Labour of love: Secrecy and kinship among Ghanaian-Dutch and Somali-Dutch in The Netherlands

Abstract

This paper examines the productive role of secrecy in the nexus of transnational mobility, kinship, and intimate relations among Ghanaian-Dutch and Somali-Dutch in the Netherlands. Whereas secrecy is typically understood as one person concealing knowledge from another, implying the latter’s passivity, we argue that secrecy depends on mutually constitutive interactions. Secrecy is explored as the result of an interaction between those who obscure knowledge in creative ways and those who maintain a not-knowing. The paper analyzes how people negotiate moral expectations regarding sexuality, respect, and loyalty, while also manoeuvring to fulfil their personal aspirations. Especially in kinship relations, when people are bound to each other by moral and social obligations, the management of secrecy often makes people mutually dependent. Secrecy is revealed as skillfully choreographing relations by the ebb and flow of information where kinship, respect, or love and (not-) knowing reinforce another.

Determinants and Variations of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Responses Among Minority Ethnic Groups in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

“…The Zuid Oost municipality is ethnically highly diverse, and it is often referred as Amsterdam city's “black neighborhood” due to the presence of many African migrants ( 21 ). Numerous shops sell foods, articles, and fabrics from Ghana and Suriname.…”

“…It is also an area where several beauticians and hairdressers with diverse background are located. The Ghanaian-Dutch as well as the Surinamese-Dutch residents form a closely-knit community and are predominantly religious ( 22 ).…”

Migration, mobility and the dynamics of kinship: New barriers, new assemblages

“…Among all social science methodologies, only ethnography can capture the ambiguities of kinship, what kinship does and how. After all, the “labor of love” that kinship relations require involves not only the public display of affection and manifestations of support but also the hard labor of secrecy (Bakuri et al., 2020). Ethnography’s attention to everyday life, its hidden aspects and its myriad inconsistencies is what makes it the most suitable methodology to study kinship and its entanglement with mobility.…”

“…The contribution of Bakuri et al (2020) concerning the secrets of Ghanaian and Somali migrants in the Netherlands offers fascinating insights into the role of secrecy in the sustenance of kinship relations. As they argue, secrecy is not simply about concealing information from others.…”

“…This Special Issue explores the dynamics of kinship in the process of migration and examines the complex articulations of kinship and mobility. Articles in this collection approach through the prism of kinship migration and mobility issues, such as the legalization of unauthorized migrants’ children in Israel (Kalir, 2020), patterns of mobility in Cameroon (Geschiere, 2020), the ethnic Greek migration from the former Soviet Union to Greece (Voutira, 2020), the secrets of Somali and Ghanaian migrants in the Netherlands (Bakuri et al., 2020) and the beginning of a new life for two refugees in Britain (Carsten, 2020).…”