India

Central and South AmericaCentral and South AsiaEssays & ArticlesLong-Distance JourneysPublicationsSub-Saharan Africa

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

Ellysse V. Dick

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.

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group of people
Central and South AmericaCentral and South AsiaEssays & ArticlesLong-Distance JourneysPublications

Origins Breed Commonalities, Camaraderie, and Conflict

Ellysse V. Dick

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.

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