Migrant Mother Experiences: Understanding Transnational Motherhood

International Migration

The International Encyclopaedia of Human Geography (2009) defines International Migration as the movement of people across international borders for the purpose of settling. Migrants move their primary residence from one country to another. Many large transnational processes have the potential to contribute to the growth out of international migration. Pros of migration include raising families and individuals out of poverty, and contributions to female labor-force participation thereby leading to women's empowerment and changes in gender ties (Srensen and Vammen, 2014).

Bryceson and Vuerela (2002) were the first to have transnational families as the central focus of research. Studies in their compilation show that transnational families have a few national homes, identities, and loyalties to deal with. Transnational families are not biological groups per se but, like other families, social constructs or 'imagined communities.' And like most families, transnational families must mediate disparity between their members including gaps in access to mobility (Toensmeier, 2009). Leading a transnational life means that cross-border exchanges and connections form an ongoing and sustained part of the reality and activities of migrants. These exchanges can take the form of ideas, values, and practices and political and economic mobilization (Hochschild, 2004). Transnationalism builds a greater link across borders between people, communities, and societies, which results in changes in the social, cultural, economic, and political landscapes of the origins and destinations of societies (Srensen and Vammen, 2014).

Each migrant may be an agent and a subject of transnationalism and may participate in transnational activities and practices. Second and third generations, often more than their originally emigrated parents and grandparents, will participate in a transnational activity in some, but not all cases. Transnationalism can be manifested through formal or informal migrant networks and diasporas thus promoting transnational connections (International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2010).

Continuity across frontiers is usually seen as conducive for human development in transnational family research and is also underpinned by the creation of transnational bodies that can foster economic growth in countries of origin (Oso and Ribas-Mateos, 2013). Always, we see case studies emphasizing the relational impacts on individual family members, eventually leading to a deterioration in the whole local community's social fabric. These results usually point to negative results in terms of migration growth (UNICEF 2007). The inconsistencies between ideal notions of family philosophy as much as possible and actual interactions of different but workable families pose the question of whether family disruptions arise because of migration or as a natural consequence. Migration of women is often the result of male abandonment of family responsibilities which leaves women responsible for both emotional and financial needs (Ninna Nyberg Sorensen, 2007). Thus, changes occur in a family because of migration.

Migrant Mother (essay) 

Migrant mother is 'here and there' at the same time. In Hondagneu-Sotelo and Avila's ground-breaking essay (1997) on 'transnational mothering' migrant women attempt to relay intimacy while reconstructing motherhood not only to cover breadwinning but also to help them from afar. Families are not homogeneous units but instead, the members experience families in different ways. Migrant mothers do not give up on migration for their children. Rather, they not only rebuild mothering by caring from afar but often also make up for their physical absence and make a transnational version of what Sharon Hays (1996) calls 'intensive mothering'. In this way, migrant mothers feel responsible for their children's emotional well-being after migration. One of the key aspects of maintaining transnational families is remittances. Mothers maintain close relationships across borders by sending payments at least once a month to their families (Parreas, 2005). This across-the-board caring method, or 'long-distance mothering,' can be viewed as intense emotional work, involving 'multiple burdens and sacrifices,' spending 'quality time' during short home visits, and repeating 'other effect and presence' (Sobritchea, 2007).

Firstly, the mother's type of job normally dictates her ability to communicate with her children. For example, nurses can call their children several times a week, but domestic workers can typically only call them once a week - sometimes on their day off. Therefore, housekeepers and their children normally have a fixed telephone appointment every week. With technological advancements, more families can now connect through mobile phones and regularly contact each other.

Secondly, transnational communication quality, particularly to low-level migrant workers, is also determined by the country of destination. In the Gulf zone, for example, domestic workers are earning considerably less than their counterparts in attractive destinations such as Canada, Italy, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Migrant domestic workers are earning more in this latter set of destinations and therefore have more resources to interact frequently with their children. Migrant domestic workers are often excluded from a regular day off in many countries or are limited to one day off in one month.

Life Without a Mother (essay) 

For migrants with families in rural areas without the right facilities and infrastructure, transnational connectivity and achieving intimacy is a greater challenge. This challenge demonstrates that transnational families do not live in a vacuum; social and regional differences form the level of intimacy in transnational family life. Several studies have shown that transnational family life is defined by cross-border intimacy. Daily contact either by telephone, sending, emails, voice recordings, SMS, pictures, or visiting is a component of everyday life in multinational families (Asis et al. 2004; Levitt 2). The flow of transnational contact is also monitored in domestic working conditions. Often migrant mothers cannot regularly interact with their families at home due to the absence of a job norm in domestic work (Hondagneu-Sotelo, 2001).

Transnational families would certainly profit from technological progress. However, transnational connectivity does not automatically ensure a seamless flow. The migrant mother's social position regulates families' access to various forms of transnational communication, since some have more restricted options, due to their working conditions or because of fewer material resources. The level of growth in the residency region also influences the efficiency of cross-border contact (Parreas, 2005). Children cannot turn to mothers for emotional comfort and help without access to transnational communication, which in turn informs us that transnational communication is a mechanism by means of which gender agreements are kept in the transnational migrant women's families. Technological progress has allowed mothers of migrants to feed their children from afar.

The modern nuclear family is a kind of family with a bread-winning dad and mother. Mothers plan and budget homes, but often succeed in deferring important family decisions to their fathers. There can be work for women, but not professions. While the participation of women in the labor market has not diminished childcare and other domestic responsibility. As family sociologist Belen Medina points out, 'Women still hold double standards because of the constraint of household duty' (Medina 2001). Economic contributions from migrant women do not necessarily cause the reconfiguration of the division of labor by gender in the family. Other women normally have jobs left by migrant mothers in working-class households. Fathers generally rely on paid domestic help in middle-class houses.

Conclusion

International migration is a complex phenomenon that involves the movement of people across international borders for the purpose of settling. Transnational families are not biological groups but rather social constructs that mediate disparities between their members, including gaps in access to mobility. Migration can result in changes in social, cultural, economic, and political landscapes in the countries of origin and destination. Migrant mothers often attempt to maintain intimacy while reconstructing motherhood from afar, and remittances play a crucial role in maintaining close relationships across borders. Transnational family life is defined by cross-border intimacy, but social and regional differences can affect the level of intimacy in transnational family life. It is important to recognize the positive impacts of migration, such as raising families and individuals out of poverty, while also addressing the negative impacts on individual family members and local communities.