How Translocality Shapes Dutch-Cape Verdean Families

Abstract

Cape Verde is a country with a rich and long migration history, which has led to the belief that there are more Cape Verdeans that live outside of the country borders than within. Cape Verdean migration flows span across the whole world, meaning that Cape Verdean families often are scattered throughout different places. This dispersion has led to many families maintaining families across between the different places, creating translocal relationships. Not only does translocality influence these families, but also the individual family members. This research therefore sets out to examine the role of translocality for Dutch-Cape Verdean families and their members. This is done by focusing on the role of translocality for the actual relationships within these families as well as other types of networks, for the identity formation of the individual members, and for translocal practices that are important for the Dutch-Cape Verdean families. This is done by exploring the views and experiences of several members within these translocal families, both in the Netherlands and in Cape Verde.

This thesis uses a qualitative research design and the primary data was collected through personal surveys in the form of face-to-face conversations and in-depth interviews. To ensure that both the family members that moved away and those who stayed were properly included, the fieldwork was split in two. The first half of the research was carried out in the Netherlands, particularly in Rotterdam, to delve into the perspectives and experiences of the Cape Verdean members that migrated to the Netherlands. The second half of the fieldwork took place in Cape Verde, on Sao Vicente and Santiago. Here, the perspectives of the members that stayed in Cape Verde were researched.

The outcome of this research shows that translocality plays a vital role for the relationships of Dutch-Cape Verdean families. Translocality also has a big impact on the individual family members, through identity formation, different types of relationships and networks, and the translocal practice of remittances.