Redefinition of identity in Transnational Immigrants: The case of Chilean exiles residentes in Vancouver, Canada
Redefinition of identity in Transnational Immigrants: The case of Chilean exiles residentes in Vancouver, Canada
Authors
Nahuelpan Sanchez, Karla
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Abstract
One of the consequences of the military dictatorship in Chile was the forced migration of thousands of exiles, which resulted in the formation of Chilean communities in different host countries. Forced migration has several effects in the immigrant, being the most significant the identity redefinition. When citizens are forced to leave their country, they seek ways to keep connected with it, this mechanism are memory and symbols, wich come into contact in different social spaces. The overall objective is then to analyze the identity redefinition of Chilean transnational immigrants living in Vancouver, Canada, who were displaced by the military dictatorship of Chile in 1973-1990. We will understand transnationalism as a relationship that establishes a group of immigrants to their place of origin, where the influence of different symbols that they identify will guide them to represent their sense of belonging. Following the same perspective, the pertinent definition of identity for this research is that it is understood as a subjective construction through symbols and socialization, which can be modified or readapted by living situations of the immigrants.