| Starting from the point of view of the migrant, this study attempts to document the everyday experience of labor migrants and to analyze the transition that the laborers experience in their self-concept as a result of the migration process. As one of the key sending countries, the Philippines is an important case in the discussion of economic based migrations. Governmental policies encouraging temporary migration and remittance of funds have been instrumental in creating a culture of migration. Taiwan, newly developing as a destination for Southeast Asian labor migrants, offers a difficult receiving context where economic benefits are meager, and opportunity for social integration is almost nonexistent. This dissertation considers the various social, cultural, political, and economic aspects of Taiwan as a receiving context and analyzes the lack of incorporation of Filipino migrants, especially those working in the manufacturing sectors, into Taiwanese society and the subsequent formation of an ethnic enclave in which their national/cultural identity is reinforced. The project utilizes a mixed-method triangulation of ethnographic approaches, including videotaped face-to-face interviews with participants and those familiar with their circumstances, administration of the Twenty Statements Test, visual documentation of everyday lives, a comprehensive survey of 389 laborers, interviews with migrant NGO activists and government officials, as well as reviews of governmental documents, media reports, and reports provided by participating NGOs. Narratives of exit from the homeland, exclusion from the host society, search for a sense of community, and, finally, the reinterpretation self and identity are discussed. |
