Longing to Return and Spaces of Belonging
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TURUN YLIOPISTON JULKAISUJA ANNALES UNIVERSITATIS TURKUENSIS SERIAL B, HUMANIORA, 374 LONGING TO RETURN AND SPACES OF BELONGING. IRAQIS’ NARRATIVES IN HELSINKI AND ROME By Vanja La Vecchia-Mikkola TURUN YLIOPISTO UNIVERSITY OF TURKU Turku 2013 Department of Social Research/Sociology Faculty of Social Sciences University of Turku Turku, Finland Supervised by: Suvi Keskinen Östen Wahlbeck University of Helsinki University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland Helsinki, Finland Reviewed by: Marja Tiilikainen Marko Juntunen University of Helsinki University of Tampere Helsinki, Finland Helsinki, Finland Opponent: Professor Minoo Alinia Uppsala University Uppsala, Sweden ISBN 978-951-29-5594-7 (PDF) ISSN 0082-6987 Acknowledgments First of all, I wish to express my initial appreciation to all the people from Iraq who contributed to this study. I will always remember the time spent with them as enriching and enjoyable experience, not only as a researcher but also as a human being. I am extremely grateful to my two PhD supervisors: Östen Wahlbeck and Suvi Keskinen, who have invested time and efforts in reading and providing feedback to the thesis. Östen, you have been an important mentor for me during these years. Thanks for your support and your patience. Your critical suggestions and valuable insights have been fundamental for this study. Suvi, thanks for your inspiring comments and continuous encouragement. Your help allows me to grow as a research scientist during this amazing journey. I am also deeply indebted to many people who contributed to the different steps of this thesis. I am grateful to both reviewers Marja Tiilikainen and Marko Juntunen, for their time, dedication and valuable comments. I thank the researchers involved in the Academy of Finland project “Transnational and Local: the Social Integration of Immigrant Communities” for sharing their comments and thoughts on numerous occasions. In particular, I am indebted to Östen Wahlbeck, Tuomas Martikainen, Salla Tuori, Sanna Saksela-Bergholm, Kathleen Valtonen, and Sabina Fortelius. It was an honor for me to work with you. Similarly, I also thank the experts involved in the Academy of Finland project at the University of Turku called “Multiculturalism as a New Pathway to Incorporation” and in particular Auvo Kostiainen and all experts and student participating in our classes. I express my special thanks to Peter Kivisto, also involved in the project and whose comments were particularly precious to me. I owe my deepest gratitude to the people from the department of Social research/Sociology at the University of Turku, Hannu Ruonavaara and Jani Erola for practical advice and support. My past and current colleagues Mari Toivanen, Chuang- Ying Liu, Elina Oinas, Paul Jonker-Hoffren, Jukka Vuorinen, Antti Kouvo, Carita Lockmer, Arttu Saarinen, Päivi Naumanen and many others for the enriching time spend during our seminars, for their suggestions at various points of my research, practical help and friendship. A special thank goes also to the administrative staff of the Department secretary Jaana Tähti and coordinator Marja Andersson. 1 I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the past and current people at the University of Helsinki /Swedish School of Social Science and the Centre for Research on Ethnic Relations and Nationalism (CEREN) like Jan Saarela, Tom Sandlund, Matti Similä, Peter A. Kraus, Pasi Saukkonen, Peter Holley, Enikő Marton, Ruta Kazlauskaite-Gürbüz, Niko Pyrhönen, Allyana Thomas, Anna Storgårds, Hanna Bärlund, Heidi Aaltonen and Johanna Löyhkö for their comments, help, encouragement and interest. I also wish to express my appreciation to the several other social scientists I met during different seminars and conferences in Finland and abroad. All the members of the department of Sociology at the Åbo Akademi University and in particular Mikko Lagerspetz and Susan Sundback for their help and comprehension. I am also grateful to other international social scientists, who I had the privilege to meet during these years like John Eade, Frank Eckardt, Marco Martiniello, Rinus Penninx, Hasan Bousetta and Giuseppe Sciortino. I thank the Academy of Finland, the City of Helsinki, the Kansan Sivistysrahasto, the Oskar Öflund, the Åbo Akademi foundation for providing me financial support during these years. Without their support this thesis would not have reached completion. Finally, I would also like to thank my wonderful “families”, my inimitable husband Tuomas, my lovely son Morgan, my parents and my friends who all have been supportive and caring. 2 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Background of the study .................................................................................. 9 1.2 From the myth of return to the longing to return ........................................... 12 1.3 Return and transnationalism .......................................................................... 14 1.4 Return and integration ................................................................................... 15 1.5 Research aims ................................................................................................ 16 1.6 Thesis outline ................................................................................................. 18 2 Theory and literature review: framing trans-nationalism into the global world of migration........................................................................................................................ 20 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 20 2.2 Globalisation and migration .......................................................................... 20 2.3 Transnationalism ........................................................................................... 23 2.4 The concept of integration ............................................................................. 27 2.5 The challenging relation between integration and transnationalism ............. 31 2.6 Approaching refugees studies and question of return .................................... 36 2.6.1 Refugee Studies ...................................................................................... 37 2.6.2 Diaspora Studies.................................................................................... 40 2.6.3 Transnationalism and integration in refugee studies between settlement and return .............................................................................................................. 44 2.6.4 The “myth of return” ............................................................................. 46 2.6.5 Notions of home ..................................................................................... 50 2.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 55 3 Methodology and methods .................................................................................... 56 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 56 3.2 Methodology .................................................................................................. 56 3.3 My research framework in practice ............................................................... 59 3.4 Selecting the sample ...................................................................................... 61 3.5 Methods ......................................................................................................... 64 3.5.1 Interviews .......................................................................................... 64 3 3.5.2 Participant observation ..................................................................... 66 3.6 Translators ..................................................................................................... 70 3.7 Expected and encountered problems (and not) by the researcher during the data collection ............................................................................................................ 71 3.8 Ethical principles ........................................................................................... 74 3.9 Coding and analysis ....................................................................................... 76 3.10 Representation and validation of a qualitative study ..................................... 79 3.11 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 80 4 Iraq: history and dynamic of migration ................................................................. 82 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 82 4.2 Demographic factors...................................................................................... 82 4.3 The Sunni-Shia split and the Kurdish case .................................................... 83 4.4 The Ottoman Empire (1638-1916) ................................................................ 83 4.5 Modern Iraq ................................................................................................... 85 4.5.1 The rise of the Baath party (1968) ......................................................... 87 4.5.2 The Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) ............................................................. 88 4.5.3 The