Transnationalism and Sri Lanka's Migrant Housemaids: The Kitchen Spoon's HandleThe book examines how the migration of female labor from Sri Lanka to the Middle East has spurred changes in social status and gender relations in a coastal village in Sri Lanka called Naeaegama. The author skilfully blends the stories and memories of returned migrants of the village, their families and neighbours with extensive interviews conducted with government officials, recruiting agents, and moneylenders, showing the confluence of global and local processes in the lives of the villagers. She also presents interesting case studies to explain how village women and men constantly transform and re-create their lived systems of values and meanings through everyday practices, sending older structures of power and authority into flux. |
Contents
National and International Contexts | 25 |
Getting a Job Abroad | 48 |
Crucial Resources | 75 |
Copyright | |
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agency fees Arabic Asian asked Bahrain behavior Berava Berava families Caroline Chandrika chapter cinnamon coconut Colombo countries cultural daughter Despite domestic dominant drinking dynamics earned economic Elsie Elsie's employers female migration Foreign Employment Gamburd gender roles gifts global Graama Seevaka Gulf Gulf War Halaagama horror stories household housemaids husband identity ideologies images individuals Indrani interview job abroad job agents Kamala Kuwait labor migration Lakmini Lakshmi land lived loan maids male marriage married Middle East migrant women moneylenders mother Muslim Naeaegama negotiate networks official OPEC parents passport patterns percent Podi political Polwatta Pradeep Priyanthi Qatar Ramesh Ranjani relations relatives remittances returned Rukmini Rupawathie rupees salary Saudi Arabia sexual Sinhala Siri Siri's Sita SLBFE social sponsors Sri Lanka Sri Lankan women status structures subagents suggests temple ticket tion village wages wife woman workers