Children’s Experiences and Emotional Distress in Nicaraguan Mother Migrant Families

1. Children’s Experiences and Emotional Distress in Nicaraguan Mother Migrant Families Kristin Elizabeth Yarris, MPH, MA PhD Candidate, UCLA Dept. of Anthropology May 13, 2010 UC Center of Expertise on Migration and Health Workshop

2. Feminization of Nicaraguan migration • Contemporary Nicaraguan migratory flows are intra-regional; other Central American nations esp. Costa Rica, along with U.S. and Spain, are primary destinations • Migration is largely motivated by economic “push” factors, including chronic poverty, un/under employment • 51% of all Nicaraguan migrants are female, majority of these are women under 30, many of whom leave children behind • For women, domestic violence and/or breakdown in conjugal relationships may precipitate migration • Nicaraguan women migrants work largely in service economy/domestic employment in destination countries

3. Consequences of mother migration for families left behind • When fathers migrate, children and households left in care of women/mothers/spouses • When mothers migrate, grandmothers and other female kin informally assume caregiving roles • Mother migrants and caregivers back home participate in “global chain of caregiving labor” (Yeates 2005) • Cultural & symbolic significance of mother absence for children

4. Research questions • Dissertation explores caregiving roles of grandmothers in mother migrant families • This paper focuses on children’s experiences of mother migration • Particular focus: emotional consequences for children

5. Research design & methods • Dissertation fieldwork (August 2009-August 2010) • Multiple sites: Managua (urban), 2 semi-urban, 1 rural community • Selection criteria: Parent migrant; ≥1 child (aged 6-14 years); Grandmother primary caregiver • Mixed method ethnographic research: structured, semi-structured, informal interviews; standardized health measures; participant observation • Paper draws from child interviews & participant observation with 6 children of mother migrants

6. Los niño/as

7. Children’s experiences of “multiple mamás”

8. “Se tuvo que ir”: Children’s understandings of mother migration Children understand economic motives for mother migration; mother migrants viewed as sacrificing for children’s wellbeing “Se tuvo que ir para pagar unos bancos. Tuvo que ir y trabajar allá y mandarle a mi abuela para darme de comer.” “She had to leave to pay some banks. She had to go and work there and send (money to) my grandma in order to feed me.” --Juliana

9. Remesas & the complications of transnational communication • Mother migrants send remesas averaging $100 USD/month • Remesas have material & affective dimensions (Horton 2008) • Transnational families stay in touch using phone & internet; migrant mothers attempt to “mother from a distance”. (Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila 1997) • For children, regular remesas and communication differentiate between migrant mothers “abandoning” or being “pendiente” (attentive to) families back home • Transnational communication is complicated by time and distance, children grow apart from mothers, attachments shift

10. Return visits & the ambivalence of reunification • Migrant returns circumscribed by economic circumstances & migration policies • Visits at holidays or special occasions; highly anticipated by families back home • For children, visits both “alegre” and “triste” -- raise possibility of future reunification, simultaneously remind of pain of initial departure • “reunification” also problematic, implies leaving family, friends

11. Children’s idioms of distress • Idioms of distress - culturally significant somatic complaints with symbolic & emotional dimensions (Nichter 1981) • “enfermarse” (to get sick) • “pensar mucho” (to think too much) • Children’s expressions of disjunction between cultural expectations and actual lived experiences

12. “lo siento en mi corazón” • “I feel it in my heart” • A way children physically locate distress in their bodies • An embodiment of “tristeza” (sadness) related to mother migration, ongoing absence

13. Concluding comments: children as actors in transnational families • Children are social actors in transnational families • Children develop “transnational subjectivities” • Children experience emotional effects over time • Need for psycho-social support • Caregivers & extended families help children cope and “salir adelante” (get ahead)

14. “aquí me voy a quedar” “Yo siempre aquí me voy a quedar, yo no me voy a ir. Porque yo sé que aquí están mis familiares. Es aquí dónde yo nací. Y aquí tengo que estar.” “I’m always going to stay here, I’m not going to leave. Because I know that my family members are here. It’s here where I was born. And here is where I have to be.” --Vanessa

15. Acknowledgements Gracias: • All the families participating in my study for opening their homes and sharing their lives with me • The children discussed here for sharing their tears, their laughs, and their hopes for a better future • Fulbright-IIE and the National Science Foundation (Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant) for supporting my dissertation research • Cándida Gómez of Servicio Jesuita de Migrantes for her intellectual companionship and ongoing inspiration