RETURNING TO THE HOMELAND: ETHNIC RETURN MIGRANTS IN FINLANDKatrina Jurva

Doctoral Student

University of Helsinki, Finland

Presented on September 14, 2011, at the 16th International Metropolis Conference in Ponta Delgada, Azores Islands

ETHNIC RETURN MIGRATION

Ethnic return migration (EMR) when second- and later-generation descendents

‘return’ to their countries of ancestral origin after living outside their ethnic homelands for generations (Tsuda 2009).

Main objectives Often economic But… ethnicity may play larger role for those

from developed, diverse countries Pull rather than push factor

FINNISH CONTEXT

Former country of emigration 1.4 to 1.8 million people with Finnish roots outside

Finland (= approx. 1/3 of current Finnish population)

North America, Europe, Australia Now an immigrant receiving society

Population with foreign nationality approx. 3% Biggest minority group: Russian-speaking people Many of which are Ingrian Finns

EMR from Western countries to Finland Mostly young adults, highly-educated Permanency of migration unclear Pre-migration: very positive views, migration

expressed as natural or inevitable

THEORETICAL POSITION

Social psychological study Main analytical approach: discursive social

psychology Constructing identities, belonging, adaptation Pre- and post-migration stages Data collection ongoing, over 20 participants to date

Experiences and sense-making also of interest

How do Finnish ethnic return migrants (from Western countries) experience moving to Finland?

METHODOLOGY

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Aim to understand participant’s world and

describe it, as well as interpret it in relation to wider social, cultural and theoretical contexts (Lancin et al., 2006)

IPA approach used on focus group data Focus on experience while taking into account

interactive aspects (Palmer et al., 2010)

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Data in this presentation from one in-depth focus group with 3 participants 2 from Western Europe and 1 from North

America Young adults (20s and early 30s)

Themes of interest in this presentation: What to do? Belonging and culture

WHAT TO DO?

Common narratives about how migration happened ‘What to do’ moment

Staying and leaving debateEXCERPT ONE

A: yeah I think what interests me is this whole issue of either staying here or leaving because I mean this is one of the things I’m thinking about at the moment. And I think it’s kind of a hard decisionB: mmm (…) yeah it is I mean I sway… I go through a phase where I’m like yeah I love it here and it’s great and then the next phase is like (..) oooh I don’t know do I wanna stay here heh A: heh hehB: this tends to happen. More often in the winter time though heh hehOthers: (laughing)B: so (..) that might have something to do with it but um (…) yeah I guess it’s hard to know. I think it just depends on what way life (..) goes over the next few years (..) really. Which will either decide that I stay or that I leave

BELONGING AND CULTURE

Predominant position used: ‘foreigner’ Them vs. us/me cultural differences, norms Language difficulties ‘Complaints’ or day-to-day difficulties re: being part

of society, making friends and doing normal business This was opposed by familiarity, citizenship and

social connections Those with Finnish roots distinguished from other

‘foreigners’ Time spent in Finland has helped strengthen ties

Expectations of migration and experience formulated in reference to Finnish roots

BELONGING AND CULTUREEXCERPT TWO

C: there’s definitely (.) definitely lots of good things that you just take for granted I guess

B: yeah

C: and the fact that it’s pretty safe everywhere and yeah. You easily forget that and noticed little things that have bothered heh you heh heh

B: yeah yeah

A: especially when you expected that those things you would get accustomed to them at some point because I mean you are Finnish at least to some degree

C: mmhmm

A: at least I expected I’d come here I’d maybe struggle in the beginning (..) but then I would learn Finnish and everything would start to work smoothly

B: yeah yeah

A: I mean that didn’t really happen

IMPLICATIONS OF THIS DATA

Decision to migrate not only about ethnicity and connections but also about timing and opportunity Staying or leaving is unclear

Even well-resourced, highly-skilled migrants with ethnic roots and citizenship experience challenges Sense of belonging to broader society not a given But there is a sense of benefit from connections

Next steps More data collection! Further analysis of the experiential and discursive

components of ERM

Thank you!

SOME KEY REFERENCESJurva, K. (2011). Motivations and expectations of potential ethnic return migrants from

Western countries to Finland. Siirtolaisuus-Migration Quarterly, 2, 3-11.

Larkin, M., Watts, S. & Clifton, E. (2006) Giving voice and making sense in interpretative phenomenological analysis. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3: 102-120.

Noguchi, Mary Goebel (2005): The Return: North American Nikkeijin who put down roots in Japan. Language and Related Issues, 3, p. 351-416.  

Tartakovsky, Eugene & Schwartz, Shalom (2001): Motivation for emigration, values, wellbeing, and identification among young Russian Jews. International Journal of Psychology, 36(2), p. 88-99.

Tsuda, Takeyuki (2009A): Introduction: Diasporic Return and Migration Studies. In T. Tsuda (Ed.), Diasporic Homecomings: Ethnic return migration in comparative perspective (p. 1-18). Stanford, CA, Stanford University Press.  

Palmer, M., larkin, M., de Visser ,Richard & Fadden, G. (2010). Developing an interpretative phenomenological appoach to focus group data. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 7 (2): 99-121

Yijälä, A. & Jasinskaja-Lahti, I. (2010). Pre-migration acculturation attitudes among potential ethnic migrants from Russia to Finland. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 34(4), 326-339.