when I have no money, maybe as said before 10 euro or 50 euro per month, too.” The desire to see his children come to Ethiopia and the hope placed on their support of him in cases of financial emergency imply his wish for a biographical continuity of the current transnational relationships he takes part in between family generations. Just as he has experienced his parents’ struggle and concern to enable him to have a comparatively better life, in turn he expects his children to support their parents during old age. The concern and support for the aging father are to be provided transnationally, just as Amaré Issayu is now providing his support. The question remains, however, to what extent this generational model may change when the father receives a pension and can rely on an income, albeit a potentially small one. Ultimately, Amaré Issayu designs a retirement model for himself that can be called ‘transnational age(ing) at home’—aging at home has its financial basis in the working life spent in Germany and the subsequent pension arrangement, and is shaped by transnational relationships between family generations.
TRANSNATIONAL FAMILY CARE AND THE SOLIDARY-BASED COMMUNITY OF ‘HOMELANDMEN’
The case study of Amaré Issayu illustrates that, depending on the stages of the migration process, different forms of support become relevant and different actors fulfill different functions. In this context, support systems consisting of family members or compatriots are of particular importance. With respect to these two support systems, the analysis showed and confirmed the naturalness with which support is expected, provided, and received. There are no negotiations about whether, in which way, and at what time support is to be provided.
THE FAMILIAL SUPPORT SYSTEM IN A TRANSNATIONAL CONTEXT
Transnational support processes in a family context play a key role throughout the entire migration process. Transnational family support takes place in the context of three family generations. The actors involved provide support as well as receive it. They take over different support functions depending on their respective phases in life. For instance, the grandparents appear as actors providing support with the upbringing of their grandchildren in response to the care problem caused by the father's migration. In exchange, the generation of adult children (son) provides material support to the grandparents. At the same time, the generation of adult children is also responsible for the upbringing of the younger generation of grandchildren, be it in the country of origin while they still remain there or in the country of destination. For instance, the mother communicates her concern about the children caused by the absence of the father by way of a ‘transnational call for help,’ upon the receipt of which the father organises and arranges care through the grandparents transnationally. Once the children have arrived in the destination country the parents take over the childcare.
Existing research on social support along with the results of transnational family research offers explanations for these findings. At a national level, social support research has repeatedly confirmed the family to be a reliable, important, and constant source of support (e.g., Pierce, Sarason, and Sarason 1996). The main reason is the special quantity and quality of familial and kin support due to norms of family solidarity. Family solidarity—as shown by transnational family research—does not vanish due to geographical distance (e.g., Goulbourne and Chamberlain 2001; Herrera Lima 2001; Bryceson and Vuorela 2002; de la Hoz 2004; Pribilsky 2004). It forms the basis of providing support to family members equally at a transnational level.
Within research on transnational family support, the support between parents and children, in particular between mothers and children, has been extensively investigated, with special attention being paid to the phenomenon of transnational motherhood (e.g., Bernhard, Landolt, and Goldring 2005; Hondagneu-Sotelo and Avila 1997; Lutz 2007). The case of Amaré Issayu points to the importance of ‘transnational fatherhood’ which may accompany the activation of intergenerational transnational and national support systems. In this study, it became apparent that the absent father, despite his physical distance, was actively included in organising the childcare, and that the activation of fatherhood and its border-crossing implementation are part of a complex interaction of the family support activities as a whole. Furthermore, the case study of Amaré Issayu shows the importance of including the generation of the grandparents (and possibly other family members) in further research on transnational family care.
Also of relevance for future transnational research on familial support are the indications occurring in this case of the burdens, ambivalences, and difficulties faced by the middle generation in regard to the financial support for family members in the country of origin, especially when provided or asked to be provided under conditions of poverty or in financially precarious life situations. Under these conditions, solidarity norms and their observance or even compliance may be burdensome, and can generate considerable pressure. This expectation may deteriorate the quality of life of the supporters due to additional financial burdens, limiting the satisfaction of their own needs or the needs of the family living in Germany. In particular, tensions may arise with respect to familial and generational distributive justice (Hollstein, Huber, and Schweppe 2009). In order not to overlook such burdensome, restrictive, or negative consequences, the present focus on migrants contributing to overcoming poverty in their countries of origin should be expanded by looking at the actors providing support. Migrant remittances are becoming increasingly relevant in international politics to combat poverty in the countries of origin and have been made the object of numerous private and public programmes in order to promote their development potential. Against this background, the proposed research perspective is of particular relevance (cf. Schweppe 2011).
THE SOLIDARY COMMUNITY OF THE ‘HOMELANDMEN’
With respect to the support system of ‘homelandmen,’ a parallel based on principles of solidarity becomes apparent. These principles are based on criteria other than those within the family. In the context of the support relationships among compatriots, it is not necessary to be closely acquainted or to know each other personally in order to receive or give support. The fact that compatriots are concerned seems to be sufficient in order to (naturally) provide support for people in the same country of destination, and for those who are in need of it to accept it. According to what has been outlined, possible explanations for this phenomenon are closely related to the similarities in country of origin and migration history, commonality in skin color and language, along with shared representations of a solidarity-based community. Consequently, compatriot support appears to be built on the basis of a shared biographical background along with the related experiences from which closeness and mutual trust develop.
In order to further explain the support system of ‘homelandmen,’ reference can be made to the discussions on transnational communities in the research on transnationalism. Certainly, despite a broad discussion on the concept of transnational community, this concept still remains unclear and has taken on a variety of meanings. In general, transnational communities develop on the basis of specific social, cultural, political, and/or economic interests and motivations, common regional and/or national origin, or common values or ideologies, and on the transnational behaviour of the people involved. Faist assumes that these communities, which are not based on kinship, do not require their members to live in two or more countries at the same time, but the decisive factor is “that communities without propinquity link through exchange, reciprocity, and solidarity to achieve a high degree of social cohesion, and a common repertoire of symbolic and cultural representations” (Faist, quoted in Sökefeld 2008: 214).
Following these considerations, Sökefeld (2008) assumes that diaspora can be described as a subtype of transnational communities. The diaspora differs from other transnational communities by the fact that its transnational relations, being its constituting features, are mainly of a cultural (i.e., symbolic) kind, and that these symbolic relationships are not necessarily based on transnational social relationships established through direct interactions. Accordingly, he understands diaspora as follows:
Diaspora can be defined then as a transnational imagined community that is based on an identity that is territorially related but not limited to the place in which the members of the diaspora live. ( . . . ) Significant ( . . . ) is the idea of a shared identity and a sentiment of solidarity that is implied in the imagination of community. That is, the members of the community take interest in the lives of those that are imagined as fellow members of the community elsewhere. Yet this interest and solidarity need not take the particular shape of a sentiment of home and origin that is projected on this elsewhere (Sökefeld 2008: 218).
In transferring these considerations to the case of Amaré Issayu, the support system of compatriots can be explained in more detail. According to Amaré Issayu's imagination, ‘homelandmen’ are members of a community whose binding element is the common country of origin, which the members did not leave, in most cases, as refugees. Connected with this community is the idea of solidarity among its members, for otherwise he would not turn to them in situations where he needs support. Because of his own migration path, Amaré Issayu meets the criteria to be granted access to this community and to become part of it. The imagined community proves real to the extent that his need for support is met. In the case of Amaré Issayu, the potential for solidarity of the community finds its expression in forms and processes of social support during the initial situation in the country of arrival. The idea of a solidarity-based community is the answer to the question of why Amaré Issayu does not need to know the individual compatriots personally. Ultimately, ‘homelandmen’ are depersonalised representatives of an (imagined) solidarity-based community. As individuals they are (only) important to the extent that they provide access to and enact the solidarity potential in the community.8 Apart from solidarity, trust becomes apparent as another element which characterises the direct relationships among its members in the context of providing and receiving social support.
As a result, the connection between transnational communities and social support, with respect to diasporic transnational communities, proves to be of relevance for future transnational support research. Until now social support processes within transnational communities have hardly been investigated systematically. In this context the concept of moral economy of the diaspora developed by Radtke and Schlichte (2004) may be useful.
Moral economies are based on an imagined community. With respect to the moral economy of people in exile, Radtke and Schlichte (2004) assume that these communities, similar to what we have argued, are formed on the basis of a shared language, an identical fate, and the experiences encountered in exile. Moral economies can be considered exchange systems whose central exchange partners are not necessarily individuals, as is the case in personal relationships. Instead, the individual is perceived as a member of a greater community, beyond the reciprocal relationships of kinship and family. If these exchange relationships are based on moral demands, which take on both a material and an immaterial character, consolidate, and become a complex structure, the resulting process can be thought of as a moral economy. Communities of this kind extending beyond territorial borders are described as ‘transnational moral economies.’ The moral economy in exile, according to Radtke and Schlichte (2004: 184), consists of “differentiated systems of giving and obligations, for instance support in finding work and accommodation, provision of clothes, accommodation and food during short-term transition periods,” which contribute mainly to “dealing with the uncertainty during the first phase of exile.”9 The authors assume that the moral economy is established through the exchange “of small services” and “few goods” because personal bonds are formed and reproduced during the extended period between giving and receiving in return. “Because giving, receiving and returning are not required to take place in direct succession, the time difference between meeting these obligations spans the relationships between those performing the exchange” (Radtke and Schlichte 2004: 184).10 Relationships between the exchanging parties form and consolidate over time especially because the support requires something in return which, however, must not be given immediately. Subtle forms of social control are employed to make sure that the obligation to give something in return is met. This informal system of sanctions would take effect due to the fear of loss of face by “allocation of honor and shame” (Radtke and Schlichte 2004: 184). This in turn implies “the ‘publicity’ of an imagined or real community” (Radtke and Schlichte 2004: 185).11
According to this model, social support within transnational diasporic communities could be described as exchange relationships expressed via the triad of giving, receiving, and returning (cf. Mauss 1989). In the case of Amaré Issayu, however, no statement can be made as to the extent of his obligation to return the received and accepted social support from members of the community, and whether he will be subjected to mechanisms of social control in case he gives nothing in return. Neither are there any indications of the assumed forming of relationships between the exchanging persons in the period of receiving support and the point of returning it. Our data rather point to a short-term relationship with the respective supporters, limited to the period of receiving the support. However, it might be possible that by receiving support Amaré Issayu enters into a commitment towards the community. That is, it would not be necessary to immediately give something in return to the persons who actually provided the support, but he would become a member of the community and enter into a commitment of solidarity towards this collective.
Finally it is important to retain that ‘homelandmen’ are the ones whom the newly arrived turn to as a first instance and they facilitate the initial phase in the country of destination, particularly when other sources of support, such as established social services, are not used. However, the support system of compatriots is inasmuch restricted as it depends on their presence and their actual encounters.
CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVE
Since both support systems, ‘homelandmen’ and family, can be related to concepts of solidarity, there is an affinity between them. This affinity becomes apparent through the importance of the reliability of support and the familiarity of the support partners. While within the support system of compatriots the relationship is built on an imagined solidarity-based community to which support functions are attributed due to common characteristics (skin color, language, upbringing in the country of origin, migration history), the reliability in familial support systems is based on norms of obligation originating from intergenerational moral concepts and religious values. A parallel exists in that both family transnational support and closeness to ‘homelandmen’ are based on biographic experiences made in the country of origin and both are explained by an early socialisation linked to the same location. And local support by compatriots in the country of arrival is transnational to the extent that this support system is based on experiences and knowledge acquired in both the country of origin and the country of destination. Consequently, investigating the relation between migration biographies and transnational social support proves to be insightful as it reveals the complex interaction between both. Following Apitzsch (2003), migration biographies reveal invisible but nevertheless objective structures of transnational migration spaces, and reflect the transnational support processes, which in turn are reflected in and simultaneously shaped by individual biographies.
NOTES
1. Translation from German by the authors.
2. The names of the persons discussed in this case have been modified to ensure their anonymity.
3. Due to the translation of the interviews, which were conducted in German, the literal transcription has partly been lost as have the interviewees’ dialects, grammatical mistakes, and slips of tongue.
4. At that time there were a number of armed conflicts in Ethiopia. In 1975 the so-called ‘Second Ogaden War’ started between Ethiopia and Somalia. It only ended in 1984. In addition, several resistance groups within the country started armed struggles against the central government. The ‘Tigray conflict’ lasted from 1975 until 1991, and the ‘Oromo conflict’ from 1976 to 1993 (http://www.sozialwiss.uni-hamburg.de/onTEAM/preview/Ipw/Akuf/archiv_afrika.htm, access date: June 2, 2011).
5. Using the example of nations, Benedict Anderson characterises imagined communities as communities whose members “will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them or even hear oft them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” (Anderson 2006: 6). In this regard he asserts that “in fact, all communities larger than primordial villages of face-to-face contact (and perhaps even these) are imagined. As a second characteristic of imagined communities he mentions that they are “conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship” (Anderson 2006: 7).
6. The fact that he qualifies the importance of money is also evident in the following statement: “I cannot save money but (.) if my mother would be ill or when she would die or if my sister will be concerned with something, what is the use of money for me then? I love my sister or my mother live.”
7. Amaré Issayu develops different practices to create his Ethiopian home in Germany. For instance, he meets up with other people from Ethiopia in order to hold special coffee ceremonies he has known in Ethiopia when he was an adolescent. By maintaining those ceremonies, the smells and aromas make him feel as if he were back in Ethiopia. Amaré Issayu feels very much at ease then. Also other “things from home” (for instance, specially prepared meals and traditional clothes) achieve this goal.
8. This corresponds to the concepts of generalised reciprocity and diffuse solidarity as it is used by Faist (2000a). “Generalized reciprocity means that the equivalence of exchange between actors is not exactly determined. This implies that the exchanging partners are not considered specific persons but rather as members of a bigger group such as a member of a village, a religious community or a nation. The concept of multiple reciprocity is helpful for further explanation. While specific reciprocity demands a bilateral equilibrium between clearly defined agents, in case of generalized reciprocity it is a balance within the group which is important” (Faist 2000a: 37f).
9. Translation from German by the authors.
10. Translation from German by the authors.
11. Translation from German by the authors.
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