Living across borders: The everyday experiences of Moroccan and Brazilian transmigrants in Belgium

Abstract

Based on research amongst Brazilian and Moroccan temporary residents of the cities of Brussels and Antwerp (Belgium), this article engages with the changes in and current methodological approaches to migration studies. By demonstrating how the trajectories of many contemporary migrants are marked by ongoing mobility, it further complicates previous linear and unidirectional models of migration to move beyond a classical and potentially deterministic model of studying migrant trajectories. The authors illustrate how many contemporary migrants come and go, not always being sure how long they will stay in the different stopovers on their trajectories, when they will stop migrating or where they will eventually settle. Because of the temporality of their residence, many of these so-called ‘transmigrants’ are not only faced with the same problems and challenges as other migrants, arriving newly in another country and rebuilding social networks, but are additionally confronted with a number of risks that are related to their mobile lifestyle. Although globalization and the porosity of nation state borders facilitate transmigration, they result in juridical and practical complexities, reflected in transmigrants’ everyday struggles. The authors explore these struggles and the difficulties and opportunities transmigrants encounter when they turn to their (transnational) networks to ask for support. Transmigrants’ social life is not only oriented towards their country of residence, but consists of complex networks beyond boundaries. Through visits, telephone calls and the use of social media, many transmigrants create, sustain and (re)discover transnational as well as local social networks. While many address their transnational networks to partly alleviate their needs, the development of local networks still appears as indispensable.

The Internetization of International Migration

“…On the one hand, the Internet may support the decision to migrate through a number of channels, by encouraging the willingness to move, and lowering the economic, social, and psychological costs associated with migration (positive association). Before migration takes place, the Internet offers more information on the potential decision to migrate, including information about economic and social life in the destination country, which may potentially encourage people to move (Choo and Mokhtarian 2007;Vilhelmson and Thulin 2013;Withaeckx, Schrooten, and Geldof 2015;Dekker, Engbersen, and Faber 2016;Kotyrlo 2020). Furthermore, by providing information about the life of others, the Internet might shift material aspirations upwards (Clark and Senik 2010;Lohmann 2015;Thornton et al 2019), thereby increasing individuals' willingness to migrate.…”

“…These new, expanded networks, may also bring new destination countries into consideration for migrants, thereby opening up new migration streams. Once migrants have made it across a border, the Internet may provide a relatively cheap, accessible, and flexible form of transnational communication that helps them keep their contacts with those left behind-and thus reduce the psychological and emotional costs of migration (Dekker and Engbersen 2014;Withaeckx, Schrooten, and Geldof 2015). On the other hand, the spread of the Internet may reduce the importance of push factors driving migration, such as through increases in trade flows, job opportunities, and economic growth in sending countries (Czernich et al 2011;Akerman, Gaarder, and Mogstad 2015).…”

Migrants’ wellbeing and use of information and communication technologies.

“…illness, death) (Adugna, 2018;Baldassar, 2007;Baldassar, 2014;Wilding, 2006). This enhanced the sense of closeness between migrants, families, and extended social networks (Baldassar, 2007;Vancea & Olivera, 2013) and helped maintain social ties between geographically disparate community members (Withaeckx et al, 2015). Intergenerational aspects included connecting with grandchildren to practice the mother-tongue and build emotional bonds (Baldassar, 2016;King-O'riain, 2015).…”

“…Image-based ICTs could be painful reminders of the absence of loved ones and were sources of distress for some who could not engage in the physical tasks of care such as caressing a loved one or sharing a meal (Baldassar, 2014;Brown, 2016;Wilding, 2006). In times of crises, ICT-mediated communication was a source of timely updates that either relieved anxieties when migrants were able to provide emotional or material supports (Baldassar, 2014;Bravo, 2017;Díaz Andrade & Doolin, 2019;Gonzalez & Katz, 2016;Nedelcu & Wyss, 2016;Shoko, 2015;Withaeckx et al, 2015) or aggravated anxieties when support was constrained (Chib et al, 2014). Tensions between proxy caregivers and migrants required ongoing management via ICT to ensure the needs of proxy caregivers, which were often financial, and the needs of left-behind children were met while simultaneously managing the emotional distress of IHTP, 1(2), 139-160, 2021 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 delegating valued parenting/caregiving tasks to others (Chib et al, 2014;Francisco, 2015;Madianou, 2012).…”

Participant Observation in Migration Studies: An Overview and Some Emerging Issues

“…In our research, we met numerous people whose trajectories were very different from what they had expected when they left their country of residence. Many respondents' narratives show that their (on-going) (im)mobility is often an unintended process and a phase which might end, but could just as well start over depending on circumstances (Withaeckx et al 2015). For many non-EU immigrants, who initially settled in Southern-European countries, for example, further migration was prompted by the need to seek better opportunities and life circumstances by a subsequent move further north.…”