Rosemary A. Sales

Family Strategies and Transnational Migration: Recent Polish Migrants in London

Polands accession to the European Union in May 2004 brought many new possibilities and opportunities for Polish migrants to Britain. However, the focus on individual migrants has underestimated the complex roles of families in migration strategies and decision-making. Based on a qualitative study of recent Polish migrants in London, this paper explores the varied dynamics of family relationships, including caring, support and obligation. We examine how families may be reconfigured in different ways through migration. Transnational networks and splits within families are also discussed. We conclude that, in exploring family migration, it is necessary to go beyond a household perspective to appreciate the diversity of transnational and inter-generational relationships.

Towards fortress Europe

Abstract The growing literature on the implications for immigrants and black and ethnic minority populations of the Single European Market and measures to control entry into the Community through the Trevi (1976) and Schengen (1986, 1990) agreements has tended to pay relatively little attention to the specific position of women. The position of immigrant women is bound up both with the opening/closure of the European Community and the construction of national identity. In this research we focus on four aspects of such womens lives: cultural practices, labour market, legal status, and access to welfare with particular reference to Britain, France, and Germany.

Migrant Women and Exclusion in Europe

The term ’Fortress Europe’ is now commonly used to describe the impact of European Union migration policies on non-EU citizens.’ The ’opening up’ of Europe with the removal of barriers to the mobility of capital, commodities and labour within the EU has closed off possibilities for those of non-European origin, both citizens and residents of EU states and those living outside its borders. As borders are brought down between EU states, they are being replaced by strengthened external border controls and increased internal surveillance. Exclusion also has an ideo-

Giving More than they Receive? Migrant Women and Welfare in Britain

This article addresses contemporary presentations of migrants, particularly women, as dependents and a ‘burden’ on welfare. Focusing mainly on Britain, it shows that, while immigration policies increasingly restrict their access to official welfare, migrants are crucial to the provision of welfare both to their own family and community and in mainstream services, including professional roles as well as in informal employment. Migrants are involved in complex networks of caring relations, often across national boundaries, in which they may provide care to others in order to provide for dependents back home.