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Salvadoran Migrants in Australia: An Analysis of Transnational Families’ Capability to Care across Borders
Author(s) -
Merla Laura
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international migration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.681
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1468-2435
pISSN - 0020-7985
DOI - 10.1111/imig.12024
Subject(s) - conceptualization , refugee , kinship , obligation , sociology , elder care , focus (optics) , set (abstract data type) , political science , economic growth , gender studies , gerontology , medicine , artificial intelligence , computer science , anthropology , law , economics , programming language , physics , optics
Abstract In this paper, I focus on the transnational care practices of Salvadoran refugees living in Perth (Western Australia) and who care for their ageing parents who have remained in their home country. The analysis is based on a conceptualization of transnational care as a set of capabilities that include, but are not limited to, mobility, social relations, time allocation, education and knowledge, paid work and communication (Merla and Baldassar, 2011). I focus in particular on the impact of Salvadoran refugees’ difficult access to, and use of, these capabilities on their capacity to fulfil their culturally defined sense of obligation to care for their ageing parents. Results show that extended transnational kinship networks play a major role in helping migrants overcome obstacles to transnational caregiving.