International Migration and Senses of Belonging: On the Nexus of Mobility and Place Attachment

Abstract

The neoliberal demand of frequent mobility has led to a growing number of people who live their lives against the background of recurring mobility. This holds true for both high-skilled (Beaverstock 2005) and low-skilled workers (e.g. Pai 2004; Yeoh and Soco 2014). Contrary to assumptions that this frequent mobility leads to decreasing importance of places in favor of spaces (e.g. Hannerz 1990), empirical studies show that places still matter for migrants (e.g. Ahmed et al. 2003; Walsh 2006). Often, social networks or local communities are identified as important for this situatedness during mobility (Brickell and Datta 2011, 3) and place attachment (e.g. Cieraad 2010). Other aspects of people's environments such as objects are only rarely considered (Nowicka 2007; Bardhi, Eckhardt, and Arnould 2012). This paper addresses this desideratum and focusses on the nexus of human and non-actors. My empirical data show that everyday objects are crucial for migrants to create senses of belonging. The objects can be analytically distinguished between those that travel with the migrant (clothes, analog pictures) and those that remain in place when the migrant leaves (motorcycle, furniture). Additionally, certain objects serve as mediators for social interaction. These mediating objects such as laptops make it possible for the migrant to use communication technologies which are employed to stay in touch with geographically distant people. This nexus of human and nun-human actors plays a key role in migration processes. On an abstract level, this corresponds with a nexus of mobility and place attachment which is characteristic for the lives of international migrants.