Helena Patzer

Paper for “Transnational Identities, Cities Unbound, Migrations Redefined.

Anthropology of Migration and Urban Space-Related Identities in the Age of Globalization” (draft)

Helena Patzer

PhD candidate

Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology,

Warsaw University

Transnational Connections and the Emergence of the Transnational Family

In this paper I would like to explore the phenomenon of the emergence of the ‘transnational family’ as it is discussed in recent anthropological literature on transnational migration (Basch et al. 1994; Salazar Parreñas 2001). First of all, I want to ask the question what the transnational family is and how it is new in comparison with earlier migrants’ experiences. I will also analyze issues connected with this phenomenon, such as maintaining transnational connections by the second generation, and ‘motherhood in absentia’.

The examples I use are taken from the Filipino community in Denmark in which I conducted six-months-long research (December 2003 – June 2004) for my MA thesis (Patzer 2006). What is more, examples from the lives of Filipino immigrants in the United States are provided as comparative material.

Migration from the Philippines is nowadays one of the biggest migration streams in the world, and so analyzing it can prove to be important in developing new approaches towards migration. It is estimated that there are as many as 8 million Filipinos abroad: “Of the 8.08 million overseas Filipinos, roughly 3.60 million are overseas Filipino workers, 3.19 million are permanent residents, and 1.30 million are classified as irregular” (Handbook for Filipinos Overseas 2005:9). In the year 2004 the remittances they sent amounted up to eight and a half billion dollars (Handbook for Filipinos Overseas 2005:10).

As it has been argued, Filipino immigrants are becoming transnational in various ways – they not only help the economy in the home country flourish, but they also maintain close relationships with those left behind and keep a double identification with two countries (Basch et al. 1994; Espiritu 2003). This makes them a very good group for analyzing the transnational character of family ties.

With the growing numbers of mobile people who are willing to abandon their country in search of work, and with the availability of new communication technologies and cheap flights, the family undergoes very substantial changes. One of the effects of this heightened mobility is the shift from a nuclear family living in one household to a family called ‘transnational’, with members living apart, often on different continents.

Such reconfigurations of the family have been noticed by some researchers even before the notion of ‘transnationalism’ began to be widely known. One such example is the work of Elinor Kelly, who in 1990 wrote about Indian families from Gujarat in the county of Lancashire, using the term ‘transcontinental families’ (Kelly 1990). What she observed was that: “The connections between kin in different countries appeared to be well able to withstand long periods of absence. They were closely observed and checked by, for instance, grandparents who did not give up their residential status in India, but flew to join their sons and daughters on extended visits” (Kelly 1990:251).

The formation of the transnational family has been analyzed by, among other scholars, Salazar Parreñas. She defines it as “[a family] whose core members are located in at least two nation-states” (Salazar Parreñas 2001:80), and underlines the maintenance of ties in such families. Based on her research among Filipina domestic workers in Rome and Los Angeles, she distinguishes three types of transnational households: “one parent abroad”, “two parents abroad”, and “adult children abroad” (Salazar Parreñas 2001:83). She describes the paradox of leading transnational lives – the greater economic opportunities and the upward mobility on the one hand, and the emotional strain of the parents and children on the other (Salazar Parreñas 2001:149).

As it has been described by Constable, aspects of transnationalism can be traced also in the cases of mixed marriages, when the immigrant partner maintains the relationship with the family in his or her home country (Constable 2003:216).

What is new in the restructuring of the migrant families is the fact that, especially in the Filipino migration, it is the women who prevail among the immigrants (Salazar Parreñas 2001; Levitt and Glick Schiller 2003). In the case of the Filipinos in Denmark, the official statistics speak of 3511 women and only 852 men, giving the total number of 5092 immigrants (Danish Statistical Yearbook 2005). This trend is observable not only in Denmark, but also in other places where Filipino migrants are present, as “the Philippines is the world's largest exporter of female migrants, sending about 3,000 workers a day abroad, to fill jobs ranging from domestic helper to nurse to teacher” (Internet Source 1). This leads to challenging the traditional gender roles in the household, and creates a phenomenon that might be called ‘motherhood in absentia’. The everyday care provided by the mother is changed into long-distance contact (that is writing e-mails, writing text messages, sending remittances and gifts) and rare visits.

However different the family relations become, they are nevertheless incorporated into the idea of the family. Pessar and Mahler argue that this happens through “enacting and negotiating aspects of gender relations across space” (in Levitt and Glick Schiller 2003:13). Those who migrate are often given as examples to others. In the Philippine case, the migrants are often praised for their sacrifices, as the concept of sacrifice enjoys a privileged position among Filipino values (Lamvik 2002). Lamvik writes about the connection between sacrifice, migration, and family life: “They are willing to live a professional life – which has as its overall aim to improve the well being of the family – away from the family. In other words, they sacrifice themselves, in the name of their families. Despite a strong family orientation…” (Lamvik 2002:24). The immigrants are also called ‘bagong bayani’, which means ‘new heroes’ (Basch et al. 1994:260; Internet Source 1). This happens both in the context of migrating parents and of migrating children, who are then said to be paying off the ‘debt of gratitude’ (‘utang na loob’, see: Hollnsteiner, in Cannell 1999:29).

During my fieldwork in Copenhagen I have observed family ties which were transnational in character. These were, however, not the most striking examples of households split between two countries, as the Filipinos rather tend to settle in Denmark for good and so they bring their immediate families there. However, I will single out a few examples of maintaining long-distance family ties between the two countries.

As it has been argued by Levitt and Glick Schiller, one of the elements of transnational family life is the practice of maintaining ties with the home country by the members of the second generation (2003:13). Such connections are often not long-term and not characteristic of all immigrant children, however even these “periodic, selective transnational activities” should not be overlooked, because they have an impact on the migrant experience (Levitt and Glick Schiller 2003:15).

I have come across such practices in my research in Denmark. The ties with the Philippines have been strengthened in the case of one young second generation Filipino through marriage with a local girl. At the time of my fieldwork, they have been living separately for about 2 years, due to the difficulties in issuing a permanent residence permit for the wife. Another example of this urge to remain in touch with the parents’ homeland is visiting the Philippines to get first-hand knowledge of the country, to experience life as it is lived there. One of my interviewees, born and raised in Denmark, went to live with his Filipino relatives for half a year and even tried to establish his own business there. He had a Danish girlfriend, but planned to take her and her whole family to the Philippines for the wedding, and then cross the country on a motorcycle with her.

Another example of transnational family ties is the practice of sending remittances to the families left in the Philippines. The immigrants send money, as well as gifts, to their elderly parents, their siblings, nieces, nephews, and also other members of the family. The money earned in Denmark often helps in educating younger members of the family, and is also used to build new family houses or renovate the old ones. This is a source of pride for the immigrants, and not only up-grades the status of the immigrant, but also makes him or her feel important for the family.

I argue that the renegotiation of the migrants’ family ties is one of the central issues which should be taken up in anthropological research on migration. As it has been stated by Levitt and Glick Schiller, using the framework of transnationalism “challenges our understanding of basic social institutions such as the family”, and so it enables researchers to formulate a new concept of society (2003:3). Looking at migration through the lens of transnationalism makes the researcher more aware of the situation in the home country of the immigrants, and does not allow him or her to stay blind to the strategies used by immigrant families. The term ‘transnational family’ can be very useful for analyzing migration, stressing those aspects of the migrant experience which until recently were left unnoticed or which were said to be unimportant.

Bibliography:

Basch, Linda, Nina Glick Schiller, and Cristina Szanton Blanc (1994):Nations Unbound: Transnational Projects, Postcolonial Predicaments and Deterritorialized Nation-States. New York: Gordon and Breach Publishers.

Cannell, Fenella (1999):Power and Intimacy in the Christian Philippines. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Constable, Nicole (2003):Romance on a Global Stage. Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and “Mail-Order” Marriages. University of California Press.

Danish Statistical Yearbook 2005. Downloaded from the Danish Statistical Office website, (accessed on 27 Aug 2005)

Espiritu, Yen Le (2003):Home Bound:Filipino American Lives Across Cultures, Communities, and Countries. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Handbook for Filipinos Overseas (2005): 7th ed. Manila: Office of the President, Commission on Filipinos Overseas. Downloaded from Commission on Filipinos Overseas, (accessed 4 Feb 2006).

Kelly, Elinor (1990): “Transcontinental Families – Gujarat and Lancashire: a Comparative Study of Social Policy”, in Clarke C., Peach C., and Vertovec S. (eds) South Asians Overseas. Migration and Ethnicity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (pp. 251-267).

Lamvik, Gunnar M. (2002):The Filipino Seafarer: A Life between Sacrifice and Shopping. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Dept. of Social Anthropology.

Levitt, Peggy and Nina Glick Schiller (2003): “Transnational Perspectives on Migration: Conceptualizing Simultaneity”. Working Paper.

Levitt, Peggy (2001):The Transnational Villagers. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Patzer, Helena (2006): “Ako Ay Pilipino.” Filipino Immigrants and Their Experience of Living in Copenhagen, Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Warsaw University. Unpublished MA thesis.

Salazar Parreñas, Rhacel (2001):Servants of Globalization: Women, Migration and Domestic Work. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

Vertovec, Steven (2004):Trends and Impacts of Migrant Transnationalism. Oxford: Oxford University, Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. Working Paper No. 3.

Internet sources:

Internet Source 1: Migration Dialogue (University of California, Davis),

(accessed 27 Aug 2005)

Internet Source 2: Danish Statistical Office,

(accessed 27 Aug 2005)

Internet Source 3: Commission on Filipinos Overseas,

(accessed 4 Feb 2006)

1