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Making Money, Missing Home: Reflections on Timorese Informal Labour Migration to Britain

Making Money, Missing Home: Reflections on Timorese Informal Labour Migration to Britain In the two decades of economic recovery in post-Independence Timor-Leste (2002–2022), there has been a growing interest and commitment, especially among young people, to pursue temporary and circular labour migration. In this paper I draw on a survey of returned Fataluku-speaking labour migrants who have spent varying periods of time working in the UK (Britain) and reflect on their experiences and the benefits or otherwise that have resulted from these efforts. The survey was undertaken in late 2019, just before the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic. The subsequent lockdown and border closures marked the effective end of this remarkable, two-decade long, informal Timorese circular labour migration to the UK. A post-Covid landscape may yet see a lively resumption of this livelihood pathway, but it will do so in the uncertain terrain of a post-Brexit landscape in the UK and the prospects of new labour migration options available closer to home in Australia under the Seasonal Workers Program and Pacific Labour Schemes (PLS). http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology Taylor & Francis

Making Money, Missing Home: Reflections on Timorese Informal Labour Migration to Britain

McWilliam, Andrew
The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology , Volume 23 (3): 20 – May 27, 2022
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Making Money, Missing Home: Reflections on Timorese Informal Labour Migration to Britain

Abstract

In the two decades of economic recovery in post-Independence Timor-Leste (2002–2022), there has been a growing interest and commitment, especially among young people, to pursue temporary and circular labour migration. In this paper I draw on a survey of returned Fataluku-speaking labour migrants who have spent varying periods of time working in the UK (Britain) and reflect on their experiences and the benefits or otherwise that have resulted from these efforts. The survey was...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
ISSN
1740-9314
eISSN
1444-2213
DOI
10.1080/14442213.2022.2077818
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In the two decades of economic recovery in post-Independence Timor-Leste (2002–2022), there has been a growing interest and commitment, especially among young people, to pursue temporary and circular labour migration. In this paper I draw on a survey of returned Fataluku-speaking labour migrants who have spent varying periods of time working in the UK (Britain) and reflect on their experiences and the benefits or otherwise that have resulted from these efforts. The survey was undertaken in late 2019, just before the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic. The subsequent lockdown and border closures marked the effective end of this remarkable, two-decade long, informal Timorese circular labour migration to the UK. A post-Covid landscape may yet see a lively resumption of this livelihood pathway, but it will do so in the uncertain terrain of a post-Brexit landscape in the UK and the prospects of new labour migration options available closer to home in Australia under the Seasonal Workers Program and Pacific Labour Schemes (PLS).

Journal

The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology – Taylor & Francis

Published: May 27, 2022

Keywords: Labour Migration; Remittances; Timor-Leste; United Kingdom; Australia

References

  • Getting an Education: Links to Indonesian Schools and Universities Remain Strong in East Timor
  • Best Practice in Temporary Labour Migration for Development: A Perspective from Asia and the Pacific
  • ‘Sending Dollars Shows Feelings’: Emotion and Economies in Filipino Migration
  • Exchange and Resilience in Timor-Leste
  • New Fataluku Diasporas and Landscapes of Remittance and Return,” in “Nation-Formation, Identity and Change in Timor-Leste,
  • Fataluku Labor Migration and Transnational Care in Timor-Leste
  • Migration, Family and Networks: Timorese Seasonal Workers’ Social Support in Australia