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By Leir-affiliated faculty Kim Wilson & Charlie Williams In last month’s issue of the Leir Migration Monitor, we featured a story to appear in a forthcoming book, Backyard Bankers: Immigrants, Money Clubs, and the Pursuit of the American Dream. The story focused on the entrepreneurship of a band of hustling, creative Boston-based Bangladeshis who were moving more than $100,000 a month of capital through their club. They used their funds to invest in businesses. This month, we feature a different kind of club – an association of people originally from Côte d’Ivoire. This club does not invest in businesses but rather in the mental and social health of its membership. We hope you enjoy the contrast. Originally from Côte d’Ivoire, Remy and his wife Martine arrived in the US in 2002. Remy worked at the Ivorian embassy in Washington D.C., while Martine served as a nanny in the area. After Remy’s embassy job ended, Martine said the family chose not to return to Côte d’Ivoire out of fear of bringing their children back to a country at war. Eventually, after their four children grew up and graduated from school, the parents made their way to Massachusetts to work. What is an association? Since their time in Washington D.C., Remy and Martine have participated in what they call an association, a type of money club used among Ivorian immigrant communities for an array of purposes, but most often for covering funeral expenses. People raised in the United States might perceive these clubs to be a type of informal ‘funeral insurance’ system, although Remy says, ‘We don’t have the notion of insurance… we don’t think of it that way. It’s all about solidarity.’ The association is run by a president and executive board, on which Remy currently serves as the secretary. The club is nationwide, although most members are concentrated in Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia. Often, associations are grouped by ethnicity. Martine explains that there are 72 different ethnicities in Côte d’Ivoire, and that associations set up by immigrants in the US still fall mostly along those ethnic lines. For example, because Remy is from western Côte d’Ivoire, he is a member of a western Ivorian association. This is not always the case, though, as the couple are also members of a club started by people from the southwest of the US. ‘They do really well,’ Martine says, ‘now, in that club all ethnicities are included’. In either case, one’s general Ivorian identity is the most important aspect to association membership. The mechanics of an association Martine compares the association to a tontine, a broadly West African type of club. However, unlike tontines which routinely rotate payouts, Martine and Remy’s association follows a different, flexible model based on need and loyalty. To join the association, members must pay dues, plus $100 upfront for new members. Then, the new member contributes $10 every month for three months to become eligible for a payout. Most members bring their money in cash to the association’s regular meetings, which occur at the end of the month. Other members deposit directly into the club’s bank account. Remy says all members have access to the account number to make their deposits. Parents are contributing members, but not their children. Even adult children are not contributing members. If a child loses their parents, then they will join the association. All members must be in good standing to receive money in the form of a payout. After making regular contributions for at least three months, members may receive full benefits from the club. For example, in the case of the death of a parent, a member may receive a payout from the association to cover funeral costs or lost income due to illness. Payouts range from $2,000-$12,000 and vary depending on the requirements for travel or funeral costs. Most payouts are in cash, but Western Union is used on occasion if the situation is complicated, and the member cannot receive the cash directly. Payouts to members are tiered by participation and familial relationships. For instance, if a member were to lose a parent and that member always paid their dues on time, then the association would come together to financially support that member in their period of hardship. If a member were to lose a cousin or sister, and that member had paid their dues on time, then the association has no fixed payout amount to that family, but decides on a case-by-case basis, driven largely by the burial’s location. Additionally, if an active member who has suffered a loss has many friends, some members will contribute additional money to the club’s fund, which increases the amount that person receives. This is an informal way of determining how much money is given to the claimant and is entirely situational, based on the need and the claimant’s popularity within the association. For example, there was a man named Mr. Tape who was an association member for 10 years. When he died, the association paid $12,000 for two of his closest friends to take his body back to Africa for burial, as he had no family in the US. This significant outlay was seen as appropriate since Mr. Tape was a beloved and longstanding association member. Most of the time members use their payouts to cover funeral expenses in Côte d’Ivoire. However, Martine explains that not all payouts are directed to funeral expenses. The association may also choose to give a congratulatory gift to a member for an event such as a wedding, birth, or school graduation. A standard wedding gift is between $500-$1,000 and would be funded by individual member contributions and not from the club’s fund. In some cases, the association may issue loans to members. The largest loan ever given was to Mr. Tape. Martine and Remy insisted that it was very rare, but the group lent him a one-time sum of $1,500 to cover his rent and bills while he was ill. These sums are negotiated on a case-by-case basis. First, a member—in good standing and with at least three months of association participation–must meet with the executive board to ask for help. The board then assesses the person’s reliability before deciding on their case and informing the rest of the members. Remy says that the person asking for the loan must prove that they will repay the loan. The terms of the loan are fairly flexible and interest-free. For example, if a member is sick, the association might …
Leaving Lebanon: A Panacea After the Financial Collapse? In this issue of Leir Migration Monitor, Leir-affiliated faculty Tamirace Fakhoury shares her story for The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS) on the dilemma of staying or migrating from Lebanon. As she puts it, “What happens when states no longer offer hope for their people? Is flight the solution? Or do crises unlock opportunities for new beginnings?” Read Professor Fakhoury’s story for LCPS here:
Hopes, Fears, and Illusions: Navigating Trauma-Informed Research with Migrants on the Move In our latest Notes from the Field entry, Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Kimberly Howe and Project Manager Shenandoah Cornish share insights on HFI’s trauma-informed methodology, which encourages researchers to be reflexive, to be aware of power dynamics, and to actively mitigate the risk of re-traumatization of informants. Howe and Cornish reflect, “By contemplating the implications of our inquiries, we strove to foster an environment that respected the autonomy and agency of those who choose to share their stories.”
Hopes, Fears, and Illusions: Notes from the Field By Dr. Kimberly Howe, Co-Principal Investigator, and Shenandoah Cornish, Project Manager Introduction We intentionally designed the Hopes, Fears, and Illusions (HFI) research project with a trauma-informed approach that considers the psychological risks and well-being of the researcher as well as the research participant. This approach aims to improve the way researchers interact with vulnerable populations and sensitive research contexts. We felt that such an approach was ethically necessary given HFI’s focus on the journey of migrants, their reasons for leaving home, their experiences along the way, and their hopes for the future. On the migrant-side, we developed research tools and methodologies that encouraged a genuine exchange between participants and researchers while also trying to mitigate the possibility of re-traumatization. On the researcher-side, we thought carefully about the risks and well-being of the researchers, who would be spending six weeks living in demanding conditions, listening to difficult narratives, and witnessing the suffering of others. HFI Colombia researchers Laura Velez Colorado and Andrew Fitzgerald, accompanied by co-Principal Investigator Dr. Kimberly Howe. In this entry, we will share some insights from our approach, shedding light on the importance of such methodologies in navigating the challenging terrain of migrant experiences. Understanding Trauma-Informed Research Trauma-informed research extends beyond the conventional boundaries of inquiry, recognizing the intricate interplay between researchers and the researched. Drawing inspiration from feminist research principles, the approach encourages the researcher to be reflexive and aware of power dynamics. It relies on a set of skills whereby researchers understand the risk of (re)traumatization and are ready to mitigate such risks prior to data collection, during interviews, and in the aftermath. Trauma-informed research also recognizes the emotional toll that such work can take on researchers, underscoring that self-care is the responsibility not just of the researchers but also of the institutions with which they are working. The foundation of trauma-informed research lies in creating a safe, respectful, and empowering environment for all involved. Integrating Trauma-Informed Methods into the HFI Project In the context of HFI, we worked to implement trauma-informed practices as much as possible, while keeping in mind that doing so is a highly context-specific moving target. A trauma-informed approach lays the groundwork for ethical and nuanced research long before researchers step into the field. It begins with thoughtful and empathetic formulation of research questions, tools, and approaches and compels us to question not only what we seek to discover, but why such an inquiry is necessary, and how such inquiries should be framed. This involves a conscious consideration of the potential impacts of questions on the well-being of participants. To this end, we prioritized open-ended queries, acknowledging the diversity of experiences and allowing individuals to share their narratives on their terms. By contemplating the implications of our inquiries, we strove to foster an environment that respected the autonomy and agency of those who choose to share their stories. We held two training sessions for our researchers that discussed the following points: Interview Choices: This included physical considerations emphasizing participant comfort and attending to non-verbal cues; framing techniques prioritizing human connection, active listening, and validation of participant experiences; and providing choices and opportunities for participants to exercise agency.Ethical considerations: We had lengthy discussions on representation, questioning how interlocutors are portrayed in research and its potential impact on their lives; positionality, reflecting on researcher biases, worldviews, and power dynamics in interactions; and the importance of transparent communication to establish trust.What It Means to be a Trauma-Informed Researcher: We explained what traumatic experiences are and their far-reaching impacts on individuals. We discussed how traumatic responses may be invisible to researchers, while underscoring the importance of recognizing distress when it arises. We also identified skills and interviewing techniques that could be utilized during interviews that might mitigate the risk of re-traumatization.Context-Aware Research: We explored options for tailoring HFI to each of the contexts where the project was located, acknowledging the specificity of each setting and adjusting methodologies accordingly; and we encouraged researchers to adapt to unexpected situations and regularly reflect on their approaches. The HFI fieldwork also included multiple support strategies for researchers. Prior to leaving for the field, researchers received institutional supports that included security plans tailored for each field site and the development and incorporation of detailed self-care plans for researchers. They also participated in discussions about individual self-care strategies, including how to recognize warning signs early on and establish coping mechanisms. We emphasized the importance of setting boundaries, establishing field allies and empathy partners, and taking time each day to “recharge.” We encouraged researchers to think ahead of time about what tends to go by the wayside when they are overwhelmed (exercise, diet, sleep, etc.) and to set up plans to recognize such signs in advance and develop strategies to manage these eventualities.During the field work, we provided team support plans that included internal debriefs between each research pair, weekly team meetings, and bi-weekly cross-team sessions to ensure diverse perspectives and insights. In addition, we partnered with local organizations to host the researchers and provide additional support as needed, and the PIs (or a local faculty advisor) visited the researchers at each site during the first phase of the field work. Lastly, as part of our trauma-informed research process, we created a series of feedback sessions in various modalities (group, individual, written form), for researchers to provide reflective feedback on their experiences at all stages of the project. Reflections Several key takeaways emerged from these feedback sessions. HFI researchers noted that the pre-research trainings exposed them to topics (mental health and self-care) that they had not considered previously as part of research or fieldwork, although they wished they had had additional trainings prior to data collection and a refresher during the beginning phase of their fieldwork. Researchers also noted the positive impacts of having had a partner in their research sites (as opposed to being solo), but would have benefited from more in-person team building sessions before beginning research. There was also an …
Newsletters
Leaving Lebanon: A Panacea After the Financial Collapse? In this issue of Leir Migration Monitor, Leir-affiliated faculty Tamirace Fakhoury shares her story for The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS) on the dilemma of staying or migrating from Lebanon. As she puts it, “What happens when states no longer offer hope for their people? Is flight the solution? Or do crises unlock opportunities for new beginnings?” Read Professor Fakhoury’s story for LCPS here:
Hopes, Fears, and Illusions: Navigating Trauma-Informed Research with Migrants on the Move In our latest Notes from the Field entry, Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Kimberly Howe and Project Manager Shenandoah Cornish share insights on HFI’s trauma-informed methodology, which encourages researchers to be reflexive, to be aware of power dynamics, and to actively mitigate the risk of re-traumatization of informants. Howe and Cornish reflect, “By contemplating the implications of our inquiries, we strove to foster an environment that respected the autonomy and agency of those who choose to share their stories.”
To our alumni and friends, As I reflect on global events since June, I am struck by how desperately the world needs a human security lens. States and non-state actors continue to prioritize power and profit while individuals and communities get caught in the crossfire. The most obvious example is the Hamas-Israel War, which has claimed the lives of at least 18,000 civilians and displaced around 1.8 million people. But it is not the only one. In just the last six months, thousands of people died in climate-induced floods in North Africa; over 100,000 Armenians were displaced by an Azerbaijani military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh; deadly conflicts broke out in Sudan, the DRC, and Myanmar; and the war in Ukraine continued unabated. All of these crises uprooted people from their homes, contributing to the estimated 114 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide. Since January, more than 500,000 migrants from dozens of countries have crossed the Darien Gap, a treacherous unpaved jungle between Colombia and Panama, in search of safety and sustenance.
“Before you make the journey, you don’t understand anything” Since our research teams returned from the field in August 2023, we have been analyzing the results of their in-depth interviews with 131 migrants from 15 countries. Most of the questions were open-ended, requiring a lengthy process of qualitative coding, but we have generated some descriptive statistics that we report in Entry #5. Read the full entry here. Migrant profiles: With regard to country of origin, age, gender, time since departure, and country of destination, our sample maps quite well onto the overall population of U.S.-bound migrants on the route from Colombia to the U.S.-Mexico border. Reflecting regional trends, Venezuelans constitute the vast majority of our sample.
The Impact of Climate Change and Environmental Degradation on Human Mobility As climate change intensifies, its impact on human mobility becomes progressively evident. Whether through slow-onset effects or sudden natural disasters, this warming trend is compromising livelihoods and threatens to displace growing numbers of people unless mitigating policies are put in place. Based on summer field research funded by the Leir Institute, this paper examines the links between climate change, environmental degradation, and human mobility, with a focus on Rwanda as a case study. Rwanda, a country situated in a region experiencing adverse climate impacts, serves as an example of the challenges related to human mobility in the face of climate-induced hazards.
Programs
Digital Portfolios of the Poor (DPP) is a multi-year, multi-country project aimed at creating better digital financial products for the poor by understanding how emerging technologies are viewed, used, understood, and perceived in low-income settings, particularly among women.
Disrupted Mobilities is a multimedia project inspired by the Leir-sponsored 2019 documentary, Waylaid in Tijuana, that explores the intersecting effects of blocked asylum, deportation, and restricted cross-border movement in communities along the US-Mexico border.
Hopes, Fears, and Illusions (HFI) examines how U.S.-bound migrants assess risk and process information along their journeys to the U.S.-Mexico border through in-depth field work with migrants on the move in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
Journeys Project (JP) examines migrant stories to better understand the costs and strategies involved in their journeys as well as the economic approaches they use when putting down roots in new surroundings.
The Leir Briefing Room, home of the Leir Migration Monitor newsletter, centralizes the Leir Institute's research and analysis for practitioners and policymakers, providing clear, concise information on migration and human security.
The Refugees in Towns (RIT) promotes understanding of the migrant/refugee integration experience by drawing on the knowledge and perspectives of refugees themselves as well as local hosts.
Leir Briefing Room
Migration and human security, simplified. 3-minute briefs written by the Fletcher School's expert faculty. For clear, concise foundational content, start here.