Roda Madziva

Transnational mothering and forced migration: Understanding the experiences of Zimbabwean mothers in the UK

A growing body of scholarship has documented the experiences of different groups of migrants involved in the maintenance and development of transnational families worldwide showing that proximity is not a prerequisite of family life and that families can successfully be done from a distance. While most work deals with the experiences of labour migrants less attention has been paid to forced migrants. Still little is known about families that fail to operate transnationally and are broken by the migration experience. For instance, when can we say that this type of family cannot be sustained? This article, drawing on the transnational motherhood literature and on Zontini (2010) previous study on Filipino labour migrants in Southern Europe, highlights the factors that shape transnational parenting. The authors then use this framework to explore the experiences of a group of Zimbabwean asylum seeking mothers in the UK. In doing so, the authors point out some of the specificities of this particular group; highlighting the differentiated impact of transnationalism and contributing to refining the literature on transnational parenthood.

“Your name does not tick the box”: the intertwining of names, bodies, religion and nationality in the construction of identity within the UK asylum system

ABSTRACT This article draws on research with Pakistani Christians seeking asylum in the UK, focusing on those with English/biblical names, exploring, firstly the relationship between names and religious persecution in the country of origin, and secondly the complex interaction between names, bodies, religion and nationality within the UK asylum system. It argues that in responding to the perceived threats of immigration and terrorism, British immigration officials tend to use Pakistani as a proxy for Islam, with those Christians who possess English/biblical names often perceived to be a more suspicious group. It concludes by highlighting the need to take religious identities seriously in immigration policies and practices, especially in the context of the current refugee crisis.

Provision of quality education in the context of Syrian refugee children in the UK: opportunities and challenges

Abstract While existing research has shown the importance of the three interrelated domains of the wider policy, the school and home/community environments in the development of quality education for learners, this literature does not fully capture the experiences of the refugee population. In this article we focus on a group of Syrian refugees who came as part of the first large cohort that was welcomed in the UK in December 2015. We adapt Tikly’s quality education frameworks and develop a model that highlights not only the importance of the three intersecting environments, but also the specific inputs/processes that are critical to achieving quality education for refugees. In so doing, we stress the critical role of English as a tool for refugee children’s inclusion and integration in schools. Consequently, the contribution of the paper is an understanding of the inputs/processes that are key to the development of quality education for migrant/refugee children.

A gift exchange relationship?: reflections on doing qualitative research with vulnerable migrants

Recent reflections on the study of forced migration stress the importance of constructing ethically sound research relationships that both respect research participants as autonomous agents and protect them from all forms of harm in the research process. Although this is important, very little research in this area has focused directly on the production of intimacy in the research process and how intimate research relationships that are produced can subsequently become the basis on which disclosures are shared and how this can contribute to both the quality of the research process and output. In this article I reflect on my intimate research relationship with Zimbabwean migrant parents who I interviewed in the United Kingdom. I argue that there is an element of (gift) exchange to intimate qualitative research encounters that yields benefits to both the researcher and the researched. In so doing, I also highlight some of the ethical dilemmas I encountered and how they were overcome

Exploring the Pentecostal Faith—Sustainability—Entrepreneurship Nexus in Zimbabwe

The aim of this paper is to explore the intersection between sustainability and the humanities, specifically the Pentecostal faith—entrepreneurship—sustainability nexus in Zimbabwe. It focuses on The Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (ZAOGA) and associated Forward in Faith Ministries International (FIFMI), which is one of Zimbabwe’s largest and most established Pentecostal churches with a global international presence. ZAOGA-FIFMI has a well-known faith-based entrepreneurship model, commonly known as Matarenda (talents), which is claimed to have a positive impact on the lives of poor Zimbabweans, both locally and internationally. The paper explores the Pentecostalism-entrepreneurship-sustainability nexus surrounding the Matarenda model and its basis in Christian faith, and its translation into practical entrepreneurship activity through the use of primary fieldwork comprising personal observations, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. In so doing it highlights the central role of education (both formal and informal) in entrepreneurial venture. By adopting an interdisciplinary and international approach, the paper focusses on the sustainability of the model in terms of economics, finance, human capital and theology. This paper will be useful to anyone interested in exploring the impact of African Pentecostalism and, more generally, religious practice on entrepreneurship and sustainable development.

Skilled Migrant African Women of Faith and Diaspora Investment

The link between faith and entrepreneurship is a subject of growing multidisciplinary interest. However, not much is known about women of faith’s participation in entrepreneurship activity. Focusing on the African diaspora in the UK, this chapter engages with the transnational entrepreneurship activity among educated and skilled migrant women of faith. We consider the factors which influence their decisions to invest in their countries of origin (COO). In so doing, we highlight the interaction of faith with related education, economic, social and psychological push and pull factors and the accompanying gender-based and related pressures in the context of transnational business investment.

What counts as evidence in adjudicating asylum claims

Over the last decade evidence-based policy (EBP) emerged as a buzzword intended to signal the end of conviction-driven, ideological politics and heralding the aspirations for policy-making to be anchored in ‘evidence and to deliver what works unsullied by ideology or values considerations’ (Botterill & Hindmoor, 2012: 367; Clarence, 2002). The political impetus and preoccupation with activities associated with the idea of EBP are widespread. The belief that rational evidence will strengthen the basis for policy-making has been widely welcomed in many policy areas, including in contested spheres such as immigration.

Exploring Gender and Diaspora Investment Among Diaspora Women in the UK

Although the transnational literature on gender, diaspora direct investment and remittances has burgeoned, largely overlooked in this mainstream literature are the ‘behind the scenes’ acts of diaspora women who, apart from their own economic gain, remit to help fund businesses of extended family members in the Country of Origin (COO). In this chapter, we draw on five women’s narratives of their lived experiences of migration to the UK and consequent investment activities in the COO. In so doing, we highlight not only the huge investments that women make in other people’s businesses, but how the act of investing in other people in itself empowers them to search for new and challenging business opportunities in the COO. We conclude by highlighting areas for further research.

Rethinking the employability of international graduate migrants: Reflections on the experiences of Zimbabweans with degrees from England

The last decade has seen the rise of literature focused on the rapid expansion of international students in higher education globally and the growing policy discourse around improving graduate employability. However, both, inevitably, have limitations. Together, they tend to homogenise international learners and see them narrowly as simply economic actors. More recently, however, there have been signs of important new developments in both literatures, drawing on interactive employability and capability accounts that stress both agency and structure in more satisfactory ways. We seek to further the development of an account that bridges the new wave of student mobility research and capability–employability research. In doing so, we offer two further elements to the literature. First, we aim to bridge the gap between accounts of international higher education and those of migration and diasporic studies. Second, we deliberately focus on a group that is marginal to the mainstream discourse but who are migrants that have engaged in international higher education in order to improve their labour market prospects, amongst other motivations. We do this through examining the stories of five Zimbabweans who embarked on additional higher educational studies in England after migrating to the country. Through this unique approach, we offer an important new perspective on how the debates on international higher education, employability and migration can be taken forward through closer articulation between these accounts.

Transnational parenthood and forced migration: the case of asylum-seeking parents who are forcibly separated from their families by immigration laws

Within transnational studies literature, there is a tendency to assume that migrant parents have ready access to paid work once they arrive in countries of destination, which subsequently enables them to maintain transnational ties with children and kin left behind. In this article I argue that more attention needs to be paid to the ways in which immigration regimes and policies construct certain groups of migrants, such as asylum-seekers, as underserving of the rights to sell their labour and the adverse consequences these often have on parents’ identities and transnational capabilities. The argument builds on the case study of a group of Zimbabwean asylum-seeking parents. Like many asylum-seekers escaping politically repressive regimes, they had not managed to bring their children with them when they escaped to the UK, but had imagined that, once in a ‘safe haven’, they would be able to arrange for their children to join them. On arrival, they discovered that the UK immigration system treats parents as asylum-seekers first and parents later (if ever). This article furthers understanding of transnational parenting from the perspectives of a migrant group for whom labour market demand is not the sole objective for its mobility.