Suchergebnisse

Focusing on the small island of Paama, Vanuatu, and the capital, Port Vila, this book presents a rare and recent study of the ongoing significance of urbanisation and internal migration in the Global South. Based on longitudinal research undertaken in rural 'home' places, urban suburbs and informal settlements over thirty years, this book reveals the deep ambivalence of the outcome of migration, and argues that continuity in the fundamental organising principles of cultural life - in this case centred on kinship and an 'island home' - is significantly more important for urban and rural lives than the transformative impacts of migration and urbanisation

This paper uses the case study of rural–urban migration from the small island of Paama, Vanuatu over a period of almost 30 years to argue that longitudinal restudies offer valuable insights into processes of continuity and change. Between the early 1980s and 2011, there was great continuity in Paamese demography and rural social organization, circular mobility had decreased, the trend towards urban permanence had continued, and gendered mobility norms had altered. The dialectic nature of mobility was manifest in these changes and continuities, which both reflected and contributed to wider social, economic and political trends over the period. Significantly, many of the mobility trends noted above would not have been apparent without longitudinal data, the use of which allowed for detailed analysis of mobility behavior beyond general observations. Furthermore, while existing restudies tend to focus on change, it is argued that recognizing continuity is also important, and emphasizes the processual nature of mobility.

Introduction. A New Age of Temporary Migration -- The Pacific Island Countries -- Two Centuries of Pacific Migration -- The Revival of Guestwork -- Early Days -- Taking Part -- Destination Australia -- Social Worlds -- Home Again -- A New Phase. Stepping up a gear? -- The New Blackbirds? -- Hosts and Guests.

This is the first book to examine the contemporary seasonal migration of Pacific Islanders to Australia through the Seasonal Worker Program (SWP). It reflects on this new age of guestwork from a broad social, economic, political and cultural perspective in both source countries and destinations. In so doing, it offers a critical perspective on different phases of managed labour migration from nineteenth century practices of blackbirding to the present day. This book examines why and how guestworker policies and programmes have developed, and the impact this has had in Australia and for the people, villages and islands of the sending states. It particularly focuses on Vanuatu, the main source of labour, and draws upon studies based in Australia, Vanuatu and other Pacific Island countries. The book therefore traces new patterns of migration, with intriguing economic and social consequences, that are restructuring parts of rural and regional Australia in response to labour demands from agriculture and evolving regional geopolitics. Dr Kirstie Petrou is a human geographer at the Climate and Sustainability Policy Research group, Flinders University. Her research interests include migration, urbanisation and development in the Pacific. John Connell is a Professor of Geography in the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney. He works mainly on small island development issues in the Pacific region and has published several books on migration and colonialism.

AbstractAustralia's 2018 introduction of the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) broadened the scope and duration of labour mobility pathways available to Pacific Island countries. Although longer term temporary migration schemes like the PLS expand livelihood opportunities for migrant households, they also create challenges related to the maintenance of personal relationships and care practices during transnational family separation. Though pressing concerns for Pacific Island governments, these issues have received little scholarly attention. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with migrants and their households in Kiribati, Tonga and Vanuatu, this article offers some preliminary insights into the way gender norms intersect with the reorganization of socially reproductive labour during migration. Findings indicate that women were disproportionately involved in the performance of additional unpaid care work within migrant households adjusting to transnational family life, but also suggest that women's participation in labour mobility may offer nascent opportunities to increase financial autonomy and social standing through the act of 'remitting care'.