1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«In this chapter, we discuss how intergenerational caring is organized in transnational families, based on a case study: Portuguese migration from the Azores archipelago to Quebec (Canada).» (p. 141)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«The main questions we try to answer are: How do stages of the life course shape transnational care giving? What is the impact of experiencing particular family transitions on the exchanges taking place in transnational families and, what changes are registered between generations?» (p. 141)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Multi-sited exploratory fieldwork was carried out in both sending (the Azores) and receiving countries (Quebec, Canada) in 2009, [p]articipant observations were conducted in the Azores, during the summer, in various social contexts where migrants and non-migrants gather, such as local traditional festivals, religious rituals or social gatherings. Similar circumstances and observation sites were also identified in Quebec. At the same time, biographic interviews investigating real-life experiences were conducted with members of two or three generations of extended families living in the Azores and in Quebec.» (p. 145-146)

Intruments :
Guide d’entrevue

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«The practice of caring at distance is more and more in the focus of the scholarly research on transnational migration. The existence of exchanges across frontiers shows that the intergenerational familial solidarity subsists in the context of transnational migration. [...] Starting in the mid-1950s, Portuguese migration flows directed to Canada reached a peak in the 1970s, continuing until today at lower levels. Maintaining strong ties with their origin communities through multi-directional exchanges (visits, traditional feasts, etc.), as well as return migration of the first generation registered in the last years, allow us to observe this transnational migration as a historical phenomenon that perpetuates over more than five decades. Organized mainly as family-led migration, this phenomenon today involves three generations of migrants who have multiple bonds and various relations to their origin country.» (p. 141) The authors conclude that «[t]he impact of life stage and life transitions on the practices of solidarity appears to be important and the care giving depends greatly on the needs experienced by members of the family, as researches on family solidarity in general showed. The different forms of support vary equally between generations and according to the position in the family. Care giving and instrumental or material help are particularly noted for the first and second generations of migrants and their non-migrant counterparts, while emotional help often involves the third generation.» (p. 149)