Our family comes first: migrants’ perspectives on remittances in disaster

Abstract

A growing number of studies recognize the importance of remittances in time of disaster. Yet, very little research focuses on migrants’ perspectives. The paper explores the role of Samoan households living in New Zealand who supported their community of origin during and after the 2009 tsunami. It investigates the main determinants guiding remitters’ behaviour and examines the impacts that remitting had on them. The article challenges New Economics of Labour Migration’s co-insurance hypothesis, the dominant conceptual understanding of remittances behaviour. It is found that migrants remitted because of (1) a sense of obligation/responsibility to assist their family, (2) a consciousness of the economic struggles experienced in Samoa and (3) religious ethics. Furthermore, while remitting in the disaster context could imply severe economic impacts on migrants, it also reinforced the social ties they had with the affected community, contributed to their wellbeing and may have increased the community’s resilience to face natural hazards.

Keywords:

• remittances
• migrants
• disaster
• participatory methods
• transnational community

Notes

1. The names of interviewees have been modified to preserve anonymity.

2. FG participants highlighted ‘god blessing’ as an ultimate outcome of remitting, but did not know where to locate it on the impact diagram.