Repatriation Experiences Research Articles

From National Traitors to National Contributors: Contesting Place and Identity through the Voluntarily Repatriated Vietnamese

This study investigates the multifaceted repatriation experiences of Vietnamese individuals who voluntarily returned from Thailand to the upland region of Thanh Hóa province between 1963 and 1965. Utilizing a historical and ethnographic approach, with interviews conducted in February, March, and April 2019; January 2020; May 2022; December 2023; and January 2024, it examines the intricate interplay of political, social, and cultural dynamics that shaped the repatriation process. The study highlights the relocation and deprivation of rights faced by the returnees, emphasizing the political complexities of repatriation. Through a multi-level analysis, this study reveals the intricate relationship between capital management, everyday life practices, and identity contestation. Additionally, it examines the collectivization and nationalist policies of Vietnam in relation to the voluntarily repatriated people’s commitment to work for the nation. In this case, transculturality served as a pivotal element in the construction of place and identity. The study analyzes the various forms of capital that shape individual and collective identities. By engaging in transcultural and localized processes of everyday life practices, returnees exercised various kinds of capital to enhance the efficiency of workers’ cooperatives. This led to new regulations supplementing those of the state, resulting in a variety of efficient cooperatives. Consequently, the repatriated peoples’ home village transformed from a symbol of national betrayal to a thriving cultural and economic hub. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the multifaceted complexity of repatriation and its implications for identity construction, placemaking, and economic development.

Retaining the repatriate by organisation in developing countries (in Africa): understanding the decision-making point (stay or leave) of the expatriate

PurposeDespite the high rates of repatriate attrition, organisations in developing countries continue to send some of their employees to study in tertiary institutions in developed countries to acquire and build competencies that are deemed strategically important for contemporary work. Although several studies have been conducted on expatriate experience and challenges, those relating repatriation experiences are limited, particularly those concerning organisationally assigned scholars (employees who are sponsored to study overseas). Consequently, the present study explored the intention to stay or leave of organisationally assigned Ghanaian scholars who pursued higher degrees in Australia.Design/methodology/approachTo understand the decision of organisationally assigned sponsored scholars to either stay in or leave the host-organisation upon their return, a phenomenological methodology was adopted to explore the lived experiences of organisation assigned scholars (OAS) from Ghana, studying in Australia. The face-to-face interview approach was used to interview 20 Ghanaians who pursued their further studies in Australia. The interviewees consisted of six females and 14 males.FindingsThe results reveal that for expatriate’s in this study, the decision to stay or leave the organisation upon repatriation was made mid-way through the expatriation process in the host county. Hence, organisations intending on retaining their OAS when they return home must focus their support and engagement efforts during this crucial period.Practical implicationsAlthough they are away on further studies, OAS are still active members of the organisation. Therefore, organisations need to maintain contact with them (OAS), constantly check progress of their study and provide some support, as they might motivate them to want to return and work with the organisation. Consequently, more effective strategies (those for managing them while they are away and those for managing them when they return) should be deployed to incentivise their expatriate to return home.Originality/valueThe study explored an important yet understudied research questions in the repatriation literature. By studying the decision of OASs to either return and stay in or leave an organisation back home contributes uniquely to the existing literature, as studies focusing on that population (i.e. OAS’s) are scarce.

Epitaphs to Empire: On Abe Kōbō and the (Un)Making of the Repatriation Narrative

This article considers some of the dynamics of movement and non-movement in the context of East Asia through an examination of the repatriation narrative. By “repatriation narrative,” I refer to a postwar Japanese form of testimonial interlocution which features a first-person returnee narrator/author who explicitly or implicitly addresses a national audience that does not share the experience of repatriation; and which temporalizes repatriation as a memory reconstructed in the present, marked on one end by the end of the war and on the other by the returnee’s “homecoming” to Japan. This article considers the discursive limits of the repatriation narrative by reading Abe Kōbō’s 1948 debut work Owarishi michi no shirube ni (The Signpost at the End of the Road) and 1957 novella Kemonotachi wa kokyō o mezasu (The Beasts Head for Home) in relation to Fujiwara Tei’s 1949 paradigmatic repatriation narrative Nagareru hoshi wa nagarete iru (The Shooting Stars are Alive), focusing in particular on the various literary and geopolitical displacements in all three texts. In reading Abe's works against the larger discursive history of the repatriation narrative, I aim to show how both texts evince a preoccupation with narrative form that is itself a critique.

Itsuki Hiroyuki’s Farewell to Moscow Misfits and Entertainment Strategies: Middlebrow Novels, Jazz Novels, and Repatriates

This paper addresses writer Itsuki Hiroyuki’s 1966 debut novel Farewell to Moscow Misfits through the lens of middlebrow novels, jazz novels, and repatriates. This novel draws from Itsuki’s personal experience being repatriated from colonial Korea after the war and visiting the Soviet Union in the mid-1960s. Farewell was unique for its time in representing jazz, music, and youth “stilyagi” counterculture in the Soviet Union. This counterculture movement was roughly contemporaneous with the student movement of the 1960s in Japan. This period also saw the popularization of the “middlebrow novel”—an ambiguous term that was used to describe literature outside of the established pure/popular dichotomy. These amorphous “middlebrow” works allow us to read some of the cultural dynamics of the 1960s. Itsuki published many of his early works in so-called middlebrow magazines, not “pure” literary journals. Itsuki himself claimed that his works were neither pure literature nor popular literature; they were simply “entertainment”. He placed his works in relation to jazz, the circus, and enka. His unique views on cultural production and media emerged from his repatriation experiences and his encounter with Russian culture. This paper examines not only genre conventions in literature but also Itsuki’s objections to the pure/popular literary structure, as well as his place in cultural representations of the 1960s.

The concept of Kazakh repatriation: characteristics, type and specifics

The article examines the dynamics and causes of changes in the scientific research over thirty years of such terms as "Kazakhs from abroad", "oralman", "kandas", "repatriates", which are the concept of Kazakh repatriation and its equivalent. The relevance of repatriation and related problems as well as consequences arising in Kazakhstan's conditions is not based on formulas accepted in the world, but using individual (in historical, regional, and ethnic contexts) special theories and methods. Taking into account the legal and social reasons that have contributed to the change of the concept of ethnic migration over the past 30 years, it can be concluded that the scientific terms arising from the legal status and public opinion are invalid. In addition, the article provides comparisons of the international experience of repatriation on the example of Israel, Turkey, Germany, Russia, Poland, Korea, Japan, etc. and discusses terms that can fully characterize the migration processes of ethnic Kazakhs. The objective formulation of the problem and definition of ethnic migration in Russian science creates conditions for the appearance of research terms in this area.

Abe Koboʼs Repatriation Experience and "Infection"

Abe Koboʼs Repatriation Experience and "Infection"

Ethics, values and legality in the restoration of cultural artefacts: the case of South Africa

ABSTRACT As a relatively new democracy, South Africa is seeking ways to protect and promote its African heritage. There is increased interest in the repatriation of South African cultural artefacts, mostly taken during the colonial era, currently held in western museums. Internationally, calls for the repatriation of cultural artefacts from western museum collections back to their originating countries in the context of decolonisation and the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement are increasing. As a means of advancing the debate and feeding into draft South African policy, this paper examines the arguments for and against the repatriation of African cultural artefacts from the point of view of an African country. A values-based approach is used to analyse the debate. The ways in which South Africa has made progress towards defining, and protecting, artefacts ‘of national importance’, and some of the repatriation experiences of other sub-Saharan countries are discussed.

Role of Employee Pro-activeness in the Repatriation Process: A Study of Indian IT Industry

Repatriation experience is attributed to many factors, a phenomenon much lesser studied compared to expatriation. Considered as merely coming back home could be extremely stressful as given to understand through previous studies and while many factors could attribute to the same, many practitioners argued that it could be repatriate’s own attitude towards pro-activeness that is an increasingly important component of the repatriate transition outcome. The study includes the feedback of such repatriates from the IT companies and understands the behaviour they were involved in while returning back home. It further establishes the role of pro-activeness and provides a set of suggestions for repatriates returning home.

Torture Experiences and Mental Health Problems among Refugees: The Impact of Repatriation to North Korea on Mental Disorders

ABSTRACT Psychological distress is prevalent among North Korean refugees, but their associations with forced repatriation to North Korea have not been empirically investigated. In this study, we defined forced repatriation as a constellation of torture experiences and investigated whether forced repatriation is associated with various clusters of psychological symptoms among North Korean refugees. Six hundred thirty-two North Korean refugees participated in this study. Significant differences in the psychological symptoms of refugees with and without the experience of forced repatriation were found. As a result of past exposure to torture, refugees who experienced forced repatriation reported more severe psychological symptoms than their counterparts without such experience. The findings suggest that premigration trauma shares differential associations with different clusters of psychological symptoms.

Repatriation of self-initiated expatriates: expectations vs. experiences

PurposeWhile there is a burgeoning literature on self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), the emphasis has been on expatriation not repatriation. The purpose of this paper therefore is to explore how repatriating SIEs perceive the experience of repatriation compared with their pre-repatriation expectations. Further, we examine the seminal work of Black et al. (1992) in the light of current day realities.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research draws on interviews with SIE New Zealanders returning home. It is an exploratory longitudinal study, based on interview data collected prior to (n = 32), and after (n = 27) repatriation, comparing expectations and experiences of repatriation.FindingsFindings show that there is a strong level of congruence between the expectations of the return and their experience of repatriation. This congruence eases the transition and mitigates the impact of reverse culture shock. We revise Black et al.'s framework of repatriation adjustment to more accurately reflect the expectations and experiences of repatriating SIEs, recognising the importance of individual agency and the impact of today's technological advances on repatriation.Research limitations/implicationsThe contributions of this paper include clarification of repatriating SIEs. Further, through the revision of the framework, we identify new areas of research that would aid our understanding of repatriating SIEs and lead to the development of a more detailed model. We highlight the interplay between variables showing how these might mitigate the shock of repatriation.Originality/valueRepatriation is an under-researched phase of the SIE, and this study provides empirical data that contributes to our understanding of the construct. Black et al.'s framework of repatriation adjustment is revised in the context of contemporary SIE, highlighting the holistic nature of self-initiated expatriation and repatriation, viewing the events not as discrete, but as a continuum of time.

After Empire Comes Home: Economic Experiences of Japanese Civilian Repatriates, 1945–56

The economic impact of large influxes of population is a complex topic. This research contributes to this field by examining one of the most significant, but least researched, examples of postwar migration – the repatriation of more than six million (including three million civilians and demobilised soldiers each) to Japan after the Second World War. One pervasive image of Japanese civilian repatriates is that of the immigrant farmer of Manchuria who settled as a part of Japan’s Manchurian policies and had difficult repatriation experiences under the hostility of local people. However, many returned from other regions as well, including Korea and Sakhalin, and repatriates consisted of not only farmers but also colonial government officials, employees of public and private corporations, and small business owners, amongst others. This paper specifically focuses on civilian repatriates in selected prefectures (Ibaraki, Hiroshima, Kanagawa and Osaka) in 1956 and their occupational changes during the time of economic transition. Whilst it is evident that for many repatriates the postwar transition was not entirely smooth, the data presented in this research suggests that in contrast to prevailing notions, repatriates’ postwar resettlement was facilitated by a) employment in family farming and the tertiary sector, b) employment at government agencies or c) the transferability of repatriates’ skills in industry and retail and services. The information from the 1956 government survey into repatriates’ postwar lives shows that approximately 60 per cent of repatriates fell in these categories, while the other 40 per cent found employment in new areas or became unemployed. As a result, despite the scale of the repatriation, the settlement was broadly successful. It can be argued that this type of transition helped to bring political and economic stability, which became a foundation of Japan’s postwar growth.

Repatriation: a qualitative study of repatriates after returning from China assignments

Purpose Companies expend significant resources on global assignees’ success during deployment. However, the broader repatriation experience of organizational expatriates and their families, beyond securing employment, is still largely unexplored. Thus, the purpose of this paper, an exploratory study, is to describe the repatriation experience of five US Christian repatriates who returned to the USA after long-term expatriate assignments in China. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach was employed, and data were collected through five open-ended interviews with US Christian repatriates, focusing on their social networks and family repatriation experiences. Findings Upon repatriation, most global assignees received assistance with relocation and securing stateside employment but no assistance with readjustment issues for themselves or their accompanying family members. Most found repatriation the most difficult part of the assignment, and home churches were of little assistance. The findings support the deterioration of home social networks during longer assignments and extend the literature’s findings to the expatriate spouse and families. Originality/value This exploratory study addresses the experiences of Christian US repatriates and their social support through work and non-work home social networks. The findings highlight the importance of intentional efforts by repatriates and their families to strengthen their home social connections in order to minimize repatriation difficulties.

‘Knocking on doors that never open’: examining discourses of rejected asylum seekers from Kosova

ABSTRACT To address the dearth of repatriation research coming out of Global South countries and question the adoption of repatriation as a sustainable solution to migration crisis, this qualitative study examined the repatriation experiences of rejected asylum seekers from Kosova. Grounded in postcolonial theories and through a Critical Discourse Analysis of interviews with rejected asylum seekers, the study examined dominant discourses which shape the repatriation process in Kosova. Interview findings identify a major, overarching discourse which constructs an exclusive EU, one that is superior to Kosova and although desirable, an almost impossible destination for Kosovars to reach. These findings illustrate that the European Union-Kosova power imbalance and the pervasiveness of the EU as ‘exclusive’ discourse is crucial in shaping experiences of repatriation and the identities of Kosovar rejected asylum seekers. Moreover, this study adds to the body of existing repatriation literature and provides important implications for reparation policies as well as practice with return migrants.

Pre-migration Trauma, Repatriation Experiences, and PTSD Among North Korean Refugees.

Many studies on refugees suggested that refugees' traumatic events associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, it is unknown whether refugees' PTSD was caused by their negative experience before or after the entry of their destination country. Thus, a separation of refugees' pre-migration from their post-migration experience is particularly important in understanding the causal impact of trauma. Using a sample from North Korean refugees, this study investigates the prevalence of PTSD symptoms, the impact of tortured trauma, repatriation experiences, on PTSD among North Korean refugees (n = 698). We found that North Korean refugees in our sample (a) demonstrated a high rate of current probable PTSD; (b) were demonstrated a higher frequency of repatriation experiences with a greater risk for PTSD symptoms. The findings suggest that particular types of trauma for populations with particular socio-demographic characteristics may be at a greater risk of PTSD.

The Road from Paradise: The Kresowianie on the Trail to Rediscover Poland, 1944–1946

Abstract This article examines postwar repatriations of Polish citizens from the Lviv1 region, a territory in southeastern Poland (presently in western Ukraine) incorporated into the Soviet Union during World War II. The war that historians neatly consign to the familiar time brackets of 1939–1945 did not end with Germany’s collapse. The unspeakable confrontation that decimated and uprooted millions of Europeans continued under the guise of postwar forced migrations, repatriations, and population transfers. Indeed, relocation and displacement provided fundamental building blocks in the Polish communist effort of reconstructing Poland. Building a Polish nation-state impelled the new regime to identify and claim Polish inhabitants of the so-called kresy, Poland’s former eastern provinces ceded to the Soviet Union. Migrations of Poles to the territories that Poland acquired from the defeated Nazi state, comprised critical moments in the emergence of new Polish communities in former German lands. These repatriates considered relocation as an opportunity to escape a cherished homeland now under the domination of a foreign and detested power. This article, thus, explores the wider cultural context in which Polish women and children assigned meaning to their traumatic experiences. The meanings that these eastern Poles (kresowianie) attached to the conditions at embarkation points and on dirt and pathogen-infested transports are crucial to understanding how the experience of repatriation reshaped postwar Polish identities. Indeed, this study addresses pivotal questions for the understanding of post-1945 Eastern Europe: what was the role of mass population movements in the reconstruction of war-torn societies? How did displaced people start new lives in adverse and unpredictable circumstances? Most importantly, how did the new communist authorities and migrants from the kresy renegotiate the meaning of resettlement and the postwar national community in general?

Twenty-Seven-Year Follow-Up of Vietnam Air War USAF POWs and Matched Controls Not Captured: A Qualitative Study

Objective: To provide a follow up of a 1976 study of the impact of captivity on U.S. Air Force (USAF) POWs and USAF Controls matched for time in Southeast Asia, military rank and aircraft crew position. Method: Qualitative study of replies to open ended questions of positive and negative changes due to their captivity/combat experiences made by participants (POWs and Controls) who replied in both 1976 and in 2003. Results: Both groups acknowledged positive and negative effects of the experiences in 1976. In 1976 and 2003 the POWs mainly reported negative effects on career and family domains but positive effects of individual development and growth. Controls reported mild negative effects on family in 1976, and benefits to their careers and sense of self in both 1976 and 2003. Conclusion: Captivity during the Vietnam War for USAF included two types of extreme duress which were the incarceration itself; and the repatriation experience which entailed re-assimilation despite loss of occupation and disrupted families. Despite these obstacles, POWs exhibited substantial resilience in achieving self-growth and how they regarded themselves psychologically in comparison to their matched control fellow aviators who while also suffering a lesser separation from family, tended to prosper in their careers and were proud of their accomplishments. Long term separation from work, family and friends and the inability to return to their families and careers with the effectiveness demanded by their ambition were a more devastating ongoing consequence of their captivity than the immediate suffering of their imprisonment.

The association between social support and the mental health of social workers and police officers who work with unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children’s forced repatriation: A Swedish experience

ABSTRACTThis study aims to contribute to the knowledge of social support and its association with mental health amongst social workers and police officers in forced repatriation work of unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children. Nationally distributed surveys to social workers and police officers with and without experience of forced repatriation were used, measured by an abbreviated version of the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI), and analyzed by univariate and multivariable regression models. Social workers in forced repatriation showed significantly poorer mental health than other social workers, but simultaneously relatively high access to social support. Irrespective of working with forced repatriation, police officers reported relatively high access to social support, but no difference in mental health. Furthermore, low levels of satisfaction with social interaction and close emotional support increased the odds of psychological disturbances for police officers in forced repatriation. Findings are discussed with special regard to the complexity of forced repatriation, particularly when children are the focus.

Repatriation of international dual‐career couples

Combining the realities of dual‐career couples (DCCs) and the requirements of international careers can be difficult. In order to improve the understanding of the repatriation experiences of international DCCs, we conducted interviews with both partners in 14 DCCs. Contrary to expectations, the majority of the interviewed couples reported very successful repatriation experiences, and only a few adjustment challenges were raised. The interviews address the factors explaining such repatriation adjustment issues, and also elicit four key factors (active self‐management of the expatriation process, earlier experience of expatriation and repatriation, the successful integration of work life and family life, and the realization of dual‐career interests upon repatriation) connected with successful repatriation adjustment experiences.

An exploratory study into organizational repatriates’ emotional support network

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how repatriates’ emotional support network affects their experience of re-entry.Design/methodology/approachThis inductive, qualitative study is based on 27 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Belgian organizational repatriates.FindingsThe analyses suggest that expatriation empathy is a key attribute of organizational repatriates’ main emotional support providers. In addition, the results show that although partners are a main source of emotional support on re-entry, they are also important potential causes of distress. Lastly, the results suggest that the cultural diversity of a repatriate’s emotional support network is linked with characteristics of the assignment and that it affects the experience of repatriation.Research limitations/implicationsThe results provide empirical evidence that the expatriation empathy of repatriates’ support providers is a more informative characteristic to consider compared with whether they have personal experience of expatriation. In addition, the results suggest that research should also take into account the negative side of social support, and, for example, consider the influence of crossover distress of partners who experience relocation difficulties themselves.Practical implicationsThis study points to the possible benefits of organizing social activities or training for repatriates and their partner and any children, as well as the advantages of encouraging expatriates to invite home-country friends to visit.Originality/valueAlthough most scholars agree on the importance of support for expatriates’ well-being, the sources of relevant emotional support have received little research attention so far, as has how this influences the repatriation experience.

The Migrant Border Crossing Study: A methodological overview of research along the Sonora–Arizona border

Increased border enforcement efforts have redistributed unauthorized Mexican migration to the United States (US) away from traditional points of crossing, such as San Diego and El Paso, and into more remote areas along the US–Mexico border, including southern Arizona. Yet relatively little quantitative scholarly work exists examining Mexican migrants’ crossing, apprehension, and repatriation experiences in southern Arizona. We contend that if scholars truly want to understand the experiences of unauthorized migrants in transit, such migrants should be interviewed either at the border after being removed from the US, or during their trajectories across the border, or both. This paper provides a methodological overview of the Migrant Border Crossing Study (MBCS), a unique data source on Mexican migrants who attempted an unauthorized crossing along the Sonora–Arizona border, were apprehended, and repatriated to Nogales, Sonora in 2007–09. We also discuss substantive and theoretical contributions of the MBCS.