Trouble at home: diasporic second homes as leisure space across generations

Abstract

Like migrants from various southern sending countries, many Moroccan post-war guest worker migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands invested part of their foreign earnings in building a house in Morocco. These houses were often earmarked for eventual retirement, but over the course of years of return visits became the familial vacation home in their place of origin. Their cyclical presence enabled ongoing communion with family in Morocco, while also often exacerbating economic inequalities among family members resulting from migration. As post-migrant generations of Moroccans from Europe are now purchasing homes in Morocco, their choices indicate how diasporic property ownership over progressive generations may tend more towards leisure-oriented second homes rather than the stereotypical image of migrant investment in place-attached 'hometown' houses.

Expanding transnational care networks: comparing caring for families with caring for homes

“…Wagner (2014) also noted the potential that family members entrusted with access to a house (having the key) may also be suspected of using these houses for illicit purposes when they were not occupied, or even occupying it totally as their own home without permission. Obeng-Odoom (2010) observed that caretakers were often family members who were deeply involved with the construction and maintenance of the house, and often occupied it without paying rent.…”

“…In contrast, migrants who rented their houses instead of filling them with these 'trustworthy' family members often faced problems, such as the failure of the tenants to keep the premises in a fair state. Wagner (2014) also noted the potential that family members entrusted with access to a house (having the key) may also be suspected of using these houses for illicit purposes when they were not occupied, or even occupying it totally as their own home without permission.…”

‘We’re not coming from Mars; we know how things work in Morocco!’ How diasporic Moroccan youth resists political socialisation in state-led homeland tours

“…The impact of these extensive summertime stays in Morocco on the migrants' children should not be underestimated, as return visits may be considered as a 'primary socialization' device into the origin-country traditions, rituals, values and norms (Ali and Holden 2006, 222). Moreover, while relatively few complete the ultimate 'myth of return' by moving to Morocco permanently, post-migrant generations are very much present in Morocco as seasonal visitors, spending their holidays with family and seeking leisure and pleasure in Morocco's touristic facilities (Wagner 2014). As a result, for most descendants of Moroccan migrants, Morocco is not merely an imaginary homeland; it is also a perceptible, embodied homeland.…”

‘Gotta Go Visit Family’: Reconsidering the Relationship Between Tourism and Transnationalism

“…Although some migrants from one country may have the financial security to visit family and then move on to an exclusive resort, or to a second home for a ‘proper holiday’ (e.g. Roberts, : 123; Wagner, : 75), others from the same country may be in the situation of having to remain lodged in family members' homes for the duration of the visit, be this due to familial obligation or financial restrictions (e.g. Schimmer & van Tubergen, ).…”

“…Despite this rich literature, there has been sufficient discussion neither of the multifaceted nature of many migrants' return visits nor of the implications of this for a more integrated conceptualisation of tourism and transnationalism (although see Williams & Hall, ; Wagner, ). Within transnationalism, there has also not been an in‐depth discussion of the bidirectionality of visiting – both to and from the host country – and its impact on the nature and complexity of transnational social relationships.…”