Transnational Migration In chapter 12 of the Miller textbook page 241-242 is described as "movement in which a person regularly moves back and forth between two or more countries and forms a new cultural identity transcending a single geopolitical unit." The textbook also describes transnational migration to have effect on the migrants identity, as constant movement weakens the sense of having a home and the "between" take on a new cultural reality. The picture of my house in Cambridge, Massachusetts fits because once I first moved to this street, I went back and forth to Haiti all the time because for two years. Both my mom and dad were still living there which left me with a sense of being in between cultures and not having a permanent home. If I were to do anthropological fieldwork, I would want to know the long term effect of being a transnational migration looks like for a person. Also, I would like to follow the life of a child as they progress to adulthood, so that I could examine and more deeply understand the long term effect that being a transnational migration has on someone.
Displaced person is described on page 244 in the Miller Textbook, as "someone who is forced to leave his or her home, community, or country". The book also says that displacement can be due to colonialism, slavery, war, persecution, natural disasters, etc. I personally am a displaced person because of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. As a result of this, around 20% of people were displaced, and a portion of this percentage of people went to rural areas and camps. I was lucky enough to be able to take a military plane to the Dominican Republic, and then took a plane to Boston a week later. I took this picture of my house that is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, because I have been living on this street ever since I have moved to the United States. Up the street from here, is where my guardian at the time lived. I lived with my guardian, because I moved to the house without my mom for two years. When my mom was able to come to US, we moved moved down the street together, and have been living there ever since.If I were to do anthropological fieldwork I would want to investigate if the new community or environment that a displaced person moves to has an impact on their adjustment. Furthermore, if a person moves into an urban area versus a rural area does this have a long term or short-term impact on their adjustment period. I think that this would be very interesting, because it would show a different aspect of the adjustment and assimilation process.
