Cross-border mobility and long-distance communication as modes of care circulation: insights from the Peruvian ‘zero generation’

ABSTRACT

The contribution of older family members in the sending countries to the well-being of transnational families has only recently come more into the focus of research. Cross-border mobility and long-distance communication are two central modes through which the members of this ‘zero generation’ engage in transnational family life. By applying the framework of care circulation, this paper seeks to discuss the influence of cross-border mobility and long-distance communication on older Peruvian non-migrants’ engagement in transnational family care arrangements. The paper shows, first, that political and economic factors, as well as communication infrastructures, shape the patterns of the older Peruvian non-migrants’ involvement in transnational caregiving over time. Second, it shows that cross-border mobility and long-distance communication are key means of living up to expectations of parents and grandparents being present, but are often beyond the older people’s control. Finally, it shows that these older family members create different forms of co-presence based on their professional and religious capabilities not only to provide care and support, but also as a coping mechanism.

KEYWORDS:

• Cross-border mobility
• long-distance communication
• care circulation
• older Peruvians

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 10th annual IMISCOE Conference ‘Crisis and Migration – Perceptions, Challenges and Consequences’, Malmö University, 26–27 August 2013. I am grateful to the editors of this special volume, the external reviewers and Loretta Baldassar for their very helpful comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. With this opportunity, which is also available to citizens from other Ibero-American countries, Spain seeks to recognise the special historical and cultural linkages with its former colonies (Escrivá 2003).

2. According to this study, approximately 400,000 Peruvian households received remittances from family members or friends in 2007.

3. Note that although not specified by the SGIE, most cross-border movements can be assumed to have a family background since the decision to migrate is often taken within the family and pure tourist trips are rather rare. On the contrary, when tourist trips are booked, it is often in order to obtain a visa that would enable visits to family members.

4. To compare, the rejection rate was about 3% in Italy (of around 4900 applications) and about 4% in Germany (of around 7000 applications). Considering that the Peruvian community in Germany is far smaller than in Italy and Spain, the high number of visa applications indicates that many Peruvians entered their final destination via another country. Unfortunately, it is not stated why visas were rejected and which profiles the unsuccessful applicants had.

Additional information

Funding

This paper is based on data collected for my Ph.D. project ‘Aging across borders: Older Peruvians within Transnational Families’ (2011–2016). The paper was not explicitly funded by the German Research Association.