Between two families: the social meaning of remittances for Vietnamese marriage migrants in Singapore

Abstract

Scholars who have applied transnational perspectives to studies of migration and remittances have called for a move beyond the developmentalist approach to accommodate an expanded understanding of the social meanings of remittances. Researchers working in Asia have begun to view the remittances of money, gifts and services that labour migrants send to their families as transnational 'acts of recognition', as an enactment of gendered roles and identities, and as a component of the social practices that create the ties that bind migrants to their 'home' countries. In this article, we depart from the more common focus on remittance behaviour among labour migrants and turn instead to examine how, as marriage migrants, Vietnamese women generate and confer meaning on the remittances they send. First, from the women's viewpoint, we discuss the extent to which expectations vested in being able to generate remittances for the natal family by marrying a Singaporean man not only translate into motivation for marriage migration but also shape the parameters of the marriage. Second, we show how sending remittances are significant to the women as 'acts of recognition' in the construction of gendered identities as filial daughters, and, through the 'connecting' and 'disconnecting' power of remittances, in the reimagining of the transnational family. Third, we discuss the strategies that women devise in negotiating between the conflicting demands and expectations of their natal and marital families and in securing their 'place' between two families. We base our findings on an analysis of interviews and ethnographic work with Vietnamese women and their Singaporean husbands through commercial matchmaking agencies.

Gender- and social class-based transnationalism of migrant Filipinas in binational unions

“…In their study of Vietnamese marriage women migrants in Singapore, Yeoh et al (2013) observe that these women try to strike a balance in the 'way they channel limited funds between the competing needs' of their natal family in Vietnam and their marital family in Singapore in order to secure for themselves a 'meaningful place' in both families. The capacity of migrants in binational unions to send remittances appears to depend more on their situation in their receiving countries (the duration of their immigration, their relationship with their husband, their motherhood and so on) than the actual needs of their natal family (Bélanger, Linh, and Duong 2011).…”

“…Existing works have underlined the agency of the women involved in these marriages (Constable 2003) and highlighted their multi-faceted lives, not only as 'wives' but also as 'workers' and 'emigrants' (Bélanger, Linh, and Duong 2011;Piper and Roces 2003). It is therefore hardly surprising that recent studies on cross-border marriages have started to document these women's transnational practices and their impact on their family and village of origin Lauser 2008;Suksomboon 2007;Yeoh et al 2013). This emerging literature had shed light on their transnationalism from either the point of view of their receiving country or that of their country of origin.…”

Transnational mobilities of Australia-educated and domiciled professional migrants from Vietnam

“…Other research explores transnational activities that immigrants and their descendants are involved, such as the sending of remittances, communication and political engagement (e.g Basch, Glick-Schiller, & Blanc-Szanton, 1996;Yeoh, Leng, Dung, & Yi'en, 2013). Some studies engage with migrants and their descendants' cultural transfer from the West to the East and vice versa (e.g.…”

“…Apart from a few exceptions that explore migrants' uses of things in relation to other people (e.g. Baas, 2006;Robertson, 2008;Singh, Robertson, & Cabraal, 2012;Yeoh et al, 2013), most studies examine migrants' relations with things in isolation. However, the latter perspective can limit understandings of how things are possibly related to each other and to other people in constituting transnational mobilities.…”

“…By following kinship practices, 43 migrants negotiate social and symbolic ties that enhance and/or corrode family solidarity across borders (Faist, 2000b;Singh, Robertson, & Cabraal, 2012;Yeoh et al, 2013 Further, interactions with socio-political norms also influence their transnational mobilities, shaping their and even others' mobilities into different forms and meanings (e.g. Favell, 2003;Ho & Bedford, 2008;Levitt, 1998).…”