MIGRATION AND TRANSNATIONALISM-MIGRATING PEOPLE, MIGRATING CULTURE:

                                   OPTICS, METHODS, AND IMPACTS

                                   Student: Małgorzata Miszczak


What state is responsible for social protection of the migrants? Answer this question using at
least 2 readings from the syllabus. (8 points)

The immigration is an important issue in contemporary societies. Due to decrease in the number of
births in high developed countries and lower costs of hiring immigrant workers owing to their
significantly lower salary, the immigration has been an important factors of development for the
economies of many countries. After the beginning of the World crisis in 2007, many countries have
been forced to reduce their expenses on public sector. Suddenly, the immigrants convert in the eyes
of natives form economical support into economic burden. A important question appeared: what state
should pay the cost of the social care?

Firstly, it necessary to define social protection. In agreement with Sabates-Wheeler and Fledman,
social protection is consist in access to social security and social services; possibility of
vested social security rights between countries of origin and reception; labor market conditions
and recruitment conditions for immigrants and access to informal networks of migrant support.

According to Van Walsum and Vonk, the access to social protection in most countries is orientated
at the long stay migrants who have the possibility to contibute with taxes and payments into the
system. At the same time immigrants might have contributed significantly to social protection
systems in their countries of origin and still not recieving any benefits (Sabates-Wheeler and
Feldman). Moreover, they cannot claim the right to receive any benefits in their countries of
origin after contributed in the country of reception. One of the most disadvantaged migrants are
those moving within low-income regions, where the social security system is less developed.


The most clarified situation is in the European Union. The citizens of the Union can not only
easily travel, but also find an employment in member countries. The access to social security is
relatively easy for most of the immigrants form European Union (EU Social Security Coordination
rule). The immigrants have right to receive the social security benefits, if they pay contributions
in the country of origin. However, the access to the social protection system is more complex and
depends on national law. The European Union agreements settle also the pension system, although
there might be some differences between individual countries. However, in most countries outside of
European Union, the access to the social security system is more difficult. One option for this
immigrants is to create a network of bilateral and multilateral agreements (Van Walsum and Vonk)
who would allow to eliminate the exclusion form the social protection system and would support
possibility of vested social security rights between countries of origin and reception. Thanks to
this system, no country wuld be obligated to pay for the citizens of another countries.

Bibliography:

·         Sabates-Wheeler,R., Feldman,R. Social Protection and Migration. Claiming social rights
beyond borders

·         Vonk,G., Van Walsum,S. Towards a new social protection approach for excluded migrants

·         http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=26&langId=en















Design a research project with these keywords: ‘transnational families’ and ‘Central and Eastern
Europe’. Formulate research question(s) and justify your methodology.

Contemporary migration is a complex socio-political issue, which is affecting increasing number of
families in all United Europe. Special attention should be paid to the situation of migrant
families and the difficulties of family members, who are forced to look for provide for their
families in another countries.  Migration has given rise to transnational families whose members
live in different nation-states and face the challenges of organizing the care of family members
across borders (Mazzucato). In my research I would like to focus on the situation of transnational
families from Central and Eastern Europe.

During my investigation I would like to study the immigrant community from Central and Eastern
Europe in three countries: Great Britain, the Netherlands and Germany in order to discover the
problems of different representatives groups from Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland related
with transnational families. The main question are: how distance from native country to receiving
country influences relations in between family members? How often the immigrants are visiting their
country of origin and their families? How life in separation from their families is affecting their
life abroad? How the situation of transnational families is related with the numbers of divorces in
migrant families? How often do they considering to bring the family from country of origin to
country of reception? Do they take part in resolving possible problems with their children left
behind? How involved are they in the life of their families? How the former immigrants are
reuniting with their families after the long absence?

Due to a complex analysis of this aspect of immigration process, I will have to process a
comparative analysis of collected data from different groups of immigrants. The analysis will be
based on different sources. Firstly, the official data concerning immigration form Great Britain,
the Netherlands and Germany. Secondly, series of interviews in representatives from Ukraine,
Romania, Bulgaria an Poland. The target group of this interviews will be men and women with
families in between 20 and 45 years old working in Great Britain, the Netherlands and Germany. The
interviews will embrace both seasonal workers and permanent immigrants who have left their families
in countries of origin. The interviews will also embrace former immigrants from Ukraine, Romania,
Bulgaria and Poland who have ended their immigration process and they reunited with their families.

The main goal of the research is to show the differences and similarities concerning problems in
transnational families form Central and Eastern Europe.


migration has given rise to transnational families whose members live in different nation-states
and face the challenges of organizing the care of family members across borders.


Bibliography:

·         Mazzucato,V. Child Well-Being and Transnational Families





















Discuss the relationship between nationalism and cosmopolitanism using the example of arts and
museums. (8 points)

Although many politicians want to separate nationalism and cosmopolitanism, these two concepts are
strongly connected with each other. We cannot study history of particular country without placing
it in the events of history of a particular region and therefore, the World. For example, as Sharon
Macdonald suggests, the history of Holocaust cannot be study without only in relation to a
particular nation, but as a transnational matter. Focusing on a particular ethnicity instead of
nationality can open a different look on a nation itself, showing differences, similarities and the
qualities which makes a nation a unique mixture of cultures (Levy, Sznaider).

One way to express the relationship between nationality and cosmopolitanism is analyzing museums.
One of the goals of creating museums is to approximate to a visitor the history and culture of a
nation, ethnicity or region. The new approach based of cosmopolitan point of view instead of
nation-state perspective opened new ways of understanding social mechanisms.

One of the museums representing the new tendency is The Brooklyn Museum of Art, especially it’s
remarkable exhibition American Identities: A New Look (Levitt). Although the name of the museum
suggests a local character, the main goal of the exhibition is to present a new glance on American
Art in new cosmopolitan approach, showing the influences of European, South American, indigenous
and immigrants. United States of America is a country that cannot be known only by a national point
of view. The relationship with other cultures is what makes America a country. Omitting it’s
cosmopolitan heritage would be an incomplete image and a false lesson to future generations.

Another example of a museum representing the new cosmopolitan view on a nation is The Museum of
History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. The museum was opened in 2013 in the area of the former Jewish
Warsaw Ghetto. The objective of the museum is to educate new generations about long, difficult
history of Jews in Poland and to present Jewish culture and costumes in order to eliminate any type
of prejudice from Polish society. What is more the museum is also determined to create a bridge
between descendant of Polish Jews from all around the World.

We can also find a similar museum in Brno. The Museum of Romani Culture is dedicated to history of
Romani history form migration from India till the present situation of the Roma in the Czech
Republic. The main goal of the museum is to make realize the society that Romani people, since
their appearance in Czech Republic, are making part of Czech society but also they are a remarkable
ethnicity with a very unique culture.

Bibliography:

·         Levitt,P.(n.d).The Lawyer and The Priest (unpublished manuscript)

·         Levy,D., Sznaider,N. Human Rights and Memory

·         http://www.jewishmuseum.org.pl/en/about-museum

·         http://www.rommuz.cz/en