The Importance of Intent: Understanding the Social Networks of Jamaican Migrants Abroad

• Author: Mikaila Brown
• Pages: 113-136

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UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL NETWORKS OF JAMAICAN MIGRANTS ABROAD

The IMPORTANCE OF INTENT:

Understanding the Social Networks of Jamaican

Migrants Abroad

MIKAILA BROWN

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This chapter outlines the findings of research on the intentions,

perceptions and behaviours of returned, middle class, Jamaican

professionals who have received graduate degrees at American

universities. Using information garnered from interviews and observations,

the chapter explores the central question: How does the intention to return

affect the migration experience of young Jamaicans educated in the United

States?1 It is hypothesized that for some returned, middle class, Jamaican

graduates of US universities, the intention to return results in the selection

of social networks that are perceived to aid in the maintenance of a continued

identification with the home society, while at the same time encouraging

access to opportunities available in the host country. More specifically, the

chapter examines how the intention to return has resulted in the preference

of some Jamaican migrants to socialize with other immigrants groups,

white Americans, and fellow Jamaican migrants, rather than black

Americans, by looking at the effects of three key positions:

Position 1: These Jamaicans attest to having consciously maintained the

mores and values representative of the social structure and organization of

their home country while abroad, even if it resulted in behaviours not

representative of the culture of the host society.

Position 2: These Jamaicans tended to align themselves socially with

the perceived academic and professional ambitions of white Americans,

rather than those perceived of black Americans; while at the same time

distancing themselves socially from the negative stigma attached to the

native minority group.

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FREEDOM AND CONSTRAINT IN CARIBBEAN MIGRATION AND DIASPORA

Position 3: These Jamaicans tended to view black Americans as being

hypersensitive about racial issues, and feel alienated by the expectation to

share black Americans’ racial consciousness,2 which is perceived to be very

different from their own.

The small number of professional Jamaicans, who utilized an education

abroad as a means to maximize their professional potential in Jamaica, has

been labelled a transnational elite. For one, their transnationalism is evidenced

by the ways in which these informants simultaneously engaged with two

societal frameworks simultaneously. While abroad, they straddle a liminal

space between home and host society, involved in both, but not restricted to

either. This allowed them to access the resources available in America, while

simultaneously holding a place for themselves in Jamaica. In many cases, an

experience in one space informed the experience in the other. Informants

replicated and manipulated some of the same rules, beliefs and practices

exhibited in their home society within the host country, especially when

positioning themselves in relation to others. An example of this is how certain

rules of conduct employed within Jamaica to distinguish themselves from

those with a lower class status are likewise applied in the USA to distance

themselves from the stereotypes of black American culture. This will be

explored more thoroughly throughout this chapter.

A shortcoming of this research project is the lack of comparison between

this study sample of returned professionals and other Jamaicans. Because of a

lack of time and resources, this study is restricted to those that fit within the

set study guidelines. This limited focus did allow for more time to conduct

in-depth interviews, and deeper and more complex investigation of the issues

specific to those researched. However, I acknowledge that an examination of

the experience of those in this study against that of a control group would

have revealed more of the study sample’s distinct characteristics.

I also acknowledge that the use of snowball sampling as the primary means

of gaining access to informants is limiting. For one, because the study sample

is not random, it is not necessarily representative of all the individuals that fit

within the description of the research group. Without a means to guarantee

randomness, I acknowledge that my sample could be potentially biased

toward those willing to share their experience. Additionally, considering