Week 5 - Alaina Cagalingan

In Transnational Migration and the Globalization of Grassroots Politics, one of the main points that author Michael Peter Smith argues is that one’s politics is continuously influenced by their connections to their home and homeland.   This is a very interesting because I, myself, see and experience this solitary predicament.  The term “reterritorialization” was familiar especially to my experiences even though I’ve only encountered the word upon reading.  Along with many transnational migrants and refugees, I identify myself as a displaced person of my country, with half of my identity taken away by those in power.  I try to stay connected with my home country by becoming part of an ethnic enclave, which is a way to re-create the feeling of “home” in a foreign country.  I understood a unique meaning of ‘community’ when coming to places like Chinatown, Japantown, Little Saigon, or Manilatown, which are made to maintain one’s social practice and memory of home and culture intact.  These constructs allowed for an immediate escape from despair and reality to many displaced people longing to return to their homeland.  And with these thoughts in mind, I sometimes question myself, would America ever be my home? 

Photo Reference:  https://thesnapguide.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/74928449-cezvpsaf-img_3841.jpg

Reference: Smith, Michael Peter. "Can You Imagine? Transnational Migration and the Globalization of Grassroots Politics." Social Text, No. 39 (Summer 1994), pp. 15-33