Table of Contents
Many of the perspectives, processes and outcomes of contemporary Pacific migration and transnationalism resemble their traditional forms, including kinship, food, remittances, work, gifts, interactions, space, territoriality, home, attachments, sustained contact, relationships and inequities. Ka’ili (2005) claims that transnationalism in the Pacific can be traced back to Hawai’i and the god Maui, with Maui being widely represented in the cultural history of most of the Pacific islands. Maui’s ability to sustain ‘relationships with many of his relatives who were dispersed yet connected across distant physical spaces’ is reminiscent of the current practices of Pacific transnationalism (Ka’ili, 2005, 2).
The diverse case studies presented in the chapters in this book suggest that Pacific transnationalism as a concept, and as a predictable series of circumstances connected to the process of migration, eludes a complete and finite explanation. While the chapters are connected in theory and focus they are distinctly individual in research and unique in direction. The complementary examples used by the authors describe their understanding and concept of Pacific migration and transnationalism from differing perspectives and contrasting approaches.
These studies make a significant contribution to theorising about the concept of Pacific transnationalism and help us not only to associate specific practices and processes with Pacific transnationalism, but also to distinguish between Pacific transnationalism and the traditional forms of transnationalism. The complexity of defining Pacific transnationalism is because it does not entirely bear out those definitions and images of transnationalism with which we have become acquainted and accustomed. Although the authors begin from traditional definitions of transnationalism they have made it clear from their chapters that this is not enough to explain Pacific transnationalism and that such an explanation requires its own specifically Pacific perspectives, research and framework.
In spite of the diversity of the chapters, it is inevitable that there is some common ground, some connecting threads which reveal the commonalities of Pacific transnationalism. As the authors clearly illustrate, almost all aspects of life are affected by Pacific transnationalism—migration, identity, work, kinship, food, gifts, even the return journey home. These seemingly ordinary human interactions that occur in the process of transnational activity are unique in their link to the cultural traditions and customs of the Pacific and, as the chapters show, distinguish these interactions from those carried out by transnationals elsewhere. In this conclusion I focus on the concept and circumstances of transnationalism which, although inevitably connected with migration, are of particular value when exploring the relationship between migrants and their homelands in the Pacific.
The Pacific region is the most linguistically complex in the world, with significant cultural differences within and between the different island groups. There is also considerable variation in political organisation; the Pacific is home to the world’s smallest monarchy, and in some of its islands only tribal chiefs can be elected to parliament. Yet many authors and Pacific communities refer to a ‘Pacific way’ when discussing fundamental similarities in values underpinning family relationships, respect for elders and community. There are also ways familiar to the Pacific which are less commonly talked about such as domestic violence, sexual abuse and alcoholism. How do Pacific migration and transnationalism help us to understand the Pacific and its place in the world? We cannot underestimate the effect of these processes on the Pacific, and it is important from where we gain our insights into and our understandings of them. Is it ‘the Pacific’ that should concern us or Pacific peoples? Islands do not migrate although island ways, like those mentioned above, do. We can gain our understanding of Pacific transnationalism both from the perspectives of the people that have become Pacific transnationals or from the countries where Pacific transnationals reside. We can also explore transnationalism from the vantage point of the Pacific Islands that have been affected by the migration, behaviours, attitudes and actions of its Pacific transnationals or from the experiences of the people of the Pacific who have remained behind but are no less influenced by these transnational movements. Like the Pacific sun, Pacific transnationalism casts its shadow over all. Its effects are not limited to those that one considers Pacific transnationals nor are its impacts unidirectional. The case studies in the chapters show that we need to examine Pacific transnationalism from all of the perspectives mentioned above: the migrants, their host nations, those who remain and, of course, the ‘homeland’ that is inevitably affected by all of the complex elements of transnationalism.