Home and beyond in Aotearoa: the affective dimensions of migration for South African migrants

Abstract

The integration of immigrants into local labour markets is a key focus of contemporary migration scholarship in Aotearoa New Zealand. While acknowledging the importance of these economic aspects of migrant settlement, in this article we examine instead how new arrivals from South Africa actively reconstitute a feeling of home and belonging post-migration. Drawing on the concept of affect, we illustrate the ways in which the experience of migration and settlement is embodied, situated and relational. We do this by examining the affective dimensions of home-making, both within and beyond the physical boundaries of a chosen dwelling and its location. Memory bridges all these experiences of transition, suffusing migrants' lives as they understand, frame and negotiate their affective present within the context of their affective past. Our focus renders visible important aspects of the migrant experience, and contributes to a more holistic understanding of why migrants come, how they settle and what encourages them to remain.

El hogar y más allá en Aotearoa: las dimensiones afectivas de la migración para migrantes de Sudáfrica

La integración de los inmigrantes a los mercados de trabajo local es un tema clave en la investigación contemporánea de la migración en Aotearoa, en Nueva Zelanda. Aunque reconocemos la importancia de estos aspectos económicos del asentamiento de migrantes, en este artículo analizamos en cambio cómo los nuevos arribos desde Sudáfrica reconstituyen activamente un sentimiento de hogar y pertenencia post migración. Basándonos en el concepto de afecto, ilustramos las formas en que la experiencia de la migración y el asentamiento es encarnada, situada y relacional. Lo hacemos examinando las dimensiones afectivas del quehacer del hogar, tanto dentro como más allá de los límites de una vivienda determinada y su ubicación. La memoria une todas estas experiencias de transición, tiñendo las vidas de los migrantes a medida que ellos comprenden, interpretan y negocian su presente afectivo dentro del contexto de su pasado afectivo. Nuestro enfoque deja visibles importantes aspectos de la experiencia migrante, y contribuye a una comprensión más holística de por qué los vienen los inmigrantes, cómo se asientan y qué los estimula a permanecer.

长白云之乡（新西兰）的家与其外：南非移民的迁徙之情感面向

将移民整合进在地的劳动市场，是长白云之乡新西兰当代移民学术研究的主要焦点。我们虽然承认这些移民定居的重要经济面向，但本文却检视来自南非的新移民，如何在移民之后积极地重塑家的感觉与归属感。我们运用情感的概念，描绘移民与定居的经验被体现、视情境而定且为关係性的方式。我们透过检视家的打造——同时在家中与在选定的住所之物理界限和地点之外——的情感面向来进行上述论点。随着这些移民在其过往的情感脉络中理解、框架和协商其情感的当下，记忆接合了所有有关转变的经验，并充满了移民的生活。我们的焦点，显现了移民经验的重要面向，并对更全面地理解移民为何前来、如何定居，以及什麽鼓励其续留做出贡献。

Keywords::

• migration
• New Zealand
• South African migrants
• home
• place
• belonging
• affect
• embodiment

Palabras claves::

• migración
• Nueva Zelanda
• inmigrantes de Sudáfrica
• hogar
• lugar
• pertenencia
• afecto
• encarnación

关键词::

• 移民
• 新西兰
• 南非移民
• 家庭
• 地方
• 归属感
• 情感
• 体现

Acknowledgements

We thank interviewers Annika Philipp and Alex Jones as well as the remaining members of the IIP research team: Richard Bedford, Elsie Ho, Robin Peace, Jacques Poot and Paul Spoonley for their contributions. We also thank the anonymous referees for their thoughtful comments on earlier drafts of this article. Most importantly, we thank our participants for sharing their time, feelings and experiences with us.

Notes

^1. Similar systems are used in Australia and Canada and allocate points for, amongst other attributes, migrants' skills and qualifications, experience and age.

^2. Trudie Cain was Research Manager between 2010 and 2012, Carina Meares worked in the same position between 2008 and 2010 and Christine Read worked as Research Assistant throughout the project.

^3. Specifically, by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, now called the Science and Innovation Group and housed within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment http://www.msi.govt.nz/.

^4. A brief overview of the programme is provided in the Methodology section. For more information and a list of publications, see the Integration of Immigrants Programme website http://newsettlers.massey.ac.nz/.

^5. South Africa is home to many different ethnic, religious and tribal groups. Most of the South Africans arriving in New Zealand since the 1990s are of European/White descent. The capitalisation of White (Frueh, 2003) is intended to convey the fact that it is a political and social construction rather than a natural one.

^6. Auckland is New Zealand's largest and most ethnically diverse city with a population of 1.5 million, 37% of whom were born overseas. Hamilton City has a population of just over 129,000, 26% of whom are overseas-born. http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2006CensusHomePage/Tables/Detailed/CulturalDiversity/3310.aspx

^7. The initial focus of the research was labour market integration. Participants were therefore selected on the basis of their status as employers (with at least one employee, paid or unpaid) or employees.

^8. A kiwi is a flightless nocturnal bird that is frequently used as a national symbol of New Zealand. The term ‘Kiwi’ is commonly used to reference New Zealand or New Zealanders and their attributes.

^9. Pākehā is a Māori language term for New Zealanders of European descent.

^10. Pseudonyms have been used for all participants.

^11. A seaside suburb on the North Shore of Auckland.

^12. Boerewors is a spiced sausage popular in South African cuisine.

^13. Derived from Dutch, Afrikaans is one of South Africa's 11 official languages.

Additional information

Funding

We are grateful to the New Zealand Ministry of Science and Innovation (formerly the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology) for funding the Integration of Immigrants Programme (2007–2012) research on which this article is based.

Notes on contributors

Trudie Cain

Trudie Cain is Research Manager of the Nga Tangata Oho Mairangi research project which examines population change in New Zealand (Massey University/University of Waikato). She received her PhD in Sociology from Massey University and contributes to papers on research methods, globalisation, and New Zealand culture and identity. Her research interests include: gendered, sized and migrant identities; qualitative research methodologies and ethics; and the materiality of everyday lives.

Carina Meares

Carina Meares is a Senior Researcher in the Social and Economic Research team at Auckland Council's Research, Investigations and Monitoring Unit. Prior to that, she was Research Manager for the Integration of Immigrants Programme, a project funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and run jointly by Waikato and Massey Universities. Her research interests include international migration, ethnicity, social cohesion, ethnic precincts, gender and qualitative research methodologies.

Christine Read

Christine Read is a PhD candidate (Sociology) at Massey University, Auckland. Her dissertation examines the intersection of child/parent everyday experiences at a low-decile school in the upper North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, the national education system and the school's local governance, with a view to addressing educational underachievement. Christine has a strong background in the area of child and family health as both a practicing midwife and a health administrator.