Closeness, distance and disappearances in Cameroonian mediated transnational social ties: Uses of mobile phones and narratives of transformed identities

Abstract

Drawn from ethnographic fieldwork conducted among Cameroonians in Switzerland, Germany, and Cameroon, this article demonstrates transformations induced by the new communication media − particularly the mobile phone – in Cameroonian transnational social relationships. Many narratives revolve around ambivalences, tensions and non-communication that arise from different and often, contradictory expectations as well as dissimilar life-world experiences of the actors. We employ the notion of an ideal ‘African sociality’ to serve as guideline for the valuations of the mediated ties, which is reflected in, and opposed to the notion of migrant or ‘bushfaller disease’ – migrants’ attributive tendency to detach from these ideals when abroad. In these narratives, technological means for communication and related users’ agency serve as catalyst through which changing sociality is observed and articulated by migrants abroad and non-migrants in Cameroon.

Communication technologies and legitimate consumption: making sense of healthcare remittances in Cameroonian transnational relationships

“…Migrants who felt obliged to send remittances for healthcare did not want to feel guilty, or be held accountable if someone had further complications or died because they lacked the money to go to hospital for treatment. It is common in Cameroonian transnational family relationships to accuse and blame migrants for neglecting the family who stays at home (Tazanu and Frei 2017; Alpes 2012; Tazanu 2012b; 2015a). Bushfallers are often made to feel guilty if they fail to financially intervene to help those who stay behind.…”

“…It is precisely because of this unease that migrants expressed a strong willingness to disconnect, or to engage in ‘shallow sociality’ (Tazanu 2012b: 210). In our recently published article, Bettina Frei and I define shallow sociality as ‘a furtive type of mediated interaction in which the actors responsible for nurturing the ties fear asking questions that could generate intimacy or closeness’ (Tazanu and Frei 2017: 86–7). Most migrants I interviewed preferred ignorance: they chose not to know if someone was sick in the family.…”

“…Blocking a person's phone number was one of the many practices used by migrants to distance themselves from unwanted relationships. Other distancing strategies included ignoring calls from Cameroon, as well as not sharing phone contacts in the first place (see also Tazanu and Frei 2017). These practices were interpreted in Cameroon as a tactic by bushfallers to sever ties of interdependency within the family.…”

“…Amos, Adeline and many other participants in Buea believed that it was only fair that migrants who had relocated should pay back the favour to their relatives who had stayed (see also Åkesson 2011: 336). Whether migrants were unable or unwilling to send support home was not particularly a concern for participants in Buea; non-migrants believed that bushfallers wilfully wanted to destroy relationships by keeping vital resources to themselves (Tazanu and Frei 2017: 86–7). This explains why some of them used mobile phones to remind bushfallers of their obligations to their families in Cameroon.…”

Cultural revitalization and the ontology of communicative spaces: ‘Mobile coordinating’ among Guaraní

“…The way mobile communication practices emerge within social contexts has both transformed and reconfirmed long-term cultural values (cf. Lesitaokana, 2017;Tazanu and Frei, 2017). New media appropriations among indigenous peoples have recently gained some research traction, particularly relating to newfound opportunities for collective action and participation in public debates (Wilson, Carlson and Sciascia, 2017).…”