To most of us the food that we associate with home—our national and familial homes—is an essential part of our cultural heritage. No matter how open we become to other cuisines, we regard home-cooking as an intrinsic part of who we are. In this book, Krishnendu Ray examines the changing food habits of Bengali immigrants to the United States as they deal with the tension between their nostalgia for home and their desire to escape from its confinements.As Ray says, "This is a story about rice and water and the violations of geography by history." Focusing on mundane matters of immigrant life (for example, what to eat for breakfast in America), he connects food choices to issues of globalization and modernization. By showing how Bengali immigrants decide what defines their ethnic cuisine and differentiates it from American food, he reminds us that such boundaries are uncertain for all newcomers. By drawing on literary sources, family menus and recipes for traditional dishes, interviews with Bengali household members, and his own experience as an immigrant, Ray presents a vivid picture of immigrants grappling with the grave and immediate problem of defining themselves in their home away from home.
To most of us the food that we associate with home-our national and familial homes-is an essential part of our cultural heritage. In this book, Krishnendu Ray examines the changing food habits of Bengali immigrants to the United States as they deal with the tension between their nostalgia for home and their desire to escape from its confinements.
Drawing on data from five rounds of the Myanmar Household Welfare Survey (MHWS) collected between December 2021 and June 2023 with more than 12,000 respondents per round, this report analyzes individual migration, migration in which one or a few household members leave the household. To complement this analysis, we utilize data from the Myanmar Migration Assessment, carried out in June and July 2023 in a sub-sample of MHWS households with household members who have migrated since 2013. Over the year and a half period, from December 2021 to June 2023 an estimated 6,451,394 household members 15 and older, 11.8 percent of the population and 19.9 percent of the adult population, left their households. Kayah had the highest percentage of migrants, followed by Kachin, Kayin, and Mon, with migration rates over 25 percent of the adult population. Significantly more men migrated than women. Over the period, more individuals left for work within Myanmar than for overseas work or for other reasons including marriage, education, or to join family. Using the Myanmar Migration Assessment sub-sample of 5,455 of individuals who have migrated since 2013, we analyze the migration process and destination characteristics. Most migrants in our sample only migrated once, 91 percent. Between 2021 and 2022, there was a huge jump in migration from 10 percent of the sample to 24 percent. Further, migration was already 23 percent of our sample in June 2023. Therefore, individual migration is likely to be much higher in 2023 than 2022. Between 2021 and 2023, most of the individual migration was internal, 79 percent versus 21 percent overseas. Internal migration and migration abroad are increasing at the same rate. Most internal migration was to Yangon, followed by Mandalay, and Shan. Around 27 percent of all individuals migrated to Yangon over the whole period. Migration to Mandalay decreased from 2010 to 2023, while migration to Shan increased. Migration abroad is mainly to Thailand and Malaysia. Most individuals migrated to find better employment. Employment was the most important driver of migration across all years, all destinations, all age groups, and for men and women. In 2021-2023, 34 percent of individuals left their homes to find more work opportunities, 18 percent left their home to find a higher paid job, and 7 percent left to find better working conditions. At the same time, an increasing number of individuals migrated for education, as well. In 2021-2023, 12 percent of migrants were household heads, most other migrants were either sons or daughters of the head. While between 2013 and 2016 only 44 percent of migrants had children when they migrated, in 2021-2023, 91 percent of migrants had children before they migrated. Overall, most migrants, regardless of their primary reason for migrating, had friends or relatives who had migrated to their destination before them, this includes 55 percent of internal migrants, and 58 percent of migrants abroad. Most migrants participated in most or all of the decisions to migrate. This was true for 85 percent of migrants that went abroad and 79 percent of migrants that remained within Myanmar. In Mandalay and Shan, fewer migrants fully participated in the decision to migrate.
This timely and important book introduces readers to the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States - Latinos - and their diverse conditions of departure and reception. A central theme of the book is the tension between the fact that Latino categories are most often assigned from above, and how those defined as Latino seek to make sense of and enliven a shared notion of identity from below. Providing a sophisticated introduction to emerging theoretical trends and social formations specific to Latino immigrants, chapters are structured around the topics of Latinidad or the idea of a pan-ethnic Latino identity, pathways to citizenship, cultural citizenship, labor, gender, transnationalism, and globalization. Specific areas of focus include the 2006 marches of the immigrant rights movement and the rise in neoliberal nativism (including both state-sponsored restrictions such as Arizona’s SB1070 and the hate crimes associated with Minutemen vigilantism). The book is a valuable contribution to immigration courses in sociology, history, ethnic studies, American Studies, and Latino Studies. It is one of the first, and certainly the most accessible, to fully take into account the plurality of experiences, identities, and national origins constituting the Latino category.
Food is an intrinsic part of modern consumer society. In studies of migration food not only sustains the migrant on both the real and metaphorical journey from home to elsewhere, it also provides a bridge between the familiar and the unfamiliar. Food in the Migrant Experience is written by leading academics in the fields of migration, economics, nutrition, medicine and history and will be essential reading for all those engaged in the study of migration.
This book investigates the long-term impact of migration on development, engaging in a thorough analysis of the pertinent factors in migration. Migration scholars and stakeholders have long placed emphasis on the necessity of migration for development. At the heart of this book is the question: Has migration made development necessary, or is it the other way around? While existing literature is predominantly occupied with positive impressions about the migration-development nexus, this book challenges associated pervasive generalizations about the impact of migration, indicating that migration has not impacted all regions equally. This volume thus grapples with the different extents to which migration has impacted development by delving into the social costs that migrants often pay in the long run. With empirical support, this book proffers that some countries are becoming over-dependent on migration. An excellent resource for both policymakers working on migration policy, and scholars in international relations, migration and development studies, this book presents a range of innovative ideas in relation to the remittance-development nexus.
This book critically discusses the multi-dimensional contemporary issues within the ambit of the driving forces, mechanisms, vulnerability, and opportunities of the intra-region human movement in South Asia. It covers different dimensions of cross-border migration within South Asia as well as internal migration particularly in India, reflecting upon both voluntary and forced movements. It traces the trajectory and past trends in migration in the South Asian countries. It evaluates the vulnerability of refugees and stateless vis-à-vis state policies. Issues regarding Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh, Nepalese immigration to India, the crisis around Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, Afghan returnee refugees from Pakistan and Iran, resettlement of Bhutanese refugees are explored in the chapters. It also analyzes the impact on wage inequality due to emigration, the crucial role of social capital in migration decisions, and socio-economic vulnerabilities of women migrants in India. This book provides a clear understanding of international and internal migration in South Asia for students and academics, and a valuable resource for policy-makers and planners in development studies, regional development, and South Asian studies.
