Prelims

Half Title Page

Post-Migration Experiences, Cultural Practices and Homemaking

Title Page

Post-Migration Experiences, Cultural Practices and Homemaking: An Ethnography of Dominican Migration to Europe

BY

SABRINA DINMOHAMED

Center for Research of Caribbean Migration, The Netherlands

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2023

Copyright © 2023 Sabrina Dinmohamed.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83753-205-6 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83753-204-9 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83753-206-3 (Epub)

Dedication Page

This book is dedicated to my mother, Chitra Ramnath, who always gave me the freedom to follow my own path. Her wisdom is beyond all books or degrees. This book is also dedicated to my father, Eugène Dinmohamed, who carries his Caribbeanness with so much pride that, without knowing, he inspired me to do research on Caribbean migration and culture.

Finally, this book is dedicated to my great-grandparents and grandparents, who migrated from India to Suriname and from Suriname to the Netherlands, and created a home in unfamiliar territories.

Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Figures

Tables

Acknowledgements

Since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated by the lives of immigrants. At home in Amsterdam, my father would watch Migrantentelevisie (‘migrant television’) on the local television channels where immigrant groups in the Netherlands broadcast their own programmes. We watched to see programmes about Suriname and Surinamese people in the Netherlands, and I was always captivated by the immigrants’ stories of their experiences in the Netherlands. Later in life, I was drawn by the Caribbean and Caribbean cultures. I always wondered why, despite being born and raised in the Netherlands, I could not feel at home there. When one would apply the widely accepted indicators of integration to me, my scores would be good and I would be declared a successful immigrant (in my case, second generation). How, then, to explain my lack of feeling at home? Are we, in our labelling of integration as ‘successful’, forgetting to take into account other factors and realities? It is with these questions in mind that I embarked on this research project. My aim, in addition to advancing the scientific debate, was to provide answers to a very personal question.

I thank several persons for inspiring, guiding and motivating me to do research. During my first year as a social sciences student at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, courses in anthropology and about the Caribbean fascinated me. Anthropology lecturer Carel Roessingh was the first person to inspire me to become active in research. After getting my master’s, during my years working as a researcher in Curaçao, the themes of migration and immigrants became really meaningful to me. Around then, I decided that I wanted to become an expert on the lives of immigrants. I am thankful to my then-boss at the Central Bureau of Statistics, Mike Jacobs, for when cleaning off his bookshelf, throwing a book at me saying, ‘Look at this, it might interest you’. It was an anthropological study about the migration experiences of Dominican immigrants in Puerto Rico. That’s when I knew: I wanted to study migrants from the Dominican Republic and their processes of finding a way in a new society.

A couple of years later, I crossed paths with Ruben Gowricharn. I thank him for introducing me to the concept of home as a perspective through which to examine immigrants’ experiences. I thank Jan Rath for always reminding me that this is my research, thus instilling in me a sense of agency and strength. He also encouraged me to be myself in what, for me, was the uncomfortable world of academia, by being himself, including when ‘the Afrikaanderwijk came out’, as he expressed it.

My loved ones also played a part in my writing of this book. I thank everyone who supported me emotionally, financially and intellectually in Europe and the Caribbean (especially in Suriname, Curaçao and the Dominican Republic). Dank je wel, dhan ye baad, gran tangi, masha danki and muchas gracias to all of you who understood when I said I did not have time to meet up in those months of research and writing. You kindly responded, ‘Just finish the thing, that is what’s important now’. Another point: doing research without funding was a challenge. Wanting to finish the research in this life, but also having to earn an income posed serious challenges. However, these also proved an opportunity in disguise, as they showed me how many people were willing to offer support. The financial support of friends and family enabled me to concentrate on my research without having to worry about paying the rent or buying food.

While this book is a product of my own hard work, there is one person who always saw my intellectual capabilities and pushed me to explore them. That is my mother, Chitra. Without her, my path would not have been laid out, and I thank her for that. Then, there is the one person who encouraged me when doing the research became challenging. That is my sister Jane. She put me back in touch with my deep desire to do research on Dominican migration and brought back the sparkle that let me continue. Then, of course, without food you cannot function. Sometimes when trying to meet deadlines or being simply lost in my writings, my father, Eugène, would send me a message, Heb je al gegeten? (“Have you eaten?”). When I answered, ‘I don’t need food. I’ll be at university until I die’, he would soon be on his way to me with a meal. And Zorina, my little sister, thank you for inspiring me by being who you are, you strong warrior person.

Then there are my dear Dominican people. I thank Gladys Carrasco, who introduced me to so many Dominicans in different parts of the Netherlands and of different walks of life. And my respondents! I am indebted to all of you and all the other Dominicans I met on my journey in trying to understand Dominican migration and culture. Without your willingness to share your stories, I would not have been able to write this book. Without your love and warmth, doing the fieldwork would not have been as much fun. I also thank Françios Bérénos, Luz Teresa Mena Decena and Miguel Rodriguez Castro for always receiving me with so much love in San Pedro de Macoris and in their home. Muchas gracias por su amor y calor.

Through the stories presented in this book, I came closer to answering my own questions about home, and, as such, this research brought me home. Readers, I hope through this book you can smell the Dominican flavours and feel the Dominican ambiente.

Sabrina Dinmohamed