Transnational Parenting and the Emergence of ‘Diaspora Orphans’ in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This article explores the emergence of 'diaspora orphans' over the course of Zimbabwe's crisis. The debates over this phenomenon reflect a range of real emotional and practical problems encountered by children and youth with parents abroad. But they also highlight the ambiguity of moral judgments of emigration and émigrés, and the crisis of expectation that assumptions of diaspora wealth have fostered within families and among those remaining behind. The negative stereotyping of 'diaspora orphans' reflects the moral discourse circulating within families, schools and society more broadly, which is revealing for the light it sheds on unfolding debates over changing parenting, gender, and extended family obligations as these have been challenged by crisis and mass exodus. The article furthers understanding of transnational parenting, particularly the perspectives of those who fulfil substitute parental caring roles for children left behind, and of the moral dimensions of debates over the role of money and material goods in intimate relationships of care for children. It adds a new strand to debates over African youths by focusing not on the problems created through entrap-* This research was funded through esrc grant number 000 22 3795. transnational parenting in zimbabwe 115 African Diaspora 7 (2014) 114-138 ment by poverty, but on the emotional consequences of parents' spatial mobility in middle class families where material resources may be ample. The article is based on interviews with adults looking after children and youths left behind (maids, siblings, grandparents and single parents), and the reflections of teachers and 'diaspora orphans' themselves. Keywords diaspora orphans -transnational families -transnational parenting -left-behind children RésuméCet article explore l' émergence des orphelins de la diaspora au cours de la crise qu' a traversée le Zimbabwe. Les débats qui entourent ce phénomène sont le reflet d' une gamme de problèmes émotionnels et pratiques bien réels qu' ont pu connaître les enfants et les jeunes dont les parents sont en exil. Mais ils éclairent également l' ambiguïté qui entoure les jugements moraux portés sur l' immigration et des immigrés, et les espoirs -souvent déçus -suscités dans les familles et parmi ceux qui restent par la richesse que l' on attribue à la diaspora. Les stéréotypes négatifs autour des « orphelins de la diaspora» sont le reflet des discours moralisateurs en vigueur au sein des familles, des écoles et plus largement de la société et éclairent les débats actuels sur l' évolution des modèles de parentalité, de genre, des obligations familiales qui ont été remis en cause par la crise économique et l' émigration de masse. Cet article expose les enjeux de la parentalité transnationale, en particulier les perspectives de ceux qui remplissent le rôle de substitut parental auprès des enfants restés au pays, et les dimensions morales des débats autour du rôle de l' argent et des biens matériels dans les relations intimes de l' éducation des enfants. Il ajoute un...

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