Migrationsnarrativer: Fortællinger om den gode slægtning blandt vestindiske kvinder
Authors: Olwig Karen Fog 
Published: February 2016

<div>Siden slaveriets oph&oslash;r midt i 1800-tallet har Caribien v&aelig;ret pr&aelig;get af en st&aelig;rk migrationstradition. Forskere har p&aring;vist, at denne tradition har f&aring;et n&aelig;ring afhistorier om den succesrige returmigrant, som rig p&aring; penge og materielle goder vender tilbage efter &aring;r i udlandet. I denne artikel argumenterer jeg for, at disse historier indskriver sig i et 'mandligt' narrativ, der prim&aelig;rt fokuserer p&aring; muligheden for at opn&aring; social og &oslash;konomisk mobilitet gennem migration. Gennem en analyse af livshistorieinterviews med kvindelige returmigranter p&aring; den vestindiske&oslash; Nevis viser jeg, at der parallelt med det mandlige narrativ findes et komplement&aelig;rt 'kvindeligt' narrativ, som omhandler den gode sl&aelig;gtning, der udvandrer for at hj&aelig;lpe familien i hjemlandet ved forsendelser af penge, t&oslash;j og andre materiellegoder. Denne migrant kan derfor vende tilbage som et h&oslash;jt respekteret familiemedlem til trods for de beskedne materielle ressourcer, vedkommende selv besidder. Selv om de to narrativer knytter sig til henholdsvis m&aelig;nd og kvinder, drager b&aring;de mandlige og kvindelige migranter p&aring; dem, afh&aelig;ngigt af deres s&aelig;rligeerfaringer i udlandet og de specifikke aspekter af deres liv de beretter om. Analysen peger p&aring;, at narrativerne ikke er faktuelle redeg&oslash;relser for migrantforl&oslash;b, men snarere kulturelt specifikke m&aring;der hvorp&aring; migranter skaber mening ogsammenh&aelig;ng i deres liv. Ikke desto mindre er narrativerne med til at pr&aelig;ge de forventninger og erfaringer, der knytter sig til migration, og de spiller derfor en vigtig rolle i de migrationsprocesser, der rent faktisk finder sted.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>Migration Narratives:</div><div>Stories of the good Relative among Caribbean Women</div><div><br /></div><div>Since the abolishment of slavery during the middle of the nineteenth century, the&nbsp;Caribbean has been characterized by a strong migration tradition. Research on&nbsp;Caribbean migration has shown that this tradition has been nourished by narratives</div><div>of the successful return migrant, who moves back home rich in money and&nbsp;material goods. In this article I will argue that this is a &lsquo;male&rsquo; narrative emphasizing&nbsp;the importance of achieving social and economic mobility through migration.</div><div>Through life story interviews with female return migrants on the Caribbean&nbsp;island of Nevis, this article points to the existence of a complementary &lsquo;female&rsquo;&nbsp;narrative revolving around the good relative who migrates to help the family left&nbsp;</div><div>behind. In this narrative a successful return is not measured by material gain, but&nbsp;rather by the extent to which support has been sent to the family and the respect&nbsp;this engenders in the local community. The analysis shows that, while the two</div><div>narratives of return are gendered, individuals may draw on both, depending on&nbsp;their particular experiences abroad and the specific aspects of their life story they&nbsp;are recounting. The narratives therefore should not be viewed as factual accounts</div><div>of migration, but rather as culturally specific modes of representation that give&nbsp;meaning and purpose to individual lives. Nevertheless, the narratives shape individuals&rsquo;</div><div>understandings and practices of migration, and they therefore play an&nbsp;important role in actual migration processes.</div></div>