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'COMING HOME': THE RETURN AND REINTEGRATION OF BELIZEAN RETURNEES FROM THE UNITED STATES TO BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA By FLEMMING DAUGAARD-HANSEN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2009 1 © 2009 Flemming Daugaard-Hansen 2 To Ermitte 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Completing this study would not have been possible without the generous cooperation of the Belizean returnees who form the basis of this study, and who allowed me to befriend them, interview them, and become part of their lives. This dissertation is both for them and about them, and it is my hope that it will add to their understanding of themselves and of people who have had similar life experiences in migrating to the United States and returning to Belize to live. I also wish to acknowledge the assistance and company of friends, key consultants, and cultural brokers in Belize, who helped me complete this project. In particular, I wish to thank Miguel Usher for being a perfect host during my stay in Belmopan in 2004-2005, and for providing stimulating discussions and friendship since then. Further, I would not have been able to gain access to as many people and as many different aspects of Belizean society, had it not been for Sharon Palacio, Director of Student Affairs at the University of Belize, who acted as a research assistant, friend, advisor, and cultural broker in many instances. I wish to thank both Miguel and Sharon for their friendship, and for inviting me into their homes, their lives, and their families. In addition, thanks are due to the following institutions in Belize, and the staff associated with them at the time of this study, for all the assistance that was extended to me in various ways: Director Lita Krohn and Program Coordinator Froyla Salam of the Institute of Social and Cultural Research (ISCR) under the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) at the House of Culture in Belize City; the staff of the National Archives in Belmopan, for assisting me in researching historical documents, newspaper articles, and published works related to Belizean migrants; the staff associated with the Central Statistical Office (CSO) in Belmopan, for providing me with statistical information and insights regarding the returnee population in 4 Belize; the University of Belize in Belmopan; and the Society for the Promotion of Education and Research (SPEAR) in Belize City. Because this study is a continuation of my research involvement with Belize that began in 1999, I wish to pay my respects to the following anthropologists who have been an immense inspiration to me over the years, and who have helped me define my own role in relation to anthropology and to Belize: Karen Fog Olwig, who was supervisor on my master’s thesis work at the University of Copenhagen, and who has since then been an important role model and source of support and encouragement in my career; Richard Wilk, who has maintained a multi- faceted research commitment to Belize over the past thirty years, and whose work and advice has inspired me to do better and think harder about issues of globalization and development in relation to Belize; and Joseph Palacio, the Belizean anthropologist whose commitment to the development and empowerment of the Garinagu of Belize serves as a reminder to all anthropologists of keeping our focus on the people we study. I must also emphasize the importance of the professors serving on my Ph.D. committee, whose continued assistance, critique, and moral support facilitated the completion of this dissertation. I wish to thank my committee chair Allan Burns, for bringing me into the anthropology program at the University of Florida, and for encouraging me in various ways throughout my studies, especially during the writing process. Thanks are also due to committee members Maria Stoilkova and Willie Baber from Anthropology, and to Stephanie Evans from African American Studies and the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research. I have enjoyed having such knowledgeable and professional scholars be part of this project, and our numerous conversations have helped make this dissertation a better scholarly work. I would also like to mention two former Committee Members who each helped shape earlier stages of my 5 research and professional development: Cristina Espinosa from Latin American Studies, and Terry Mills from Sociology. Both left University of Florida to pursue their individual careers elsewhere before I could complete this dissertation. Most importantly, I am very grateful for the love, support and patience that Ermitte St. Jacques has shown me over the years. I would not be who I am today without her, and this dissertation would not have been written without her careful proofreading and helpful comments and suggestions. Also, I wish to thank Merethe Daugaard-Hansen for supporting me throughout this process, and believing in me as I made this journey. Finally, the research project in Belize in 2004-2005 on which this dissertation is based, was made possible only with the financial support from the following sources and foundations: A preliminary research grant from the A. Curtis Wilgus Fellowship, University of Florida; the Grinter Fellowship from the University of Florida; and generous support through a Dissertation Research grant from the Knud Højgaard Foundation of Denmark. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................ 10 ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................ 12 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: TRANSNATIONAL RETURNS TO BELIZE ....................................... 14 Population and Migration Background ...................................................................................... 19 Scope of the Study ...................................................................................................................... 22 Migration Studies and Return Migration ................................................................................... 25 Transnationalism and Return Migration .................................................................................... 29 Gendered Returns ........................................................................................................................ 33 Fieldwork and Methods .............................................................................................................. 37 Study Population ......................................................................................................................... 44 Outline of Dissertation ................................................................................................................ 49 2 TRAJECTORIES OF MIGRATION AND RETURN ............................................................. 59 Migration Histories ..................................................................................................................... 62 Belize City and the New Capital of Belmopan ......................................................................... 68 The 2000 Census of Belize ......................................................................................................... 73 Successful and Unplanned Returns ............................................................................................ 77 Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 79 3 TRANSNATIONAL FAMILIES ............................................................................................... 81 Migration and the Family ........................................................................................................... 85 Returning to the Family .............................................................................................................. 91 Return Decisions and the Family ............................................................................................... 96 Maintaining Transnational Family Networks .......................................................................... 102 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 109 4 BUILDING AND MAINTAINING ‘HOME’ IN BELIZE ................................................... 111 Houses and ‘Home’ in Belize ................................................................................................... 115 Constructing ‘Home’ in Belize................................................................................................. 120 Maintaining and Improving ‘Home’ ........................................................................................ 125 Unplanned Returns and Securing Housing .............................................................................. 131 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 137 7 5 MAINTAINING TRANSNATIONAL