Rethinking Kinship, Mobility and Citizenship across the Ethiopian-Eritrean Boundaries

Massa, Aurora

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-53331-5_7

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some studies have illustrated the contextual and situational character of self‐identification. For example, in her studies of Tigrinya‐speaking Eritrean refugees and Ethiopian returnees in Mekele (Ethiopia), Massa (2017, 2018) found that her participants mobilized different senses of belonging and identification contextually at various points of their life. Another empirical example of the contextual nature of self‐identification is Sökefeld's (1999) examination of a Pakistani man, Ali Hassan, in which the subject adopted various and at times contradictory identities in different social settings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First‐Generation Refugees’ Rejection of Racial Self‐Identification in South Africa: Constructing Non‐Racial Identifications

Tewolde

2020

Studies Ethnicity & National

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although racial classification in South Africa has been extensively studied by scholars, little is known about the extent to which post-apartheid refugees or immigrants reject the South African racial classification system. In particular, there is scant research on Eritrean refugees' self-identification patterns within the racially structured South African host society. The current study addresses this lacuna by exploring how first-generation Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers, who originate from an ethno-linguistically structured social system, self-identify. Semi-structured interviews with 46 participants were conducted. Largely, those who lived in isolated Eritrean ethnic communities rejected identifying by race and instead self-classified by identities they were familiar with in their home country. The results reported here form only part of a larger study that identified various themes. Four themes were identified in relation to this paper's specific research question: (1) identifying as human; (2) identifying as Eritrean; (3) identifying as Habesha; and (4) identifying as Tigrinya. The paper argues that non-acculturated and residentially and ethnically isolated individual refugees in South Africa eschew South Africa's racial classification system. The resistance to racialization by new refugees might hold potential for transforming the country's entrenched racial classification system based on Black, White, Coloured, and Indian categories as the social demographics of South Africa change in response to immigration. * Amanuel Isak Tewolde is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Social Development in Africa at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His research interests include race, ethnicity, migration, welfare, and social development.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First‐Generation Refugees’ Rejection of Racial Self‐Identification in South Africa: Constructing Non‐Racial Identifications

Tewolde

2020

Studies Ethnicity & National

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Th e cases of Filmon, Alem and Dawit show once again how, regardless of one's position regarding the current government, values such as unity, self-sacrifi ce, and courage, as well as the celebration of fi ghters and martyrs, are frequently shared within the diaspora, even among those who escaped from and oppose the current government. More generally, the feeling of belonging to Eritrea is never questioned and constitutes a strong bond that is interlaced with other forms of attachment and identifi cation (for example, those based on gender or shared locality of origin), and made deeper by the fusion of national and family genealogy (Massa 2017(Massa , 2020b.…”

Section: Sending Money Offi Cially: Beyond Binary Generational and Po...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Much More Than Just Money: Investigating Remittances Across Time and Place in the Eritrean Context

Belloni

Fusari

Massa

2022

ModAfr

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Remittances have played crucial and shifting roles in Eritrea and its diaspora. They were fundamental to the achievement of national independence and are a resource with which the current government strengthens its power. Households have been reliant on remittances for survival, while for migrants they have been crucial to reinforce their sense of national belonging. Drawing from fieldwork, this article analyses remittances as a powerful tool to assess the ongoing (dis)connection between segments of the Eritrean diaspora and their homeland. The article firstly addresses financial remittances and shows how (in)formal flows play differing functions in relation to the government, communities, and families. Aft er highlighting how social remittances are contributing to current transformations within Eritrean society, it reflects on the potential role remittances may play in the future of the country.

show abstract

“…Moreover, in general, this term provides a strong source of belonging and locates each person in a wider family, communal and spatial unit. It can refer to different scales, from a village to a region, to a neighbourhood to the nation (Massa 2017). Finally, the term hager refers to wider geographical spaces and has a patriotic value.…”

Section: Home and Homeless In The Eritrean Context: A Local Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Accumulated Homelessness: Analysing Protracted Displacement along Eritreans’ Life Histories

Belloni

Massa

2021

Journal of Refugee Studies

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article introduces the notion of ‘accumulated homelessness’ to account for the repeated loss and lack of home experienced by many migrants in Europe today. Through the lens of home and homelessness, we argue that the debate on protracted displacement—often applied only to developing countries—should be extended to Europe. Going beyond the idea of shelterlessness, we consider homelessness as a multidimensional and multiscalar condition which encompasses material and emotional aspects. By analysing two life histories of Eritrean men living in Italy and in the Netherlands, we examine the set of structural, social, and individual conditions leading them to lose home in different places and times as well as their attempts—such as finding accommodation, establishing a community organisation, or moving onwards—to reconstruct home.

show abstract

Rethinking Kinship, Mobility and Citizenship across the Ethiopian-Eritrean Boundaries

Cited by 9 publications

References 33 publications

First‐Generation Refugees’ Rejection of Racial Self‐Identification in South Africa: Constructing Non‐Racial Identifications

First‐Generation Refugees’ Rejection of Racial Self‐Identification in South Africa: Constructing Non‐Racial Identifications

Much More Than Just Money: Investigating Remittances Across Time and Place in the Eritrean Context

Accumulated Homelessness: Analysing Protracted Displacement along Eritreans’ Life Histories

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About