Transnational families and the circulation of care: a Romanian–German case study

Abstract

Abstract:This article contributes to our understanding of transnational family relationships and the circulation of care. We are interested in understanding how large-scale emigration affects the support and care of older people in the origin country. Using in-depth interviews and participant observation, we examine the significance of transnational family support for older people, and the ways in which migrant children and other kin care for elderly relatives from afar. Our case study is of the Transylvanian Saxons, a German-speaking minority in Romania, who experienced mass-exodus to Germany following the end of socialism in 1990.The lapse of time since the exodus allows us to examine how transnational family practices evolve, and what the challenges are to maintaining family-hood over time and distance.Contrary to expectations, we find that material family support from Germany to Romania is not significant and has declined. Care, by contrast, remains an important part of what most transnational families provide, although practices of 'caring about' are more prevalent than hands-on 'caring for'. Counter to optimistic accounts of transnational family care in the literature, we argue that the difficulties and challenges for older people of being cared for by distant family members are fundamental, and strong transnational family ties are not an inevitable outcome of migration.

Remote Technologies and Filial Obligations at a Distance: New Opportunities and Ethical Challenges

“…Economic migrants, especially those in middle-class transnational families, may have less legal concerns related to their ability to visit the home country and to explore costly technical tools that gives them greater options to enable their filial obligations (Moré 2022 ; Tu 2023 ). Furthermore, the number of siblings is another component that may affect the coordination of care activities and exchange of information to navigate healthcare and institutional resources, where research documented “local siblings” being granted respite from filial responsibilities when migrant children returns to visit (Kalavar et al 2020 ; Kilkey and Merla 2014 ; Schroeder-Butterfill and Schonheinz 2019 ). On a similar note, the gendered aspect within caregiving has been widely cited and remains relevant in transnational caregiving, where emotional and hands-on components of care are viewed to be less challenging and are associated with daughters more than sons (De Silva 2018 ; Hequembourg and Brallier 2005 ; Russell 2007 ).…”

Transnational Families, Intimate Relations, Generations

“…Rather revealing of wider social organisation is the fact that counter to such positive accounts of transnational family care in the international literature, there are compelling research contributions that highlight the challenges and difficulties encountered as fundamentally linked to transnational care and that strong transnational family ties are not necessarily the only or an inevitable outcome of transnational migration (e.g. Schröder-Butterfill & Newman, 2019;Schröder-Butterfill & Fithry, 2014).…”

First-generation circular migrants involved in the upbringing of their grandchildren: the case of Turkish immigrants in Germany

“…In this ‘transnational era’, it has commonly been held that caring for grandchildren does not necessarily require geographical proximity (Schroeder-Butterfill and Schonheinz, 2019). Indeed, a growing number of studies argue that information and communication technologies (ICTs) enable ‘caring at distance’, which liberates care practices from geographical boundaries.…”