AGEING ‘HERE’ OR ‘THERE’? SPATIOTEMPORALITIES IN OLDER LABOUR MIGRANTS’ RETURN ASPIRATIONS FROM THE AZORES

In this article, I seek to unpack the multiple spatiotemporalities in older migrants’ ideas about return, shedding light on the complex set of motivations and imaginaries that precede return migration. The paper springs from a space-time approach based on the assertion that return aspirations are pe...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dora Sampaio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: CEG 2018-01-01
Series:Finisterra - Revista Portuguesa de Geografia
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.rcaap.pt/finisterra/article/view/9961
_version_ 1818978764521996288
author Dora Sampaio
author_facet Dora Sampaio
author_sort Dora Sampaio
collection DOAJ
description In this article, I seek to unpack the multiple spatiotemporalities in older migrants’ ideas about return, shedding light on the complex set of motivations and imaginaries that precede return migration. The paper springs from a space-time approach based on the assertion that return aspirations are permanently shaped and negotiated both in and out of place. The discussion is framed around 36 in-depth life narrative interviews with later-life labour migrants living in the Azores, and a seven-month period of ethnographic fieldwork. The role of spatial dimensions such as the place of settlement and the country of origin, and temporal features such as age, length of stay in the host country or stage of life at the time of migration, is discussed in detailed. The paper identifies a ‘family-work matrix’ and a ‘home-host country dialectic’ as central forces shaping migrants’ thoughts and possibilities of return. The multi-stranded, time-fluid, space-induced, context-dependent nature of (return) migration decisions is highlighted and it is shown that an apparent satisfactory social integration in the place of settlement does not, by itself, prevent migrants’ desire to return.
first_indexed 2024-12-20T16:48:49Z
format Article
id doaj.art-9b30dd065c7149878ee6e3077d76eeee
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0430-5027
2182-2905
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-20T16:48:49Z
publishDate 2018-01-01
publisher CEG
record_format Article
series Finisterra - Revista Portuguesa de Geografia
spelling doaj.art-9b30dd065c7149878ee6e3077d76eeee2022-12-21T19:32:52ZengCEGFinisterra - Revista Portuguesa de Geografia0430-50272182-29052018-01-015210610.18055/Finis99619961AGEING ‘HERE’ OR ‘THERE’? SPATIOTEMPORALITIES IN OLDER LABOUR MIGRANTS’ RETURN ASPIRATIONS FROM THE AZORESDora Sampaio0University of SussexIn this article, I seek to unpack the multiple spatiotemporalities in older migrants’ ideas about return, shedding light on the complex set of motivations and imaginaries that precede return migration. The paper springs from a space-time approach based on the assertion that return aspirations are permanently shaped and negotiated both in and out of place. The discussion is framed around 36 in-depth life narrative interviews with later-life labour migrants living in the Azores, and a seven-month period of ethnographic fieldwork. The role of spatial dimensions such as the place of settlement and the country of origin, and temporal features such as age, length of stay in the host country or stage of life at the time of migration, is discussed in detailed. The paper identifies a ‘family-work matrix’ and a ‘home-host country dialectic’ as central forces shaping migrants’ thoughts and possibilities of return. The multi-stranded, time-fluid, space-induced, context-dependent nature of (return) migration decisions is highlighted and it is shown that an apparent satisfactory social integration in the place of settlement does not, by itself, prevent migrants’ desire to return.https://revistas.rcaap.pt/finisterra/article/view/9961return aspirationsspatiotemporalitiesolder labour migrantsAzores
spellingShingle Dora Sampaio
AGEING ‘HERE’ OR ‘THERE’? SPATIOTEMPORALITIES IN OLDER LABOUR MIGRANTS’ RETURN ASPIRATIONS FROM THE AZORES
Finisterra - Revista Portuguesa de Geografia
return aspirations
spatiotemporalities
older labour migrants
Azores
title AGEING ‘HERE’ OR ‘THERE’? SPATIOTEMPORALITIES IN OLDER LABOUR MIGRANTS’ RETURN ASPIRATIONS FROM THE AZORES
title_full AGEING ‘HERE’ OR ‘THERE’? SPATIOTEMPORALITIES IN OLDER LABOUR MIGRANTS’ RETURN ASPIRATIONS FROM THE AZORES
title_fullStr AGEING ‘HERE’ OR ‘THERE’? SPATIOTEMPORALITIES IN OLDER LABOUR MIGRANTS’ RETURN ASPIRATIONS FROM THE AZORES
title_full_unstemmed AGEING ‘HERE’ OR ‘THERE’? SPATIOTEMPORALITIES IN OLDER LABOUR MIGRANTS’ RETURN ASPIRATIONS FROM THE AZORES
title_short AGEING ‘HERE’ OR ‘THERE’? SPATIOTEMPORALITIES IN OLDER LABOUR MIGRANTS’ RETURN ASPIRATIONS FROM THE AZORES
title_sort ageing here or there spatiotemporalities in older labour migrants return aspirations from the azores
topic return aspirations
spatiotemporalities
older labour migrants
Azores
url https://revistas.rcaap.pt/finisterra/article/view/9961
work_keys_str_mv AT dorasampaio ageinghereortherespatiotemporalitiesinolderlabourmigrantsreturnaspirationsfromtheazores