Abstract
Children’s mobility is analysed in this article as an important foundation of the
migration tradition that has been an integral aspect of most Caribbean societies. I show that, because of their position as dependents who are not yet fully socialised and who are subject to adult authority, children move, and are moved, relatively easily between varying social domains and households in different locations. This migration has created a Caribbean ‘care chain’ that has played an important role in the generating and reinforcing of local, regional and transnational networks of interpersonal relations. This leads to the suggestion that young adults’ migration for domestic work*which often builds on informal inter-personal social relations and offers the only means of migration for the many women who do not have access to more attractive forms of wage-labour
migration*can be viewed as an extension and transformation of child migration. The analysis is based on fieldwork with people from the Leeward Island of Nevis, and in particular on life-story interviews with those who, as children and young adults, have been engaged in physical mobility.
migration tradition that has been an integral aspect of most Caribbean societies. I show that, because of their position as dependents who are not yet fully socialised and who are subject to adult authority, children move, and are moved, relatively easily between varying social domains and households in different locations. This migration has created a Caribbean ‘care chain’ that has played an important role in the generating and reinforcing of local, regional and transnational networks of interpersonal relations. This leads to the suggestion that young adults’ migration for domestic work*which often builds on informal inter-personal social relations and offers the only means of migration for the many women who do not have access to more attractive forms of wage-labour
migration*can be viewed as an extension and transformation of child migration. The analysis is based on fieldwork with people from the Leeward Island of Nevis, and in particular on life-story interviews with those who, as children and young adults, have been engaged in physical mobility.
| Translated title of the contribution | Omsorgskæden, børns mobilitet og den caribiske migrationstradition |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Journal | Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Pages (from-to) | 933-952 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| ISSN | 1369-183X |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2012 |