“Typical” Migrant Biographies from Sfântu Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy

Abstract

The analysis on youth migration was developed in the framework of “YOUMIG – Improving institutional capacities and fostering cooperation to tackle the impacts of transnational youth migration” project. The present paper offers a picture about the “typical” biographies of young migrants. In the municipality of Sfântu Gheorghe emigration is the most important migratory trend. Among emigrants one can identify short term migrants – this type is distinctive of Roma migrants, too; long term migrants, most of them aiming to earn a living through their labour migration; while a smaller group studies and works abroad at the same time. There are also return migrants but it is hard to estimate their proportions. During our research both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The present paper is based on interviews conducted with young migrants. The present study starts with a short summary of the theoretical approaches applied during the analysis, followed by the methodology and a detailed characterization of the interviewees. The chapter presenting the local context concentrates on the demographic and economic indicators of the place of the fieldwork, then a short analysis is provided about the push and pull factors of the town based on the interviews. In order to achieve a detailed analysis three biographies were selected. Firstly, the milestones of their lives will be compared, followed by the analysis of their identitites and of their feelings toward the sending and emigrant (diaspora) communities. Secondly, their migration types and narrative strategies will be identified. Finally, the conclusions will highlight the similarities and differences revealed in the selected biographies. Keywords: migration, youth, biographies, narratives