Kinship and belonging: Pacific children's perspectives on the diaspora. (November 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Freeman, Claire; Latai Niusulu, Anita; Schaaf, Michelle; Taua'a, Tuiloma Susana; Tanielu, Helen; Ergler, Christina; Kivalu, MaryJane
• Is Part Of: Childhood. Volume 29:Number 4(2022)
• Page Start: 612
• Page End: 627
• Publication Date: 2022-11
• Subjects: Pacific islands -- New Zealand -- transnational families -- diaspora -- belonging; Children -- Periodicals; Child development -- Periodicals; Children -- Research -- Periodicals; 305.23
• DOI: 10.1177/09075682221121681
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0907-5682

Abstract

Our study with 71 children aged 6-14 living in New Zealand and Samoa, provides a new child-centred perspective on transnational diasporic families. We use the Pacific concept vā to frame the study, in which children's transnational-kinship connections reflect relational rather than physical approaches to space. Familial habitus surpasses spatial habitus as children's primary reference point. For diasporic children, family keeps alive their sense of Pacific Island belonging. Transnational kinship ties give Pacific children additional resilience in adapting to unknown futures.