Returning Through Remittances: Immigrant Connections that Propel The Forces of Globalization
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Authors
Vyas, Sakhi
Issue Date
2008
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
As a second generation Indian in America, I have long been exposed to stories
of the immigrant experience, though I was never able to fully immerse myself in the
nuances of immigration until I heard narratives from various members of two local
diaspora communities. Using those personal accounts as well as published studies on
diaspora, I began to find common threads in the stories of the immigrant experience:
identity transformation, issues of nationality, and the relationship with the home
country among others. This piqued my interest and led me to further study diaspora
and immigration issues relative to the big picture of globalization.
In looking at the movement of people, I became fascinated with immigration
trends and the counter-currents that flow in opposite directions. Remittances are one
such example of counter-cyclical movement; immigrants tend to move to certain
regions and their remittances move in the opposite direction. Remittances and other
returns are tangible representations of intangible connections such as kinship or
identity, which keep the immigrants connected to the home country.
I utilize the connection of remittances between the immigrant and the home
country to propose that the individual immigrant is an active agent in driving the
forces of globalization. The interviews and subsequent analyses as well as other
secondary research aim to elucidate the immigrant's role in globalization.
I began by asking simple questions and uncovering complex ideas. Who are
the immigrants that settle abroad? What is their purpose? In sending home goods and
money, what does the immigrant say to his/her own national and personal loyalties?How does this fit into the scale of globalization? Using this core of ideas, this study will outline the means by which immigrants actively pilot the forces of globalization
through remittances.
Immigrants move out of their home country and into a host country; this
simple act of settlement abroad is the first step in globalization. Thereafter,
immigrants become conscious of an emotional attachment to the country of origin.
This emotional aspect of nationality and identity trigger a desire to maintain
connections with the home country. Tangible remittances or other substantive returns
kindle the global economy as the simultaneous awareness of identity shifts the
immigrant paradigm towards transnationalism. These two forces, propelled by
emotional connections, catalyze globalization; I argue, therefore, that immigrants are
the active agents of globalization.
Description
iii, 40 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo, Mich. : Kalamazoo College.
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.