When the light of the home is abroad: Unskilled female migration and the Filipino family

10.1111/j.0129-7619.2004.00182.xSingapore Journal of Tropical Geography252198-21

Migration in a globalizing world: Knowledge, migration and development

Contains fulltext : 78439.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access

Sri Lankan female domestic workers overseas - The impact on their children

Sri Lanka, along with the Philippines and Indonesia, is a major source of migrant domestic workers. There has been little investigation into the impacts of the absence of women on their families and communities left behind. Contract migrant labor in Asia usually means leaving the family behind for two years or even longer. This paper firstly demonstrates how Sri Lankan women are increasingly becoming part of a global care chain. It draws on a survey and qualitative work among families and communities left behind by these migrant workers to explore the impacts on families and children. It examines the ways in which mothers seek to overcome the consequences of their absence on their families and children. A number of policy recommendations are made to ameliorate the negative impacts of the absence of Sri Lankan migrant domestic workers.Graeme Hugo and Swarna Ukwattahttp://www.smc.org.ph/apmj/apmj_details.php?id=104