Salvadoran migrants in Australia: an analysis of transnational families’ capability to care across borders

Research on the transnational practices of migrant families has mainly focused on remittances, leaving transnational practices of care under-investigated (Gardner & Grillo 2002). However, recent research on transnational care practices demonstrates that most transnational families exchange not only financial, but also practical, personal, and emotional support (see for instance Baldassar 2007; Baldock 1999, 2000; Baldassar et al. 2007; Zontini & Reynolds 2007). In this paper, I will focus on the transnational care practices of 22 Salvadoran refugees who migrated to Perth (Western Australia) in the 1980’s and the 1990’s under the United Nations Refugee Programme, and who care for their ageing parents who remained in their home country. These migrants were interviewed in 2007 and 2008 in the context of a research project funded by the EC 6th Framework Programme - Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship that compares transnational care practices of Latin-American migrants living in Australia and Europe. In this paper, my analysis will be based on a conceptualization of transnational care as a set of capabilities that include, but are not limited to, mobility, social relations, time-allocation, education and knowledge, paid work and communication (Author & Baldassar, forthcoming). I will focus in particular on the impact of Salvadoran refugees difficult access to, and use of, these capabilities on their capacity to fulfill their culturally defined sense of obligation to care for their ageing parents. Results will show that in the absence of institutional support to transnational care, extended transnational kinship networks play a major role in helping migrants overcome the obstacles to their participation to the care of their ageing parents. Cet article se centre sur les pratiques de care transnational de 22 réfugiés salvadoriens qui ont migré à Perth (Australie occidentale) dans les années 1980 et 1990 via le Programme des Nations Unies pour les Réfugiés, et qui prennent soin de leurs parents âgés demeurés dans le pays d’origine. L’analyse se base sur une conceptualisation du care transnational en tant qu’ensemble de capabilités qui comprennent, sans s’y limiter, la mobilité, la communication, les relations sociales, le temps, l’éducation et le travail rémunéré. Cet article examine en particulier l’impact de difficultés à accéder à ces capabilités et/ou à les mobiliser, sur la capacité des réfugiés salvadoriens à remplir l’obligation culturelle de prendre soin de leurs parents âgés. L’article montre qu’en l’absence de soutien institutionnel au care transnational, les réseaux familiaux transnationaux fournissent une aide non négligeable aux migrants afin de surmonter les obstacles à leur participation aux solidarités intergénérationnelles