The Housewife and the Soldier - Tamil constructions of womanhood in the age of migration

Hvordan har medgiftens betydning ændret sig i takt med diasporiseringen af det tamilske samfund? Med fokus på tamilske konstruktioner af kvindelighed, bliver de historiske og kulturelle kontekster medtænkt i debatten om arrangerede ægteskaber

Diaspora identification and long-distance nationalism among Tamil migrants of diverse state origins in the UK

Accounts of Tamil long-distance nationalism have focused on Sri Lankan Tamil migrants. But the UK is also home to Tamils of non-Sri Lankan state origins. While these migrants may be nominally incorporated into a 'Tamil diaspora', they are seldom present in scholarly accounts. Framed by Werbner's (2002) conception of diasporas as 'aesthetic' and 'moral' communities, this article explores whether engagement with a Tamil diaspora and long-distance nationalism is expressed by Tamil migrants of diverse state origins. While migrants identify with an aesthetic community, 'membership' of the moral community is contested between those who hold direct experience of suffering as central to belonging, and those who imagine the boundaries of belonging more fluidly - based upon primordial understandings of essential ethnicity and a narrative of Tamil 'victimhood' that incorporates experiences of being Tamil in Sri Lanka, India and in other sites, despite obvious differences in these experiences. © 2013 Taylor & Francis

Being Tamil, being Hindu:Tamil migrants’ negotiations of the absence of Tamil Hindu spaces in the West Midlands and South West of England

This paper considers the religious practices of Tamil Hindus who have settled in the West Midlands and South West of England in order to explore how devotees of a specific ethno-regional Hindu tradition with a well-established UK infrastructure in the site of its adherents’ population density adapt their religious practices in settlement areas which lack this infrastructure. Unlike the majority of the UK Tamil population who live in the London area, the participants in this study did not have ready access to an ethno-religious infrastructure of Tamil-orientated temples and public rituals. The paper examines two means by which this absence was addressed as well as the intersections and negotiations of religion and ethnicity these entailed: firstly, Tamil Hindus’ attendance of temples in their local area which are orientated towards a broadly imagined Hindu constituency or which cater to a non-Tamil ethno-linguistic or sectarian community; and, secondly, through the ‘DIY’ performance of ethnicised Hindu ritual in non-institutional settings

Landscape of Repressed Memories: Triumphalism and Counter-Historical Narratives in Sri Lanka's Former War Zone

The chapter explores memorialization and particular readings of history in Sri Lanka after the ending of the civil war in 2009. The victor of the war, the Sri Lankan government, has systematically destroyed not only sites and monuments telling the tale of its opponent’s historical struggle to liberate the Tamil parts of the island but has also banned memorabilia and practices through which the families and communities of the liberation fighters remember the dead. This destruction is part of a larger effort on the part of the government to enforce a particular reading of the historical significance of the apocalyptic events of 2009, a reading in line with the general self-understanding of the Sinhala nation as being continuously under threat from outside forces. On the Tamil side, politicians have in the post-war period tried to come to terms with the brutal legacy of the liberation movement through the forging of a new narrative. The author argues that the memories of what has been broken and unmade serve as building blocks in constructing new and diverse counter-hegemonic historical narratives

Ungdom i flyktningfamilier

Research on migrants and their adaptation processes and strategies only seldom differentiate between different ethnic groups of migrants. In order to understand the processes that influence adaptation it is, however, necessary to explore the complex conditions that form the basis for different groups. The main contribution of this project is to compare youth from 2 different refugee populations with different backgrounds and conditions in Norway, and to discuss whether and how these conditions influence the lives of young people. Tamil and Somali youths The main objective was to develop empirical knowledge about the living conditions of children and youth with refugee backgrounds in Norway. Based on our knowledge about the situation among Tamil and Somali families, our objective was to explore whether and how their situation influences the life of their children and to compare the situation of youth with Tamil and Somali backgrounds. We wanted to discuss relevant differences and similarities about the networks, families, friends and local belonging of these young people and about their self-understanding as youth in Norway. Interviews and survey data We carried out 36 interviews with 61 young people from 14 to 20 and 13 interviews with youth workers during 2005 and 2006. This report is also based on data from the NOVA survey Ungi Oslo 2006 (Young in Oslo), that is based on a questionnaire sent to pupils between 14 and 18 years in all schools in Oslo. Differences of the parent generation not reproduced The report concludes that youth with Tamil and Somali background do not appear to reproduce the differences of the parent generation. In spite of lower average education among Somalis and a lower average level of living than among Tamils in Norway, we find only small differences between the networks, school achievements and general joy of life between the two youth groups. More Tamil youth achieve a bit better at school than Somali youth, have very low scores of criminal and antisocial behaviour, while they generally have a bit higher scores for psychological problems such as loneliness and suicide attempts. More Somali boys on their side appear to have antisocial behaviour, such as criminal activity and drug use, but a smaller segment, both boys and girls, reports psychological problems, compared to the Tamils. More Somali boys do, however, also report about discrimination and racism than other groups. Parental control Both groups are, however, subject to more rigorous control from their parents and from their ethnic group in general than what is the case for other youths. Tamil youth appear to be more controlled than Somalis, and girls more than boys, something most of them describe as inhibiting, but secure. The strong loyalty these young people express towards their families and cultural background, combined with their explicit ambitions of getting an education, appear to constitute a safety net that obstructs antisocial behaviour while it also obstructs participation on many Norwegian arenas. We will describe this duality in terms of: wishing to be obedient towards one's family thereby strengthening belonging and protection on the one hand, and wishing to develop friendship and autonomy on the other that may threaten family cohesion and create insecurity. Our conclusion is that the joint effort of the young people themselves, their parents and school appears to decrease much of the social inequality experienced by their parents, but that these young people must face difficult choices that most young people with Norwegian backgrounds do not have to face. The report is written in Norwegian

Ungdom i flyktningfamilier

Research on migrants and their adaptation processes and strategies only seldom differentiate between different ethnic groups of migrants. In order to understand the processes that influence adaptation it is, however, necessary to explore the complex conditions that form the basis for different groups. The main contribution of this project is to compare youth from 2 different refugee populations with different backgrounds and conditions in Norway, and to discuss whether and how these conditions influence the lives of young people. Tamil and Somali youths The main objective was to develop empirical knowledge about the living conditions of children and youth with refugee backgrounds in Norway. Based on our knowledge about the situation among Tamil and Somali families, our objective was to explore whether and how their situation influences the life of their children and to compare the situation of youth with Tamil and Somali backgrounds. We wanted to discuss relevant differences and similarities about the networks, families, friends and local belonging of these young people and about their self-understanding as youth in Norway. Interviews and survey data We carried out 36 interviews with 61 young people from 14 to 20 and 13 interviews with youth workers during 2005 and 2006. This report is also based on data from the NOVA survey Ungi Oslo 2006 (Young in Oslo), that is based on a questionnaire sent to pupils between 14 and 18 years in all schools in Oslo. Differences of the parent generation not reproduced The report concludes that youth with Tamil and Somali background do not appear to reproduce the differences of the parent generation. In spite of lower average education among Somalis and a lower average level of living than among Tamils in Norway, we find only small differences between the networks, school achievements and general joy of life between the two youth groups. More Tamil youth achieve a bit better at school than Somali youth, have very low scores of criminal and antisocial behaviour, while they generally have a bit higher scores for psychological problems such as loneliness and suicide attempts. More Somali boys on their side appear to have antisocial behaviour, such as criminal activity and drug use, but a smaller segment, both boys and girls, reports psychological problems, compared to the Tamils. More Somali boys do, however, also report about discrimination and racism than other groups. Parental control Both groups are, however, subject to more rigorous control from their parents and from their ethnic group in general than what is the case for other youths. Tamil youth appear to be more controlled than Somalis, and girls more than boys, something most of them describe as inhibiting, but secure. The strong loyalty these young people express towards their families and cultural background, combined with their explicit ambitions of getting an education, appear to constitute a safety net that obstructs antisocial behaviour while it also obstructs participation on many Norwegian arenas. We will describe this duality in terms of: wishing to be obedient towards one's family thereby strengthening belonging and protection on the one hand, and wishing to develop friendship and autonomy on the other that may threaten family cohesion and create insecurity. Our conclusion is that the joint effort of the young people themselves, their parents and school appears to decrease much of the social inequality experienced by their parents, but that these young people must face difficult choices that most young people with Norwegian backgrounds do not have to face. The report is written in Norwegian