India – The Journeys Project

Origins Breed Commonalities, Camaraderie, and Conflict

March 31, 2019April 5, 2021 Ellysse V. Dick 484 Views 0 Comment Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Friends and Networks, India, Language, Nepal, Pakistan, Smuggling, sri lanka, The journey

By Aastha Dua and Subin Mulmi, under the supervision of Kim Wilson. The authors observed the South Asian identity play out in interesting and diverse ways among the migrants interviewed. The dynamic between the general populations of these countries—oscillating between brotherly love, jealousy, and rivalry—was reflected in full, as if in a microcosm, among the South Asian migrants traveling to America in their interactions with each other. This essay is an attempt to describe this dynamic, culled from the interviews that were conducted by the authors with the migrants and from their own observations in the CATEMs (Temporary Care Centers for Migrants) and the surrounding areas in Costa Rica.

Central and South America Central and South Asia Essays & Articles Long-Distance Journeys Publications Sub-Saharan Africa

Migrants Hold onto Their Religious Identities for Emotional Support and to Build Networks Crucial to Their Journeys

March 31, 2019April 5, 2021 Ellysse V. Dick 490 Views 0 Comment Costa Rica, Dangers and trouble, Ghana, India, nigeria, Pakistan, Religion, The journey

By Lea Abi Zeid Daou and Nidhisha Philip, under the supervision of Kim Wilson. Writings on why religion is of significance to individual migrants have explored themes of religion as a reason for migration, religion as a means of sustenance in difficult circumstances, religion as an identity marker in new socio-cultural contexts, and religion as a source of reconciliation and healing. In this essay, we explore some of these same themes, basing our insights on interviews with trans-continental migrants traveling through Costa Rica and bound for the north.

Central and South America Central and South Asia Essays & Articles Long-Distance Journeys North America Publication Spotlight Publications Sub-Saharan Africa

What Can Hotels Teach Us about Smuggling?

March 31, 2019April 5, 2021 Ellysse V. Dick 684 Views 0 Comment Bangladesh, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Dangers and trouble, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Forgery bribery and corruption, Ghana, Haiti, Host and transition communities, Identity and documents, India, Lodging and food, Money and finance, Nepal, nigeria, Smuggling

By Maria Teresa Nagel, under the supervision of Kim Wilson. There is limited research describing the smuggling industry and its actors, particularly in Central America. Our study hopes to address this knowledge gap by disclosing how human smugglers lodge their clients and the role hotels play in the smuggling ecosystem.

Central and South America Central and South Asia Long-Distance Journeys North America Publication Spotlight Publications Reports Sub-Saharan Africa

The Other Migration: The Financial Journeys of Asians and Africans Traveling Through the Americas

April 30, 2019April 9, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 688 Views 0 Comment Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dangers and trouble, Destinations, DRC, Forgery bribery and corruption, Friends and Networks, Gender, Ghana, Haiti, Host and transition communities, Identity and documents, India, Language, Money and finance, Nepal, Pakistan, Religion, Smuggling, Technology, The journey

By Kim Wilson et al.

Central and South America Central and South Asia Essays & Articles Long-Distance Journeys North America Publication Spotlight Publications

Tracing the Financial Journeys of Nepali Migrants

April 30, 2019April 5, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 721 Views 0 Comment Costa Rica, Dangers and trouble, Destinations, Fletcher students’ research experience, Forgery bribery and corruption, India, Lodging and food, Money and finance, Nepal, Pakistan, Smuggling, The journey, usa

By Subin Mulmi, under the supervision of Kim Wilson. The 2015 earthquake in Nepal resulted in the deaths of 8,970 people with 22,302 injured. Several reports have estimated that more than one million houses were destroyed, affecting the lives of six million people. Only a handful of families have been relocated to safer places. Even before the quake, the country was reeling from the effects of the decade-long civil war that claimed the lives of 13,236 people and led to the disappearance of thousands more. In June 2009, the Nepal IDP Working Group reported that up to 70,000 people displaced by the conflict had not yet found durable housing. They remained unable to return home, integrate locally, or resettle elsewhere.

Central and South America Central and South America Central and South Asia Essays & Articles Long-Distance Journeys Publications Sub-Saharan Africa

You and I Are Not Friends: The Challenges of Ethnographic Study in the Migration Field

April 30, 2019April 9, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 491 Views 0 Comment Barriers, Cameroon, Colombia, Dangers and trouble, Fletcher students’ research experience, Gender, Identity and documents, India, Language, Nepal, venezuela

By Padmini Baruah, under the supervision of Kim Wilson. Transnational migration has been one of the most talked-about phenomena of the past decade. With prolonged armed conflict, economic crises, and climate change affecting different parts of the world adversely, it is not a surprise that an estimated 258 million people live in a country that is not the country of their birth.1 Much news has been generated on this subject, and multiple studies have focused on the macro aspects of this issue. However, equally vital is not losing sight of the fact that while broad patterns and theories can explain the macrophenomenon of transnational migration, each migrant’s story is ultimately a subjective and entirely personal lived experience. The powerful contribution of the individual narrative as well as of ethnographic observations to academic studies in this field cannot be overlooked.

Central and South America Central and South Asia Essays & Articles Long-Distance Journeys Publications

Retaining, Changing, and Surrendering Hegemonic Masculinities

April 30, 2019April 5, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 412 Views 0 Comment Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Dangers and trouble, Destinations, Gender, India, Nepal, Pakistan, The journey

By Subin Mulmi, under the supervision of Kim Wilson. Transatlantic migration from South Asia is a long, arduous, and expensive journey but each year many South Asians risk their lives to reach the supposed dreamland of the United States. A large majority of the South Asians that I met during our re-search in 2018 in Costa Rica were men, prompting a focus on how men experienced long-distance migration.

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The Other Migration, Part 3: Financial Journey of Refugees

July 2, 2019April 9, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 449 Views 0 Comment Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dangers and trouble, DRC, ecuador, Family, Forgery bribery and corruption, Ghana, Haiti, India, Money and finance, Nepal, Pakistan, Smuggling

Money can reveal new and important aspects of the migration journey. In part three of this three-part series, learn what finances can tell us as migrants and refugees save, spend, and try to maintain money traveling from around the world, to South America, and up through Central America in a perilous migration route.

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The Other Migration, Part 2: Journey Through the Darién Gap

July 2, 2019April 9, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 412 Views 0 Comment Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dangers and trouble, DRC, ecuador, Friends and Networks, Ghana, Haiti, India, Nepal, Pakistan, The journey

Migrants and refugees who have fled to South America may attempt to travel up through Central America in search of safety and stability in the US or Canada. This journey involves crossing one of the world’s most dangerous jungles: The Darién Gap, along the border of Colombia and Panama. In part two of this three-part series, learn about this perilous leg of the migration journey.

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The Other Migration, Part 1: Who and Why

July 2, 2019April 9, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 779 Views 0 Comment Bangladesh, Before the journey, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Destinations, DRC, ecuador, Family, Ghana, Haiti, Identity and documents, India, Nepal, Pakistan

As countries across the globe crack down on immigration, migrants and refugees are forced to uncover new travel routes in search of safety and stability. The Other Migration examines the journey of migrants from Africa and Asia as they travel across the world to South America and up through Central America. Part one of this three-part series examines who is traveling on this migration route and why.

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