Creating a “New Home” Away from Home

Mapping the ‘home’: A literature review on Filipino migration and diaspora

“…The study of Hosoda & Watanabe (2014), found that domestic labourers working in Dubai and Doha decided to have religious conversions, in which workers converted to a different religion as a way to facilitate interaction, foster intimate relationships, and initiate community integration. The conversion from Roman Catholicism to Islam or Pentecostalism was deemed by domestic workers as a significant step in improving their work-life situations in the host countries and in countering isolation, discrimination, and marginalisation.…”

“…Hence, it seemed to be a new focus for migration and diaspora studies. Realistically, some of these academic writings were centred on Filipino migrant workers: the meaning and concept of Balikbayan (Blanc, 1996); a background of Filipino diaspora (E. S. Juan, 2011); migrant workers' construction of imagine global community (Parreñas, 2001); the 'care crisis' among Filipino migrant mothers (Parreñas, 2002); migratory narratives of Filipino migrant workers in the United States and the dichotomy of migration (Francisco, 2009); background on the beginning of scholarly discourses on Filipino diaspora (Aguilar, 2015); the labour migration narratives of housemaids in Hong Kong, their political activism and the various challenges arising while performing work duties (Constable & Pai, 2009); Filipino migrant workers' political activism (Rother, 2009); background of Philippine migration and diasporic philanthropy (Garchitorena, 2007); global capitalism and the challenges of Filipino diaspora (Juan, 2011); the national government's effort in promoting labour migration to its citizens and the construction of migration as a concept in the Philippine society (Lusis, 2007); the cosmopolitanism and reintegration of returning migrant workers (Soco, 2015); the reassimilation of elderly Filipino immigrants to cultural communities (Tiamzon, 2013); the intersection of migration, masculinities, and familial responsibilities among Filipino seafarers (McKay, 2015); the identity negotiation of Filipino migrants in Japan (Tigno, 2008); the selfempowerment of migrant Filipino workers in Israel through a migrant magazine (Kama, 2008); migrant Filipinos' socialisation, belongingness and cultural identity through religious affiliation in the Middle East (Johnson et al, 2010); Filipina migrant workers' religious practices and diasporic journeys in Israel (Liebelt, 2014); private and public spaces (employer's house/balconies and churches) in the host countries as places of forging work-based alliances and familial relationships (Pande, 2014); religious conversions of migrant workers in the Middle East as means of social interaction, affection ties and community integration (Hosoda & Watanabe, 2014); the susceptibility of women workers in Lebanon to different types of abuses and their resistance (Pande, 2014); the different facets of migratory challenges among migrants and migrant workers in the Gulf …”