Week 3 - Anne Bernice Lacerna

It was once expected that immigrants in a new nation would sever all ties with their homeland. Now, there is a transition from the term "immigrant" to "transmigrant." Nina Glick Schiller in her article, "From Immigrant to Transmigrant: Theorizing Transnational Migrant" examines the relationship of migrants to their new country and homeland and its causes and implications on topics such as society, politics, and individual identity. Transmigration indicates that one has maintained affiliations with their homeland while establishing roots in their homeland, thus ultimately linking together the two nations together. A salient requirement to becoming a citizen in a new country is to pledge allegiance to said country. I find this concept ironic in cases of discrimination and oppression of migrants in their host (typically Western) societies. Such issues are especially tied to economics, as money is a usual factor to reasons for migration, transnational relations, etc. Growing up I have always witnessed my parents preparing "balikbayan" boxes and sending them to extended family back in the Philippines. Though I was born in the Philippines, I grew up in the United States and have always considered myself Filipina-American. I, and my family, is just but one example that further illustrates Schiller's idea of why transmigrants are becoming more and more apparent. I know culture plays a role in why my family and I would be considered transmigrant. There is a sense of duty there that pushes us to give back to our families. However, from what I have heard, my parents lived comfortably in the Philippines -- they faced some adversaries but were not severely impoverished. This makes me wonder: how does one's past in their homeland affect the strength of their ties to said homeland? Despite all the different scenarios and situations migrants may be in, connection to their homelands still. The technology of today allows relationships, whether familial, economic, and even educational, to flourish within more than one country. 

    Sources:

Schiller et. al. (1995). From Immigrant to Transmigrant: Theorizing Transnational Migration. Anthropological Quarterly, 68(1), 48-63.