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Long-Distance Nationalism: the Case of The Long-distance nationalism: The case of the Pacific Islands’ Diaspora in Finland Samiuela Elone no. 012435786 Master’s Thesis Intercultural Encounters Faculty of Arts University of Helsinki May 2021 Supervisor Julie Yu-Wen Chen Tiedekunta – Fakultet – Faculty Koulutusohjelma – Utbildningsprogram: Degree Programme Humanistinen tiedekunta: Kulttuurienvälisen vuorovaikutuksen maisteriohjelma: Faculty of Arts Master’s Degree in Intercultural Encounters Opintosuunta – Studieinriktning – Study Track Master of Theology Tekijä – Författare – Author: Samiuela Elone Työn nimi – Arbetets titel – Title Long-distance nationalism: The case of the Pacific Islands’ diaspora in Finland Työn laji – Arbetets art – Level Pro Gradu- Aika – Datum – Month and year Sivumäärä– Sidoantal – Number of tutkielma – Master’s thesis May 2021 pages 62 + 22 Tiivistelmä - Referat – Abstract The Pacific islands’ diaspora consists of first-generation immigrants from different Pacific Island countries. In 2019, only 32 people living in Finland were born in the islands, ten of them participated in this study. Even though there have been studies on the Pacific Islands’ diasporas, this is the first time such a study has been conducted in Finland. It is also the first one of its kind to look at long-distance nationalism from the perspectives of the islanders in Finland. The three research questions are, how do the Pacific islanders forge and sustain a community in Finland? How do Pacific Islanders create and maintain connections with their homelands? What challenges do they face in their effort to reconnect with their homelands? The thesis tests three hypotheses; the islanders are creating a place and space for themselves “here” to belong, connect, and to practice their cultures; they maintain the connection to their home-islands through social media, sending remittances, and direct visit; there are factors, such as financial capital and personal changes, that inversely affect the islanders’ connectivity to their homelands. The data for the study was collected through semi-structured interviews of the ten islanders and who are all active members of the islands’ diaspora in Finland. They are from four different countries and have moved to Finland during the last twenty-four years. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all the interviews were done online. The thematic analysis method is used to analyse the data and five themes emerge. They reflect the recurring meanings across the data set, relevant in answering the research questions, and also support the three hypotheses. The result shows that the Pacific islands’ diaspora has forged and maintained a community for themselves in this country in which they practice and reproduce their cultures strengthening their bonds between themselves, stay connected to each other, and at the same time reconnect to their ancestral lands through organised local activities and also long- distance nationalistic practices such as sending financial and material supports to their homelands. Avainsanat – Nyckelord – Keywords: Pacific Islands, islander, long-distance nationalism, diaspora, homeland, home-island, Pacific, Oceania, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia Säilytyspaikka – Förvaringställe – Where deposited: E-Thesis Muita tietoja – Övriga uppgifter – Additional information Content 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 1.1 The research questions and the hypotheses ....................................................... 2 1.2 The structure of the thesis ................................................................................. 4 2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................. 5 2.1 Oceania .............................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Pacific Islanders’ Migration .............................................................................. 5 2.3 The Pacific Islands’ Diaspora ........................................................................... 7 2.4 Long-distance Nationalism ............................................................................... 9 2.5 How the Images of Paradise benefit the Islanders .......................................... 11 3 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 16 3.1 The Participants ............................................................................................... 16 3.2 The Interviews ................................................................................................. 18 3.3 Participant Observation ................................................................................... 21 3.4 Data Analysis .................................................................................................. 23 4 CHAPTER 4: THE RESULTS ............................................................................... 27 4.1 Theme 1: Culture shock, Community building and Hospitality. .................... 27 4.1.1 The Culture Shock ................................................................................. 27 4.1.2 Community Building ............................................................................. 29 4.1.3 Hospitality ............................................................................................. 31 4.2 Theme 2: Remittances: Responsibilities, Expectations & Education ............. 32 4.2.1 Responsibility to God ............................................................................ 33 4.2.2 Responsibility for the Elders ................................................................. 34 i 4.2.3 Investment in Education ........................................................................ 35 4.3 Connectivity: Social Media (SM), Traditions & Cultural activities ............... 36 4.3.1 Connectivity through SM, shorten the distance .................................... 36 4.3.2 Connectivity through Traditions: Music and Food. .............................. 38 4.3.3 Connectivity through PIFS’ Activities .................................................. 41 4.3.4 Connectivity through Rugby ................................................................. 42 4.4 Continuity: Respect, Honour, Religion and Art .............................................. 43 4.4.1 Respect and Honour .............................................................................. 43 4.4.2 Honouring Religion. .............................................................................. 44 4.4.3 Cultural Symbols and Performing Arts. ................................................ 46 4.5 Representing and Promoting the Homeland ................................................... 47 4.5.1 Island’s Representative .......................................................................... 47 4.5.2 Framing the Realities in the Homelands ............................................... 48 4.5.3 Multiculturalism .................................................................................... 49 5 CHAPTER 5: THE DISCUSSIONS ....................................................................... 51 5.1 Discussion of the Themes ............................................................................... 51 5.2 The Study Limitations ..................................................................................... 60 5.3 Recommendations for Future Research .......................................................... 61 6 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 62 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 63 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 73 Appendix A: The Islands......................................................................................... 73 The Cook Islands - Kia Orana! ....................................................................... 73 ii Fiji Islands - Bula vinaka! ............................................................................... 74 The Samoa Islands - Talofa lava! .................................................................... 75 The Solomon Islands - Halo Olketa! ............................................................... 76 Appendix B: The Participant Consent Form ........................................................... 78 Appendix C: Interview Questions ........................................................................... 79 Questionnaire 1 (Q1): Online questionnaire ................................................... 79 Questionnaire 2 (Q2): In-person interview ..................................................... 80 iii 1 Chapter 1: Introduction The Pacific Islands' diaspora in Finland consists of immigrants from different Pacific Island countries (PICs), such as Papua New Guinea (PNG), Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu to mention a few. They call themselves “Islanders”1 which is a common collective term used by both the diaspora and the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands to refer to themselves. The Pacific Islands’ diaspora is probably the smallest minority group in Finland. According to Statistics Finland, at the end of 2019, 1572 people were living in Finland with a birthplace in Oceania2. Most of them were from Australia and New Zealand, and only 32 people were from the islands. Perhaps due to that fact, that the small PICs are not so
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