TY - JOUR
T1 - The sociocultural effects of returnee overseas Filipino workers in the Philippines
AU - Yu, Xiaojiang
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements. – I thank the Hong Kong Baptist University (FRG1/09-10/ 044) for funding the research. In addition, I wish to express my appreciation to OFWs Ms Clarita Cañares, Marible Fonbuena, Ethel Domingo, and Malou Aguire in Hong Kong, and their family members in the Philippines for their support during my field surveys. I am grateful to Sister Susan Pineda from Cabanatuan City for introducing me to the interviewees, to all of the returnees, and to their local community members who participated in the interviews. I also wish to thank Dr Estelle Dryland (Macquarie University, Sydney), Professor Katherine Gibson (University of Western Sydney), the anonymous referees for their constructive comments, Catriona Turner and Michael Jones for final editing, Ms Heung Suk Yan in the Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, for her assistance in preparing Figure 1, and Professor Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr at Ateneo de Manila University for useful information.
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - The article aims to determine the degree of sociocultural change resulting from the return of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), how the changes have impacted on the workers' original communities, and the various reintegration challenges posed by those communities. The theoretical framework of the article is built upon concepts of transnationalism and habitus. The methodology employed included field research conducted in 2010 and a village community approach. The study revealed that changes in the personal identities and social behaviour of the returnees are significant. However, the returnees' family ties and attitudes towards religion were largely the same as before they went overseas, and some had grown even closer to their families and become more religious. Further, the changes in their local community that occurred subsequent to their return revealed both positive and negative influences. Several sociocultural factors impeded the reintegration of returnee OFWs, and this called for action at all levels of government in the Philippines as well as from local communities and the returnees themselves.
AB - The article aims to determine the degree of sociocultural change resulting from the return of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), how the changes have impacted on the workers' original communities, and the various reintegration challenges posed by those communities. The theoretical framework of the article is built upon concepts of transnationalism and habitus. The methodology employed included field research conducted in 2010 and a village community approach. The study revealed that changes in the personal identities and social behaviour of the returnees are significant. However, the returnees' family ties and attitudes towards religion were largely the same as before they went overseas, and some had grown even closer to their families and become more religious. Further, the changes in their local community that occurred subsequent to their return revealed both positive and negative influences. Several sociocultural factors impeded the reintegration of returnee OFWs, and this called for action at all levels of government in the Philippines as well as from local communities and the returnees themselves.
KW - local communities
KW - Philippines
KW - reintegration
KW - returnee labour migrants
KW - sociocultural changes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84923358945&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00291951.2014.995216
DO - 10.1080/00291951.2014.995216
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84923358945
SN - 0029-1951
VL - 69
SP - 47
EP - 58
JO - Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift
JF - Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift
IS - 1
ER -
