Carolina Castro will be presenting at the Global Migrations Conference
26th – 28th November 2024 | University of Otago, Dunedin
Forced Migration and Mothering Kiwisitos: Young Colombian Women Navigating Motherhood in New Zealand
People from refugee backgrounds face many challenges adapting to a new social context and life in the resettlement process. Despite such obstacles, they also have skills, knowledge and relationships that help them to navigate the settlement experience. This highlights the importance of social capital, that helps connect them to opportunities, resources, and relationships. This qualitative study explores the ways in which the different typologies of social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking) contributed to the resettlement experience of eight young Colombian women who were pregnant when they came to New Zealand.
I present the findings of semi-structured interviews with these participants who resettled in Hamilton as part of the refugee resettlement programme. Through thematic content analysis, I found two emergent themes. The first theme draws on a Colombian cultural concept of ‘crossing the pond’ (facing challenges) and highlights how the mothers navigate two cultural worlds in order to raise their Kiwisitos (little Kiwis). The second theme introduces three tasks that they undertake as they navigate their resettlement journey. These themes highlight an awareness of how the participants managed social interactions within their community, the wider society, and various institutions.
This presentation concludes with how these three tasks provide a nuanced appreciation of how social capital relates to broader understandings of integration through the interstitial, relational and contextual spaces they navigate as they and their children transition into new settlement contexts.
You can visit the Global Migrations Conference website here.
Dr Carolina Castro is a recent graduate PhD in Education. Currently working as Programme Specialist at the University of Auckland. Her primary area of practice and research is forced migration and displacement of young mothers’ population.
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