Social remittances- the transfer of ideas, practices, and codes of behaviors- are a well-documented subject in migrant transnationalism literature and transnational family studies. However, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak has generated unprecedented regulations around the world which require widening the conceptual basis of social remittances in a state of emergency. As the pandemic progresses, most countries require civilians to follow a number of norms deemed as the “new normality,” while other countries continue to operate under their “old normality,” with minor or no restrictions. As national pandemic policy responses vary across countries, transnational families live under different regimes of “normality.” In these settings, the study of transnational families offers a valuable opportunity to examine a special type of social remittances practiced during global crises, and analyze whether the exchange of rules, practices, and ideas across national borders has any impact on re-shaping and renegotiating pandemic-coping “new normality” practices for both migrants and their families. The paper is based on 13 in-depth interviews conducted with representatives from Armenian transnational families with migrant members in Russia, the Czech Republic, or Belarus. These countries provide a backdrop for an examination of social remittances among transnational families that we term “pandemic transnationalism.” The study shows that the circulation of safety rules and “good practices” actively shapes the everyday behavior of migrants and their families, their level of perceived danger towards the coronavirus, and their practical knowledge of safety measures. The latter are often harnessed in informal collective settings despite being in conflict with the obligations and regulations of their home society.
This article advances understandings of collective remittances practices by elaborating on the case of the Armenian diaspora in the Netherlands. It argues that the collection, management, and distribution of collective remittances are crucial aspects of how diasporic immigrant groups function. Hence, collective remittances represent a lens through which to analyze a diaspora's internal life, gender differences and tensions, relations with the origin state or homeland, and connections to other relevant institutions. Furthermore, the article brings three new insights to diaspora studies. First, it demonstrates how practices connected to the collection and sending of collective remittances reflect the internal dynamics of diasporic migrations and diaspora-homeland relations. Second, the article unpacks the concept of collective remittances itself, classifying it into three categories: collective remittances initiated from above, with a state-driven character; collective remittances organized by transnational non-state institutions, such as religious institutions and pan-diasporic organizations; and collective remittances initiated from below, organized by migrants and local networks of diaspora members. Third, this article highlights women's roles in organizing alternative forms of collective remittances, from external to official channels. The qualitative examination of collective remittances presented here supplies a new vision of collective remittances in which informal and hidden aspects, gender roles, forms of reciprocation, and creation and circulation of trust are highlighted.
Ամերիկահայ անգլիագիր Քերոլ Էդգարյանն իր գրչակիցների հետևողականությամբ ամերիկահայության առջև ծառացած բազում դժվարությունները, հոգեբանական խնդիրները հաղթահարելու, ինքնությունը պահպանելու նպատակով դիմել է սերնդեսերունդ փոխանցված ավանդույթների, սովորույթների, կենսափորձի, վարքու-բարքի, հավատալիքների, ազգը շարունակաբար վերածնող, վերաիմաստավորող, վերականգնող էթնիկ հիշողությանը: American-Armenian English-speaking writer Carol Edgaryan, following the example of her fellow writers, overcoming many difficulties and psychological problems of American Armenians, in order to preserve national identity, turned from generation to generation to traditions, customs, life experience, customs, ethnic memory, which continuously reviving and restoring the nation․ Американо-армянская англоязычная писательница Кэрол Эдгарян, по примеру своих коллег-писателей, преодолевая многие трудности и психологические проблемы американских армян, с целью сохранения национальной идентичности, обращалась из поколения в поколение к традициям, передающимся обычаям, жизненному опыту, нравам, этнической памяти, которая непрерывно возрождала и восстанавливала нацию․
Key words: American-English writers, historical memory, preservation of the Armenian nation, Armenian history, Armenian people, indestructible spirit The novel “Summer Without Dawn” by Hakop Khachikyan and Jean-Yves Soucy is a unique voluminous work with historiographical facts and political comments, which impartially covers the passage of time, Armenian social and political relations, the struggle for the existence of the Armenian people in the the 20th century, Armenian-Turkish relations at the end of the 19th-early 20th century, the First World War, the anti-Armenian policy of the Ottoman Empire and the allied states, the effort of the Turkish government to falsify Armenian history, the desire to dominate Armenia. From the chronological point of view, the novel covers a long period of action, from the massacres committed by Abdul-Hamid to the epic denouement, which unfolds in the gradual presentation of various episodes. H. Khachikyan and J.-Y. Soucy strive to preserve a single perception of the material, besides; he manages to give a logical sequence of actions. The writers pay much attention to the historical data and elements of political interpretation. The writers were the first in English-language American literature to put the national-liberation struggle at the basis of preserving national identity. When writing the novel, H. Khachikyan and J.-Y. Soucy turned to historical memory, which preserves the national consciousness and self-consciousness of the people, considering it as a living present, the spiritual potential of the people and continuity that stabilizes the ethnicity. Turning to the Armenia’s National Memory, the author pointed out Armenian history’s most important historic events, attempts and fights in resisting life's difficulties, heroic episodes, national spirit and dignity. In the novel, we studied the problems that the American-Armenian English-speaking writer faced with: unceasing efforts to preserve the national identity and the right to life for the Armenians of the whole world, the national liberation struggle, and heroic efforts of the native people. In naturalistic images H. Khachikyan and J.-Y. Soucy skillfully represented the deportation and massacre of Armenians to foreign readers. In order to complete the pro-Armenian policy planned by the Turkish government, he, in addition to depicting the physical destruction, masterfully described the spiritual destruction of the Armenians.
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