Much has been written about the experiences and stresses of those who emigrate. By contrast, little attention has been paid to the experiences of those who stay behind-family members and friends who for various reasons do not to join their loved ones in the destination country. In this article, I describe the experiences of some South Africans whose families and friends have emigrated. This study forms part of a larger research project focusing on the impact of emigration on South African family life. Twenty-one participants were interviewed by means of a semistructured interview at least 6 months after one or more family member(s) and/or friend(s) left South Africa, to explore participants' experiences around their loved ones' emigration. A thematic analysis of the data reveals that those left behind experience various emotions, ranging from emotional ambivalence to anger and distress. Emigration is mostly experienced as a vast loss, almost akin to a "death," bringing about significant changes in social networks and relationships. The therapeutic significance of the findings for those working with emigrant families is also explored.

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Various economic and socio-political reasons are usually given to explain people's decisions to emigrate from South Africa, and violent crime is often cited as the most compelling factor. By contrast, little attention has been paid to the psychological context within which the decision to emigrate is made. In this article, the experiences of ten South Africans priorto their emigration from South Africa are discussed. This qualitative study formed part of a larger research project exploring the impact of emigration on South African family life. The results suggest that the socio-psychological context within which the decision to emigrate is made is highly complex and involves a number of interlinked factors. Although emigrants are aware of the impact of their departure on the people and systems surrounding them, they need to cut themselves off psychologically from significant others in order to leave and socially disengage from the home country. Consequently, it is argued that emigration affects not only the people leaving, but also those left behind (and who, according to the findings of this study, do not generally benefit from the move). Therefore adequate psychological and practical preparation is recommended and the needs of elderly people left behind are highlighted.

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In this article, we explore the impact of South African families' emigration on parents/ grandparents who must renegotiate their lives in their loved ones' physical absence. We adopted a transnational perspective in a bigger qualitative project to consider both sides of the migratory spectrum. Here we focus on elderly family members who remain behind-a group largely neglected in prior research. Our findings illustrate the complex emotions and relational changes experienced by elderly people whose families emigrate. New technologies bridge distances, allowing new ways to connect and take care of each other, and of re-imagining transnational relationships and what constitutes family life, but these bridges cannot negate the loss experienced by those remaining. People have to make sense of the emigration and forge new relational bonds with remaining family members. Our findings stress grandparents' meaningful role in a family system and highlight some gendered and racial differences in families' experiences.