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Return visits of the Albanian immigrants and their children

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posted on 2023-06-08, 10:33 authored by Zana Vathi
Research on the links of the second generation to the homeland and return visits in particular, is largely lacking, while the case of the Albanian second generation is almost completely unexplored. The paper draws from 140 interviews with Albanian migrants (parents), teenagers and key informants, and 5 focus groups with teenagers and parents, in London, Thessaloniki and Florence and aims to bring a multi-sited perspective on the attitude towards and experiences of return visits. Findings show that there are significant inter- and intra-generational differences in the attitude towards and experiences of return visits. These differences appear as strongly related to differences in the ethnic identification and the social integration of immigrants and their children in the receiving country. Other factors, such as cultural changes taking place in the immigrant families and the homeland, particularly in terms of collective culture and the role of the extended family, appear as important related factors. Overall, the data show the significant importance of return visits in affecting the establishment and continuity or disruption of ties and in this way, in conditioning the exchange that rests on the basis of transnational social fields. This is shown in role of return visits having an impact on these fields intensity and content through their role in affecting migrants and their descendants identities, their perception of homeland and the understanding of social ties and social institutions, in relation to those left behind.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Presentation Type

  • paper

Event name

Links to the Diasporic Homeland

Event location

University of Sussex

Event type

conference

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-21

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